Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Comfort Me With Mackerel



The first time I heard the phrase "comfort food," I was ten years old. My family and I were having lunch at a trendy new South Florida restaurant that served kitschy diner food in metal TV trays. I was not comforted, and it was barely food.

Since then, I've learned what comfort food really means to me: mackerel. Specifically, smoked mackerel, on a bagel, with a schmear and a thin strata of onion. Granted, my photo above features toast and lettuce, as Jay has pointed out.

I would be eating smoked salmon instead except for what I call the "twice dyed" factor. First, farm raised Chilean Salmon are fed food pellets with beta carotene to improve the color of their flesh, which would otherwise be a dull gray. When that meat is then turned into lox, colors with numbers start showing up. Sure you can get the good stuff, but it'll cost you. And they might still be lying.

Conversely, I can get locally caught and smoked mackerel at Pemberton Farms for under four bucks. I've had a soft spot for this greasy little fish ever since one formative summer during college. Living on our own for the first time, mackerel was the only seafood we could afford besides crab with a "k." We ate it "fresh" from the local grocery store in Waltham, as sushi in Maryland, canned during a hike in West Virginia, and caught with a pink, children's fishing pole in Maine.

Historically, salmon isn't the be all and end all de rigueur smoked fish that we think it is anyway. In fact, you may remember that we didn't eat a whole lot of salmon until about eight years ago, when an explosion of information about it's health benefits made it the pomegranate of 2000. Conveniently, that's also when massive amounts of the farmed raised stuff started flooding in, and when I first became aware of twice dyed lox.

Sure, people have been eating smoked salmon for thousands of years, but it was a lot better than the stuff you're getting blended into your cream cheese. And while it's heavily associated with Jewish food, "my people" were just as likely to be smoking and eating whatever finned and scaled fish they could get their hands on while scattered around the world. And when I build my smoker, I'm going to do the same.

That's a bottle of home brewed kombucha in the background. It imparts that citric tang I crave when I eat bagels and fish, thanks to growing up with ample access to Florida orange juice. Also, it's kind of Russian.

Stumble Upon Toolbar

7 comments:

Epitome of Masculinity said...

That doesn't look like any bagel I've ever seen (unless you homegrown hippies have started making oval bagels). And that's not a thin strata of onion, it's a thick slab of lettuce (or something). This sandwich is more green than mackerel and I want no part of it! Keep this up and you'll be stripped of your Jewstripes (which funny enough actually involves putting something back).

Karen B said...

dave and I just had a Zabar's smoked fish eating experience--I highly recommend the white fish--nice and fatty like the mackerel. I've had the sable before too and it's amazing. And, I admit it, the homemade gravlox was a treat--much better than mine, which I think I "overcooked" in the fridge.

There was an article in Vogue a few months ago about salmon farming.

Anonymous said...

tods outlet
nike shox
jordan shoes sale
furla bags
louis vuitton outlet store
mulberry outlet
giuseppe zanotti shoes
official michael kors outlet
mac cosmetics
roshe run
air max pas cher
uggs sale
canada goose sale
north face outlet
mbt shoes clearance
cheap uggs for sale
uggs sale
uggs sale
tods outlet
fitflop shoes
ugg boots clearance
tory burch black friday
tods shoes
fit flops shoes
miu miu bag
michael kors handbags clearance
ysl shoes
rolex watches
cheap beats by dr dre
ugg clearance
juicy couture handbags
kate spade outlet
chi hair straightener
zumba workout
ugg sale

Unknown said...

zd0723
gucci shoes
beats headphones
air jordan shoes
ugg boots uk
oakley sunglasses wholesale
ray ban sunglasses outlet,ray ban sunglasses,ray ban,rayban,ray bans,ray ban outlet,ray-ban,raybans,ray ban wayfarer,ray-ban sunglasses,raybans.com,rayban sunglasses,cheap ray ban
los angeles clippers jerseys
toms shoes outlet online
supra shoes
arizona cardinals jerseys
lebron shoes
oakley sunglasses outlet
north face jackets
beats by dre
nike mercurial
mizuno running shoes
mulberry outlet
ugg uk
nhl jerseys wholesale
kobe bryant jersey
hermes bags

chenlina said...

chenlina20150907
timberland boots
coach factorty outlet
louis vuitton
louis vuitton outlet
nfl jerseys
nike roshe run
ugg australia
hollister uk
michael kors
louis vuitton handbags
michael kors bags
louis vuitton outlet
louis vuitton
michael kors outlet stores
louis vuitton handbags
oakley sunglasses wholesale
louis vuitton
michael kors outlet online
true religion
gucci outlet
louis vuitton handbags
coach outlet online
timberlands
jordan 13s
ray ban sunglasses uk
michael kors uk
coach outlet store online
oakley store
coach outlet store online
coach factory outlet
tods outlet store
retro 11
ray ban glasses
abercrombie & fitch
true religion outlet
swarovski jewelry
ghd
cheap jerseys
adidas running shoes
michael kors outlet

Unknown said...

Cheap NFL Jerseys
cheap true religion
Michael Kors Handbags
michael kors outlet
fitflop sale
toms outlet
Oakley Sunglasses
Cheap Oakley Sunglasses
fitflop shoes
fitflops clearance
michael kors outlet
michael kors outlet store
oakley Stores
black toms
Oakeyley Sunglasses Sale
Wholesale Cheap Jerseys China
Michael Kors Purse
Oakley Store
true religion sale
cheap oakley sunglasses
cheap oakleys
cheap toms
Cheap Jordans
Cheap NFL Jerseys China
Oakley Store
Michael Kors Handbags
Cheap Jordan Shoes
Cheap Oakley Sunglasses
Oakley Sunglasses
Cheap Oakley Sunglasses

Cara Mengobati Gondok di Leher said...

The article is good. Also visit my article, read and share too. God willing useful. :)


Obat Benjolan di Belakang Telinga/Leher
Obat Benjolan di Kepala Alami
Obat Tremor Herbal