Smoke on the Water

Smoked Fish. You either love it, or you hate it.
I love it.
I used to eat smoked eel at my country house in upstate New York as a young boy.
And now, I've been on a smoked fish kick. And a recent late night domino game (yeah throwin' bones!) snack was the perfect excuse to break out some smoked herring, fresh from the can, on dark bread with mustard and pickled jalapenos; spread out on a serving plate in-between games. It was a perfect snack and an excellent idea all around. It's too bad I didn't get a picture before we devoured everything.

I wanted more!

Being that this is Brooklyn, there is no shortage of wonderful places that offer exactly the things you are looking for.

This is a smoked trout I recently had from Jubilat Provisions (this place freaking rocks) and it was awesome. No accompaniment was necessary for this firm smoked fish, just hands and mouths.
I would have loved to take some open-fish pictures, but with oily hands and happy mouths, there was little time to snap the extra photos.
It was a very pretty fish, but I think the fish next in the line up was better tasting but less aesthetically pleasing. I certainly enjoyed them both.


This next fish, also from Jubilat (because I had to go back) was sold to me as Halibut. I'm not really sure if it was halibut or not, but I am sure that it was absolutely fish-tastic. This fish had super-soft flesh and the fattier parts just melted in your mouth, begging to be spread on crackers. So that's exactly what we did. My friend Andrew and I ate this whole fish at work. It was amazing.

It had the added rustic appeal of still having the hanging string tied around it. Jubilat smokes all their own meat and fish in a back room, and this, I feel, makes it all the more special. I realized that this fish would need to get documented further, so I opened the bad boy up and started snapping.

Here is a picture that shows perfectly the firmer, flaky flesh (in the middle), and the melty, fish-butter (on top). You can even see some of the silvery skin. This fish was freaking delicious. Just saying.

I think that I'll get some more smoked fish soon! If only I could find a good source for smoked eel!