Grouper Scandal

RE: Grouper Scandal (fhoran)

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 20:49:09 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by xannie_01

fhoran,
i love your posts!
you never fail to bring a smile to my face.
dayle

Thanks Dayle.

RE: Grouper Scandal (fhoran)

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 20:08:04 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Al-The Mayor-Bowen

Fred,
No big deal. Some folks got all excited about the typo... Forget it. Most places I see scallops use the definition and description close to what you (and Joh and others) just said. Small ones are Bay Scallops and Large ones are Sea Scallops. Scallops are probably my favorite seafood of all!!! I love Sea Scallops in almost every form!!
The rest of you just calm down and start cutting your fellow members some slack.

Thanks Mayor. Actually when I saw the responses, which correctly pointed out that my increments were just a tad overstated, I started laughing as I was thinking about "Barry Bonds Scallops" or "Michelin Tire Man Scallops". I didn't feel "flamed" but thank you for your consideration and your work as administrator. Fred

RE: Grouper Scandal (lleechef)

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 19:45:08 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Adjudicator

quote:
Originally posted by lleechef

A few seafood facts: There is no fish called grouber, it's grouper.

The seafood industry has long been accused of punching out skate wings for scallops. Anyone who can't tell the difference between skate and a scallop, well, shame on you. Not to defile the lowly skate, it's very tasty. There is a restaurant in Paris that specializes in skate. But it sure is not a scallop!

Scrod is a size definition. There is scrod cod (or haddock), market cod and whale cod. There is no fish called a "scrod" contrary to what New Englanders believe.

Now the question of wild vs. farm raised salmon. Up here there is no farm raised salmon, just like there's virtually no wild salmon in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately the USDA has not yet really stepped into the seafood arena, HACCP certified processors are just as good.

Seafood 101 is now over!

So, scallop wise. Do "sea scallops" exist that are in reality scallops? I am only familiar with "bay scallops", which I pretty much assume are the real thing.

Heck yes, they exist! You can get "diver" scallops, u-8 to u-10 to u-15 scallops. The diver scallops look like hockey pucks, they're so large. The u-8, u-10s and u-15s are very tasty too. The Florida Bay scallops are in my opinion.....well......nasty. Then there are the Nantucket Bays which can only be harvested in November......they get a premium price and are delicious. Up here in AK we have Kodiak scallops from the sea, so sweet, so lovely, so delectable, makes you glad you're an Alaskan! New England also has lovely scallops from No Man's Land and Maine.

RE: Grouper Scandal (mayor al)

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 19:43:29 GMT

Fred,
No big deal. Some folks got all excited about the typo... Forget it. Most places I see scallops use the definition and description close to what you (and Joh and others) just said. Small ones are Bay Scallops and Large ones are Sea Scallops. Scallops are probably my favorite seafood of all!!! I love Sea Scallops in almost every form!!
The rest of you just calm down and start cutting your fellow members some slack.

RE: Grouper Scandal (fhoran)

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 19:24:47 GMT

Well okay, I was watching the Red Sox on replay and said "cm" when should have said "mm". So sue me. Well, actually, please don't. The bay scallops (around here sometimes called "calico bay scallops" which is Latin for "I could have been a skate" )are about the size of one of those foam rubber earplugs shooters use (or they work pretty well if your wife snores too)to protect their hearing. Sea scallops are usually 2-3 times that but can be the size of a biscuit. Fred

RE: Grouper Scandal (seafarer john)

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 14:02:24 GMT

Sea Scallops run about an inch to an inch-and-a-half. Bay Scallops run to about a half inch and sometimes a bit larger. Beware of bay scallops- a lot of them are really coquina (sp?) , a bivalve that lacks the sweetness and delicate flavor of the real bay scallop.

Cheers, John

RE: Grouper Scandal (Trencher)

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 13:58:46 GMT

that's NOT right. no scallop gros to over 11 inches!

RE: Grouper Scandal (the ancient mariner)

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 13:56:54 GMT

Whats a cm ???? I have enough trouble with inchs and feets.

RE: Grouper Scandal (Michael Hoffman)

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 13:26:18 GMT

11.81

RE: Grouper Scandal (Trencher)

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 13:21:42 GMT

how many inches are in 30 cm?

leigh

RE: Grouper Scandal (Adjudicator)

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 10:59:09 GMT

A 20cm to 30cm REAL scallop? Please.

RE: Grouper Scandal (fhoran)

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 10:35:43 GMT

Bay scallops are smaller, usually growing to about 10cm while Sea scallops are two to three times larger. Both are real and tasty. Fred

RE: Grouper Scandal (Adjudicator)

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 09:39:33 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by lleechef

A few seafood facts: There is no fish called grouber, it's grouper.

The seafood industry has long been accused of punching out skate wings for scallops. Anyone who can't tell the difference between skate and a scallop, well, shame on you. Not to defile the lowly skate, it's very tasty. There is a restaurant in Paris that specializes in skate. But it sure is not a scallop!

Scrod is a size definition. There is scrod cod (or haddock), market cod and whale cod. There is no fish called a "scrod" contrary to what New Englanders believe.

Now the question of wild vs. farm raised salmon. Up here there is no farm raised salmon, just like there's virtually no wild salmon in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately the USDA has not yet really stepped into the seafood arena, HACCP certified processors are just as good.

Seafood 101 is now over!

So, scallop wise. Do "sea scallops" exist that are in reality scallops? I am only familiar with "bay scallops", which I pretty much assume are the real thing.

RE: Grouper Scandal (fhoran)

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 09:31:16 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by TJ Jackson

err....so there is a fish called a grouber?

(question is serious...I have no idea....seriously.....I don't know much about fish, but I've heard of a grouper but have never heard of a grouber)

No but there is a "groper" which is defined as a middle-aged guy trying to find his way to the bathroom in the middle of the night without turning on the lights and waking up his wife. I think that most of the places that serve "scrod" around Boston do use cod but there is no such fish as a scrod (I can't be sure about them using cod as I usually forget to bring my DNA test kit when I go out to eat but it usually looks like it). And to Greymo, I too remember my first whole belly fried clam (I was probably about 5 years old). Clam strips should be illegal! Fred

RE: Grouper Scandal (lleechef)

Sat, 12 Aug 2006 19:19:44 GMT

A few seafood facts: There is no fish called grouber, it's grouper.

The seafood industry has long been accused of punching out skate wings for scallops. Anyone who can't tell the difference between skate and a scallop, well, shame on you. Not to defile the lowly skate, it's very tasty. There is a restaurant in Paris that specializes in skate. But it sure is not a scallop!

Scrod is a size definition. There is scrod cod (or haddock), market cod and whale cod. There is no fish called a "scrod" contrary to what New Englanders believe.

Now the question of wild vs. farm raised salmon. Up here there is no farm raised salmon, just like there's virtually no wild salmon in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately the USDA has not yet really stepped into the seafood arena, HACCP certified processors are just as good.

Seafood 101 is now over!

RE: Grouper Scandal (seafarer john)

Sat, 12 Aug 2006 11:32:36 GMT

Thanks , Gordon W, for the item on fake scallops- I spent almost 2 hours yesterday trying to find any citation of the legend and failed - it never occured to me to go to the NY Seafood council, a well known authority that I should have thought of.

I guess the answer is: yes, it has been tried, but probably not successfuly, and yes there are recipes for skate wings that are probably pretty good in their own right.

Cheers, John

RE: Grouper Scandal (oltheimmer)

Sat, 12 Aug 2006 09:43:15 GMT

The article on red snapper is very similar to what was published here 2 or 3 years ago. I remember scarlet snapper and rockfish, apparently also called bay snapper, mentioned as substitutes, but tilapia is the most common.

One local restauranteur claimed he couldn't get red snapper for less than $17-18 a lb. and had to charge $27 as I recall, but those figures were hotly disputed. I use price as a guideline. If a restaurant offers a red snapper dish for $7.95, it's less likely you're going to get real red snapper.

RE: Grouper Scandal (GordonW)

Sat, 12 Aug 2006 00:49:58 GMT

There was the red snapper scam of a few years ago -- lots of fish sold as red snapper in fact is not.

http://research.unc.edu/endeavors/win2005/snapper.php

But the fake scallop thing generally is regarded as legend.

http://www.nyseafood.org/dc.asp?dc_id=52&node_id=231&document_id=3198&func=view_doc

RE: Grouper Scandal (oltheimmer)

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 23:56:06 GMT

There were articles about this a couple of years ago here also, both the substitution of lesser fish and the pork for veal thing. The most common substitutions here were tilapia for red snapper, basa, or 'Vietnamese catfish' for catfish, and Chinese crawfish tails for the much more expensive and much tastier Louisiana crawfish.

RE: Grouper Scandal (seafarer john)

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 22:10:22 GMT

Chef Pisto has an interesting recipe, but tellingly, he does not claim they are scallops - he says they are fake scallops. I stand by my belief that passing off punched out skate wings as scallops is an urban legend.

And, I'm going to ask my fish monger to get me some skate so I can try it for myself to learn what it tastes like - i think I'll like it - I hope I'll like it...

Cheers, John

RE: Grouper Scandal (RibRater)

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 16:50:04 GMT

A chef's recipe for fake scallops?

http://www.restauranteur.com/pistocom/askthechef/2005sept21.htm

RE: Grouper Scandal (Greymo)

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 16:28:44 GMT

Dear Doctor,

I have been reading this forum with great interest as I was first introduced to scrod at a seafood restaurant on my first trip to the ocean along the Mass. coast (years ago). I saw scrod on the menu and could not believe that I had never heard of this fish. I asked the waitress and she told me that it was a name for small white fish that were nice and fresh that the restaurant had been supplied that day.

I was new to liking fish at that time and opted for fried whole belly clams (the first time I had them). I loved them and was so glad that I ordered them. However since that day, I have had scrod at many seafood restaurants and have found it very good.

The only reason that I entered this discussion at all is because I know that the waitress in that restaurant knew what she was talking about and I am sure many other posters do too.

Thank you for your kind wishes. I am having and will continue to have a great day in spite of my advancing age, but wonderful memory.

OOPS see that you have deleted your post directed to me but I will leave this on for your information!

RE: Grouper Scandal (xannie_01)

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 16:26:07 GMT

well, i couldn't find that article, so i cede to seafarer john.
(don't you hate it when you read something and can't
remember where? early senility)

dayle

RE: Grouper Scandal (Tony Bad)

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 16:20:34 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by ctrueder

P.S. Would it be asking too much that we return to the original thread?

Many should print out this quote and read it before pushing that "submit reply" button! It would save us all a lot of watsted reading

RE: Grouper Scandal (mayor al)

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 15:51:36 GMT

Please take your personal disputes to email. Flaming attacks will not be tolerated on the boards.

RE: Grouper Scandal (seafarer john)

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 11:54:43 GMT

According to my CIA Dictionary of Food and Wine, Scrod is a Cod or Haddock under 3 lbs. But it's easy to see how that could convienently be applied to just about any small saltwater fish if the fishmonger chooses to do so.

As to recognizing scallops or their fakes - it's easy. A Scallop has a piece of connective tissue on the side, and is solid in its consistency - no layers, no flakes.-, and most of all, it has a definite flavor unlike any other fish or shellfish.

Those punches you saw at the chandler's shop are used to punch holes in canvas and leather to accept a fitted- in gromet, and to punch bolt holes in gaskets . Not to say they could not be used to punch out circles of some flatish fish if one were inclined to do so. Investigative TV story or not, I still say the punched out skate wing substitute for scallops is an urban legend.

Cheers, John

RE: Grouper Scandal (Fred Ferris)

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 11:51:36 GMT

This happens with Rock Shrimp quite a bit too...I know exectly what it looks/tastes like, and I'm constantly disappointed in places that tout it on their menu, only to serve something completely different..

RE: Grouper Scandal (Coastal Southern)

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 11:51:27 GMT

Although this is something that we have all thought about and feared, it is disturbing to hear confirmation of the same. I am quickly loosing faith in the supply market for fresh seafood. My personal menu is almost exclusively limited to something that i have caught and harvested myself, or when i am lucky enough to be on the dock when fresh catch is coming in and the captain is feeling generous. That is the only way to ensure you are getting what you want to be eating. I know this limits the consumption of fresh seafood and this is the tragedy of the situation. Something i love so much is becoming more and more tainted.

On the other hand i am blessed to have a few great local restaurants that are family owned and operated that i can trust, but i imagine i am becoming the minority in that regard.

It really says a lot about strictly committing to seasonal and local.

RE: Grouper Scandal (ctrueder)

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 11:37:39 GMT

Outstanding lesson on "scrod"!

Straight from the website: http://www.scrod.net/scrod.html

Google is a wonderful way to keep people occupied! [|)]

RE: Grouper Scandal (Michael Hoffman)

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 10:31:49 GMT

There's no such fish as scrod or schrod. It's a made-up word for any white-fleshed saltwater fish. Usually it's used for smaller fish, but not always.