The doorbell rang the other day. It was a door to door fish salesman - or rather the advance man who asked if I wanted some fish - if so, the salesman would call in a few minutes. I've seen these guys around north London a couple of times before, although I dont know whether this was the same person who called a few months back, when I was just going away for the weekend, so didnt want to buy. Like the others, they've got broad Geordie accents and says they are down selling fish from North Shields. When the second man arrives a few minutes later, he's got a basket full of largish, clingfilm-wrapped packets of what he tells me are cod, monkfish, haddock, salmon, sea bass etc for £9.80 each, which seems like good value since there's probably enough for four portions. I assume that he is happy to sell everything at that price - the economics work by putting less fish in the packets of the more expensive ones. The guy is friendly and there's no pressure to buy. He's got a white fishmongers jacket and a name on the breast pocket and shows me something which is labelled sea bass, but I look closer at it and it doesnt look like any sea bass I've ever bought - the skin is dullish green, with a line down the middle, not the bright check of a bass. In fact, it looks more like a cod or perhaps pollock. I dont think that's sea bass, I say, the packet must be mislabelled. He shrugs, doesnt say anything and continues rifling throught the packs. I should have picked up on this and pursued the point. He shows me a pack of what he says is John Dory - my kind of fish and one you dont see that often. This doesn't look like cod but I cant see the distinctive spot that appears on the side, I assume it's hidden by the way the fillet is folded. But the packet is labelled Tusk. What's this I ask? "It's Tusk, what we call John Dory up north. Big ugly, spiny things.'' He jabs his finger at the packet 'You'll see the spot there when you open it, they all have it.'' He's talking about the right fish anyway, and, although I've never heard of Tusk, who am I to disagree. He mentions a couple of other local names for monkfish and he says that herrings up there are called "finneys' or something like that. Fine. I give him a tenner and tell him to keep the change.
Its only later when I unwrap the pack that I realise that this is not John Dory. It's the wrong shape and had clearly come off a long, rather than round, fish. Two minutes research on the net tells me that Tusk, also known as Cusk, or to give the Latin name Brosme Brosme, is one of those obscure members of the Cod family found commonly on both sides of the northern North Atlantic. I know a bit about fish, but not that much, I'm afraid. And its never been an alternate name for John Dory. Although it is listed in official 'catch' records for fish markets, Tusk does not see, to be fished in huge numbers, mainly because its a slow moving bottom feeder and never gathers in sufficient quantities to be trawler friendly. And neither does it have any particular reputation for food, so you wont see it in your local fishshop. Alan Davidson, the authority on such matters, devotes scant mention to it in his definative North Atlantic Seafood, giving only one recipe, although he does say it is said to be good smoked. But I suspect that most Tusk caught by trawlers looking for cod or haddock has always gone straight into 'seafood products' or pet food because it does not have the same texture or taste as what the trade likes to call 'prime' fish.
However, as we all know, cod and haddock have been awfully overfished and we should be all be trying out less well known species, like pollock. But not Tusk, which gets top rating of 5 the Marine Conservation Society Fish to Avoid list, because it is a slowing growing, low reproductive capacity fish and stocks are low.
But, as I said in my earlier posting on hake, once a fish that should not have been caught has been caught and bought, in my view letting it go to waste only compounds the crime. So we ate the Tusk, cooked, as I had intended to cook the John Dory, by simply frying it on a griddle plate and serving with a salsa verde and some fried potatoes. It was nice, actually, a bit like pollock, although I'm not sure I'd want to eat it that often.
So, back to my door to door salesman. What was going on there? It seems inconcievable that he made a mistake but was he really a fish salesman for P.Youngs Fish, the name on his coat and the label on the packet? I wanted to remonstrate with them, but there's no listed telephone number in North Shields for P.Youngs Fish. The label also says it was packed by Peter Kinnal, Wholesale Fish Merchant with a telephone number in North Shields. I've rung it several times, but there is no reply. Did the salesman assume that I would not realise the con - which I now suspect it was - when I opened the pack? But, if that's the case, why put a traceable label on it? Was it really his fish to sell? Or is the label a con as well?
I'm still not sure what to think - apart from the sea bass, the rest of the fish in his basket looked exactly what he said it was - its difficult to mistake salmon or smoked haddock, although I didnt look closely at the monkfish. Still kicking myself for not being more alert, I'll pursue this further. But if these guys are conning, are they the same ones who called before? Or who used to call on my neighbours down in Holloway? Why con and come back? Its against the rules. As he left, I asked the salesman when he would be back. "Oh aye, we're down this way every nine weeks or so, I'll put you on my list...'' Fine, I'll be waiting for a little chat, my friend.