Cooks Country North Carolina Fish Stew Food

NORTH CAROLINA FISH STEW

Steps:

• Heat a heavy soup pot over Medium heat. Cut the bacon strips into 1" sections, and place in the pot to render the fat. Allow the bacon to crisp. Remove from the pan, leaving the fat.
• Add the onion slices to the pan and cook about 8 minutes until they are translucent and tender and just beginning to brown.
• To the onions, add 1-2 teaspoons salt, 1 tsp black pepper, the red pepper flake and the 6 cups water. Stir in the Tomato paste. Add the sliced potatoes, and turn heat up to Medium-High. When the soup begins to simmer, wait 10 minutes.
• While simmering, cut the fish fillet into large (2"x2"x2") chunks. They should be big and thick. After the 10 minutes has passed, add the fish to the soup. Then, cracking the eggs, add 1 at a time to the soup. Cover for 15 minutes. This should be enough time to cook the fish and poach the eggs.
• Test and adjust flavor by adding salt, pepper and hot sauce, as desired. Garnish with reserved bacon.

EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA FISH STEW

Steps:

• Cut the bacon slices into 1-inch squares. Brown them in the bottom of a 10-to-12-quart stockpot over medium heat. Once bacon is crisp, remove it and reserve, leaving the bacon fat in the pot. Whisk the tomato paste into the fat, making sure you scrape up all the brown bits left from browning the bacon.
• Turn the heat off and begin layering the ingredients in the stockpot. Start with a layer of potatoes, followed by a layer of onions and garlic, followed by a layer of fish. Top the fish with roughly a third of the salt, a third of the chile flakes and 1 bay leaf. Repeat this layering process two more times.
• Fill the pot with enough cool water to just barely reach the top of the fish. (If there's a little fish peeking out over the top, that's O.K. - better than if it's swimming in water.) Cover the pot with a tightfitting lid and slowly bring to a boil over medium-high heat. (Throughout the cooking, resist the urge to stir.) Once it starts to boil, reduce heat and let it cook, covered, at a high simmer for about 15 minutes. Check the potatoes for doneness. They should be barely tender, not falling apart.
• Use a large spoon to remove the fat from the surface of the soup, and discard. Taste the broth and add more salt if needed. Then, with the stew at a good simmer, add the eggs one by one in a single layer over the top. (Crack each egg into a small cup before dropping it in.) Cook the eggs for 5 minutes until they are lightly set.
• As soon as the eggs are lightly set, use a large ladle to portion out the stew. A proper serving is at least half a fish steak, some potatoes, some onions and an egg swimming in broth. Shower each bowl with bacon, and serve immediately with a piece or two of bread, if desired.

NORTH CAROLINA FISH MUDDLE

Steps:

• Clean and scale fish, cutting off head and tail. Place the fish, and its head with other ingredients for court-bouillon in a large pot. Cover with cold water and simmer just until meat flakes from bones.
• Remove pot from heat and let cool. Remove fish and pick out all fish bones. Set meat aside. Strain broth, discarding the solids. Return liquid to pot and reduce over high heat to about 1 cup.
• Meanwhile, to prepare muddle, heat a large pot over medium heat and put in salt pork and water. When pork cubes are edged with brown and fat is translucent, add chopped scallions and celery and cook until moist and limp.
• Pour in reduced broth and diced potatoes and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes. Then gently stir in fish and simmer 10 minutes more, tasting for seasoning, and adding salt and pepper as necessary. Ladle muddle into soup bowls, garnishing servings with minced fresh parsley. Serve at once, accompanied by lemon wedges and griddle cornbread (see recipe).