North Carolina News

By -
I just flew into Raleigh yesterday to spend the weekend with my parents as we celebrate all the March birthdays. This year is particularly important because it is Adam's first birthday on the 21st. In the interest of full disclosure 41 for me and my dad 70. The weather looks to be about the same as NY with rain on and off and maybe just a bit warmer.

In today's Fayetteville Observer, seafood made the news twice with a brief about a shellfish habitat enhancement project slated to put 41,000 bushels of oyster shells near Morehead City. The project aims to help establish areas conducive to local fish spawning, and put $2.00 per bushel in the hands of commercial fisherman as part of a federal recovery grant program. A good thing on both fronts.

The retail seafood sector is a bit different here. A story in the weekender section of the Observer highlights a nice looking mom and pop place by the name of Po Boy's only open Thursday to Saturday they feature local catch like spot, croaker, mullet, brim, flounder and gray snapper and whiting according to the article. While most of those choices are rare to make it on the menus of my accounts in NY, I bet they are all fresh and reasonably priced. Maybe I will stop by.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fish Yields - or - How Much Does This Really Cost Me?

By -
Image
I often find it necessary to explain the yield (amount of usable flesh) off of various fish. By knowing what percentage of meat will be available when a whole fish is filleted one can make an accurate analysis of; A. how much whole fish must be purchased and B. what is the true fillet cost. Knowing how to correctly perform these calculations will benefit not only seafood suppliers, restaurant chefs, but also the casual cook. Below is a list of some common fish and the net yield percentages. Actual percentages may vary depending on skill of the butcher. Salmon (head-on gutted) yields 75% skin-on fillet Snapper (head-on gutted) yields 40% skin-on fillet Mahi (headed and gutted) yields 65% skin-on fillet Monkfish (tail) yields 70% skinless fillet Cod (headed and gutted) yields 60% skin-on fillet Grouper (head-on gutted) yields 35% skinless fillet Halibut (headed and gutted) yields 66% skin-on fillet Tuna (headless bullets) yields 75% untrimmed loins Sword (headless bullets) yields 80% cen
Read more

Flounder and Sole: or A Fish By Any Other Name Would Still Taste as Sweet.

By -
Image
Ever wonder what the differences are between Sole and Flounder? Some customers recently asked me the question so I thought I would take a moment to shed a bit of light on the subject. Here in North America we have no true sole only flounders. When Europeans came to the Americas they called flounders soles because they looked like the fish they knew in the "old world". This has led understandably to much confusion over the years. The only true sole would be Dover Sole, Solea solea . Lemon sole is one of the names given to winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus , (also known as black back). Usually at the retail level when multiple flounder sku's are sold; flounder is the name given to the refreshed less expensive product, and sole (or lemon sole) is the name given to the more expensive fresh cut product. Fluke, Paralichthys dentatus also called summer flounder can also be sold as sole fillet. Sometimes there is a distinction
Read more

Wild Edibles Seafood Update

By -
Image
Chefs and Buyers,   The local waters, however cold they may be, are still giving up some great fish: We have sea trout (weakfish) 4-6lbs that are extra firm and in rigor from this side of the Mason-Dixon.   Jumbo black sea bass with candy red gills from Rhode Island.  Boston and Spanish mackerel that are both crudo worthy, just off of some short trip boats into Jersey. Since we had so many requests we acquired some local silver Dory from a Long Island boat, these dory are in the 2-5lb size range. Cod prices have dropped to very reasonable levels and makes it a great buy for the next few days. If cod isn't a menu item why not make this versatile fish your fresh catch of the day?   From the West coast we bring you wild Sturgeon, fresh black cod (sablefish), a wide selection of oysters and  Manila clams.   Cockles from New Zealand are likely to remain in very short supply until next week. We will have ample Manila clams available to substit
Read more