Fishy Wishy Woo

[Richard]

A Herring Fair has been run in Hastings for four years now, it will return on Saturday 31 October and Sunday, 1 November, 11 - 4 pm.
It is a FREE event combining food stalls, local beers, wines and ciders all under cover at the Stade, so, the festival will not be affected by wet weather!

So what sort of fish did Hastings boats traditionally catch?

1) Herring and Mackerel, caught by 'Drift' nets in different seasons, can be fished at any depth and boats travelled far and wide, with the Yarmouth fisheries, once controlled by the Cinque Ports, including Hastings of course, being of special importance to the area.
Herring could be preserved without ice, (it was unavailable, in the dim and distant, anyway) for long periods, but the sought-after Mackerel deteriorated very quickly and had to be transported to markets such as London, at great speed.
2) Sole, Dabs and Flounders (Bottom-dwelling 'Flat' fish) were caught closer to 'home', by ' Trawling' at any time of year, the ever-productive Rye Bay was important in providing them.
Like the Mackerel, they did not keep fresh for long and had to be sent quickly to distant places, depending on the fashion of the day, or sold locally.

I am not sure about eating Herring, even though they can preserved by pickling, as roll-mops, or by 'smoking' in the case of Kippers, which have too many small bones for my liking.
The Dutch still seem very keen on Herring and go in for kiosks selling Herring all over the pace, especially outside Night-Clubs'.

What is your favourite fish?

[Richard]

I went along today, not bad at all, plenty of fresh fish being cooked and drinks with a live band and good atmosphere, women letting their hair down.
No entry fee!!
'Jali's' chicken korma' was good, some reaonably priced Belgian beer to slurp, many small stalls to visit.

[moonjiver]

I'm ashamed to say that I don't support the local fishing as I should, even though I like fish and love kippers (addicted to them). I have a friend who sometimes goes down there early in the mornings to pick up things.

But I don't know much about when the fish stalls open up or how prices and quality compare with Morrisons' stuff. If you have any info, that would be very useful! I have some good recipes for fish pies which I haven't got round to trying ..

I did go to the Seafood festival, bought some sprats in some kind of sauce, which were absolutely scrumptious.

[Richard]

I don't make the effort as much as I ought to for buying fish down along the Stade, mainly because I can get it fresh at the Arcade Fisheries shop, I know the commercial market below Maggie's is open very early a.m. and I suspect the kiosks are open to the public first thing, so if you are local you can visit before work or during a lunch hour.

Cod is really quite boring, unless served with a sauce, typically cheese or tomato based, or as the usual favourite, inside batter.
The fishmonger will usually fillet your favourite fish quickly and you can always ask what is local and caught today.
I don't like farmed Salmon or the increasingly popular smoked-salmon steaks as they are too fatty and give me gut-rot these days.
Hake is my favourite but it not locally sourced as it is a deep-water fish, you don't need a sauce, it tastes good without, costs about £5.50 a pound and is easily baked in tin-foil.
The kiosks sell mixed fish pieces so you can easily make a pie or a soup, perhaps, I will have to look some recipes up.

Morrisons in Hastings has a fairly poor selection of fish, I am sure it is much cheaper on the Stade.
I like Rock Salmon but haven't seen any for a while , I had a really tasty meal of it at 'Porters' once, but I haven't found any since.
Morrisons told me they don't get any because it is not a sustainable source!!

Please post your favourite fish/recipes, the more the merrier.

[moonjiver]

Thanks, very helpful. I actually like cod! Not madly tasty maybe but filling and damn nice when you are hungry.

I like salmon, more the unfarmed type. With mushrooms, garlic and lots of herbs. I haven't actually done a fish pie for ages, will post a recipe and photo if it works!

[Mick.]

I don't make the effort as much as I ought to for buying fish down along the Stade, mainly because I can get it fresh at the Arcade Fisheries shop, I know the commercial market below Maggie's is open very early a.m. and I suspect the kiosks are open to the public first thing, so if you are local you can visit before work or during a lunch hour.

Cod is really quite boring, unless served with a sauce, typically cheese or tomato based, or as the usual favourite, inside batter.
The fishmonger will usually fillet your favourite fish quickly and you can always ask what is local and caught today.
I don't like farmed Salmon or the increasingly popular smoked-salmon steaks as they are too fatty and give me gut-rot these days.
Hake is my favourite but it not locally sourced as it is a deep-water fish, you don't need a sauce, it tastes good without, costs about £5.50 a pound and is easily baked in tin-foil.
The kiosks sell mixed fish pieces so you can easily make a pie or a soup, perhaps, I will have to look some recipes up.

Morrisons in Hastings has a fairly poor selection of fish, I am sure it is much cheaper on the Stade.
I like Rock Salmon but haven't seen any for a while , I had a really tasty meal of it at 'Porters' once, but I haven't found any since.
Morrisons told me they don't get any because it is not a sustainable source!!

Please post your favourite fish/recipes, the more the merrier.

Richard....we have been to the fishmongers in Queens Arcade...prices seem OK would you say they are cheaper then the small kiosks along the Stade?

[Gerry Glyde]

Rock Salmon has an alternative local name of Huss or Robin Huss and is normally available at the Fish & Chip Shops in the Old Town and at the Arcade.

I am looking forward to some later in the month. It is never available in north east

[Richard]

Mick,
I think the kiosks are generally cheaper, but they vary amongst themselves anyway and I can only get Hake at one of the Rockanore kiosks and rarely at the Arcade place, so there is no comparison there really.
For cheap fish the place to go is the line of black huts south of the miniature railway line just behind the roadfront kiosks.
The people there sell stuff that is really cheap but their choice will be limited to just a few types of fish.
I think the fishermen pay these people partly in fish, for helping them onto shore, so the story goes.

Gerry,
The trouble is with rock salmon is that it has a bad image, being called dog-fish and a member of the shark family but also it is on the endangered species list.
We used to have to dissect it in Biology classes and that put me off eating it but if it is on a red list in Europe now we may see much more on the menu anyway?

[Mick.]

Mick,
I think the kiosks are generally cheaper, but they vary amongst themselves anyway and I can only get Hake at one of the Rockanore kiosks and rarely at the Arcade place, so there is no comparison there really.
For cheap fish the place to go is the line of black huts south of the miniature railway line just behind the roadfront kiosks.
The people there sell stuff that is really cheap but their choice will be limited to just a few types of fish.
I think the fishermen pay these people partly in fish, for helping them onto shore, so the story goes.

Gerry,
The trouble is with rock salmon is that it has a bad image, being called dog-fish and a member of the shark family but also it is on the endangered species list.
We used to have to dissect it in Biology classes and that put me off eating it but if it is on a red list in Europe now we may see much more on the menu anyway?

Thanks for the info Richard.