Product Review: Blue hill Bay smoked whitefish

A few blog readers have commented that I seem to like to review fish. Yes, I suppose I do. I love fish and it’s one of my favorite products to buy at Costco, because they have a good selection and the prices are far lower than most stores or Jewish delis. One that I have not yet reviewed is a special treat that my family most often buys around the High Holidays for lunch after Rosh Hashanah services and for the break fast after Yom Kippur. It is the whole smoked whitefish.

 

Growing up, we occasionally had a whole whitefish when we visited my grandparents in New Jersey. I have written about these family brunches before. I remember that my grandma would lay the fish out on a platter and would put a grape where the eye was. It was slightly disturbing to see the dead fish but not so disturbing that I did not happily eat it. For years, I never even realized that one could buy the fish outside of New York because we only had it at these brunches. Then I think we occasionally bought it (maybe at BJs or a grocery store) but they were so small and dry. Enter Costco (the crowd goes wild) and we had a source of this delicious treat.

For people unfamiliar with whitefish, it may be confusing because whitefish is different from the many types of white fish (see that oh-so-important space?) Cod, haddock, etc. are all types of white fish and tend to be used in fish sticks, fried fish, etc. But whitefish (sans space) is a fish unto itself with a unique taste.

Whitefish is a traditional Jewish breakfast/brunch fish, generally served whole (as here) or in a whitefish salad (Product Review: Bluehill Bay Smoked Whitefish Salad). It is hard to describe the flavor of most foods but whitefish tends to have a very salty, smoky taste and is fairly light and flaky. Because of the strong taste, it is more of a side dish with a bagel or roll (and maybe some lox) rather than the “main event.” I particularly enjoy it with a challah roll because the slight sweetness of the eggy dough provides a nice complement to the smoky, salty fish.

Whitefish can be difficult to serve. The best way to prepare it is to slice the skin and then use a fork to flake off the flesh. In general, one side of the fish has a lot more “meat” with much thicker chunks of fish. There are tons of bones, so using the fork to pry the fish away from them is preferable but still be careful while eating (although I guess the bones provide added calcium). Once opened and put in a container in the fridge, the fish will last several days. Oh, and a tip: wrap the packaging well until you can discard it because it will smell!

The holidays begin this Sunday, so I will have to buy some this week!