Fish and chips - What is COD?

[team_mongo]

Guys, when you go to the chippie, what is cod?

is it a specific cod species like estuary cod, or is something like hoki dredged up from the depths? Even worse is it basa?

Any ideas?

TM

[WalrusLike]

I dunno.... But I generally ask for Sea Perch but have no idea what it really is... Would love to know.

[Gon Fishun]

I dunno.... But I generally ask for Sea Perch but have no idea what it really is... Would love to know.
Google it. Very interesting. Then you will Know.

[tunaticer]

i usually ask for whiting fillets.

[shy guys]

Most the time you ask for cod you will get flake any ways don't know what your eating

[MudRiverDan]

lot of the times it is a school fish from NZ, they call cod but is not a true cod like an estuary cod.

You can imagine most fish n chip shops sell school fish.

cheers

[Lucky_Phill]

Light reading material for you.

http://www.daff.gov.au/fisheries/domestic/marketing-names#fishnames

http://www.seafood.net.au/page/?pid=305


http://www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au/SeafoodTrading/AustralianFishNames/tabid/263/Default.aspx


cheers

[choppa]

Most the time you ask for cod you will get flake any ways don't know what your eating

lmao,,, an "un-named" fish n chip shop near me has a wonderful way of distinguishing different pieces of fish,,, first they put it all in the same box,,, (saves room in the freezers i 'spose) so if you ask for Cod, it comes outta the box,,, flake,,, same box,,,whiting etc etc etc

BUT they do sell a mean chip,,,

[wayno60]

What is COD? Cash on delivery....
but as to what your eating from the local fush un chup shop, who would know.....still recond it could even be catfish from vietnam..
I never ask for fish from them ill just go the calimari and chips thanks.

[Freeeedom]

I never eat fish from a fish and chip shop. I'll stick with the calamari, prawn cutlets or scallops. At least have some idea what I'm eating.
Cheers Freeeedom

[Spaniard_King]

Catch of the Day

In other words what ever they have that is cheap and they have plenty of

[finga]

What is cod??? Depends on how much your paying I suppose.

[bennykenny]

uaually sea perch will be bassa, cod will be Hoki or Hake or Nile perch, whiting is pretty hard to change the shape of the fillet so you tell if its not whiting.
the thing is with T/A shops is that they generally only use frozen fish, unless they have a good display of fresh whole fish on display, which only usually happens in the bigger seafood shops with a T/A attached.
there is only a limited number of cheaper frozen fish available. And they will all come from OS including barramundi and whiting. but also hoki, hake, nile perch, flake and bassa.
i had a friend of mine who used to work in awell known restaurant at Sanctuary Cove they used to use a cheap fillet of fish which they could cut into 3 portions, the head of the fillet would be one type of fish, the middle of the fillet another type, and the tail piece another.it is absolutley rife in the restaurant industry, i was working in a restaurant in main beach on the gold coast which was selling a piece of a Bassa for $32 dollars and no one ever questioned it.

[Beatsworkin2]

On the money Benny Kenny but Nile perch is normally turned into barra the magic of bread crumbs catch of the day in big operators is normally something on its way out yum nottt

[ifishcq1]

cod at dodgy fish shops in Rocky or c_les and w_olies used to be southern blue cod from NZ and seaperch was generally Viet basa
we must be lucky, all the local beach f&c shops would not dare sell crap because they are kept inline by general public who know fish and they only serve legit stuff
they all have spanish as standard very easy to pick and if not caught locally then from Townsville with specific types of reefies as a special all easily recognisable
There was a door to door sales mob with imported red spot emperor from south east asia (feels like soft basa) trying to pass it off as redthroat it is very easy for joe average to pick the difference and they were shunted from town in short time

cheers

[Cods Whallup]

Had to laugh I had an exgirlfriend that was quite posh and pretentious, one night we were getting fish and chips and she said to me that she only ate sea perch, so no worries i ordered two bits of cod!! She said it was the best sea perch she had ever eaten, it took the smile off her face when i gave her the receipt!!! lol just thought id share that!

[crab man]

I would just ask them , if they cant answer you what it is then leave ! it could be a dog or cat haha

[Willow1]

We are pretty lucky up here in North Queensland with most/ not all fish n chip shops advertising Mackeral (great crumbed). I tried the fish from the fish n chip shops down south, including Tassi last year and wasn't too impressed at all.

[finga]

Had to laugh I had an exgirlfriend that was quite posh and pretentious, one night we were getting fish and chips and she said to me that she only ate sea perch, so no worries i ordered two bits of cod!! She said it was the best sea perch she had ever eaten, it took the smile off her face when i gave her the receipt!!! lol just thought id share that!
Nothing like high maintenance eh matey??
What a cracker of a story and it shows most people would not have a clue what they're eating (including me) :)

[Cods Whallup]

Lol cheers Finga, I love eating fish whether it is mullet or coral trout! It all comes down to how you prepare and cook it, each fish is different and unique with different textures and flavours! If youve got the balls to buy fish and chips then you just have to enjoy the adventure of whatever fish it is and wherever it came from!!!

[Noelm]

OK, here goes my take on the chip shop fish thing, Cod (I reckon) is a throw back to the English fish and chips, I seriously doubt too many fish and chip shops will have decent fresh fish for their "off the shelf" fish, most will buy frozen fish from South Africa (Hake and so on) or Basa, from Vietnam, the main reason being consistant supply and price, there is a few fish that are indeed called something we know well.eg Whiting, the South African whiting has bugger all to do with what we perceive to be that small tasty fish we catch during the summer, I don't think fish and chip shops sell Shark! Shark is simply too dear, and is now an old wife's tale that is still often touted, Victorians do have a bit of Shark, but it is not common north of the border, so if you just wander into a chip shop and ask for some specific species, the owner will of course have just what you asked for already pre cooked ready to drop in the old oil for you, to expect some exotic species is about as naive as you can get, buy it, eat it and forget what the hell it is.

[tropicrows]

OK, here goes my take on the chip shop fish thing, Cod (I reckon) is a throw back to the English fish and chips, I seriously doubt too many fish and chip shops will have decent fresh fish for their "off the shelf" fish, most will buy frozen fish from South Africa (Hake and so on) or Basa, from Vietnam, the main reason being consistant supply and price, there is a few fish that are indeed called something we know well.eg Whiting, the South African whiting has bugger all to do with what we perceive to be that small tasty fish we catch during the summer, I don't think fish and chip shops sell Shark! Shark is simply too dear, and is now an old wife's tale that is still often touted, Victorians do have a bit of Shark, but it is not common north of the border, so if you just wander into a chip shop and ask for some specific species, the owner will of course have just what you asked for already pre cooked ready to drop in the old oil for you, to expect some exotic species is about as naive as you can get, buy it, eat it and forget what the hell it is.

I think you have hit the nail on the head Noelm.
Shark (normally gummy shark) and is called flake in Vic & SA in some states you cant sell shark. I normally ask for my fish to be battered that way I get to choose it from the window display.

[Peter4]

Not quite TC, most flake in Victoria is school shark - a cold water breed that was very common in Bass Straight but like most fish is now under pressure.

Love a good piece of battered flake (and some steamed dimmies in soy sauce) when I visit Victoria...;D

[kingcray]

i would like to throw another q into this thread if i can....... can somebody tell me what these really are??
"Crab balls"
"Seafood sticks"
"seafoood salad" (the stuff they have at the sizzler salad bar)
I have heard of it being everything from processed crab / prawn / fish etc...... to stomach lining of animals such as cows and pigs with seafood stock / colouring......
i still eat it regardless

Dean

[finga]

i would like to throw another q into this thread if i can....... can somebody tell me what these really are??
"Crab balls"
Dean
From anything that has balls AND crabs??

[tropicrows]

Seafood sticks contain ray plus other stuff. And as for crab balls did not know crabs had balls. Also look on the side of a bottle of oyster sauce is says "contains no oysters"

[Noelm]

all of that stuff is made from a product called Surimi, it is a common belief that cheap scallops are made from Stingray flaps and so on, but it is not true, it is a product made from christ knows what (well the link tells you) seafood extender and so on is made from this stuff
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surimi

[Peter4]

Of course not TC - most oyster sauce in Australia is a mushroom sauce made from oyster blade mushrooms...a vegetarian version of true oyster sauce

Badly named IMO...

[mikeyh]

Had a funny restaurant experience years back in Sydney when I still lived there.....was in quite a nice restaurant and ordered barramundi from the menu. The meals came out and I started eating and straight away thought..this isnt barramundi - wrong texture, taste etc. I peeled the coating back to see silvery blue skin with tiny scales. Called the waiter over and said..."this isn't what I ordered" - I believe this is kingfish....after lots of "No sir, it is definitely barramundi as you ordered", they eventually relented and said...."we will give you another meal at no charge as we have no more fish available".

[Noelm]

I reckon you should have had the Kingfish as a bonus, better than any Barra I have eaten.

[Noelm]

By far the worst piece of fish i have ever had in a restaurant was in a high class (read expensive) place and I ordered the "herb crusted Blue Eye on a bed of mash" when I got the fish, it was still rozen hard in the middle, and cindered on the outside, the "chef" must have got it straight out the freezer, passed it over the surface of the sun for a jiffy, then plated it, I complained to the waiter who then went on to explain that all quality fish should be slighly rare in the centre, I then explained, rare and frozen were slightly different things, he examined the meal, apologised and asked if I wanted something else, I said I will re order, but I expect a big discount seeing as my companions would be finished their meal before mine was ready again! I recieved another meal, marginally better than the first, and have never been back since, and never will. This "high class" eatery serves exactly the same pre cooked and frozen Flathead tails as the cheap pub down the road, but at 4 times the price! $45 for "fish and chips" when it is all said and done, the pub has the same meal, with salad and chips for $12 and has a view of the harbour and cheap drinks too.

[lethal]

As a chef i have seen many changed names of fish, cod is usually hake or hoki. I dont change the name of fish but i started at a hotel on the south side of town and changed the nile perch that was being served as barra. I sent out real barra and was amazed at how many customers that had been eating there for years complaining "that it isn't barra, i know barra, i've been eating it here for 10 years." We didnt have the heart to tell them they had been getting ripped off but instead reassured them it said barra on the box.

I reckon you guys are funny complaining about basa and ordering the chinese bleached squid rings instead.

[MudRiverDan]

Seafood sticks contain ray plus other stuff. And as for crab balls did not know crabs had balls. Also look on the side of a bottle of oyster sauce is says "contains no oysters"
Seafood sticks/crab-sticks/seafood extender have a good quantity of cow tripe in em (most probably more tripe than seafood)..

Dan

[mikeyh]

I generally avoid ordering fish in any restaurant as I am invariably so disappointed..like Noel says, reheated frozen. I also love it in fish shops when you ask them..is this fish fresh or frozen..and they say its fresh frozen. I say..so its frozen..no fresh frozen. I wait toill I get fresh fish that I or mates have caught

[phantomphisher]

Seashells cafe has served us raw fish and chicken on the same night. went back once more for brekky and the spinach had not been washed. NEVER going there again.

[kingcray]

Seafood sticks/crab-sticks/seafood extender have a good quantity of cow tripe in em (most probably more tripe than seafood)..

Dan

Thats what i thought Dan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surimi <-- this doesnt really tell you that though..

[ifishcq1]

I reckon you guys are funny complaining about basa and ordering the chinese bleached squid rings instead.

I don't ever buy squid because we get it fresh here regularly but the main difference between the two and the main reason for basa being a substandard fish is the stories about the amount of antibiotics and female hormones in the growout ponds that viet catfish basa are raised in, I don't know I have never been there but the stories are enough for most of us
when you say bleached squid the majority of commercial squid comes from well offshore and even if it is bleached it is only soaking the cleaned squid hoods in a strong brine for several hours and not in chemicals as the term bleached squid suggests
even fake squid rings are usually arrow squid which is pulped up then reconstituted in a mould to get it all the same size and weight before crumbing
cheers

[sandbankmagnet]

I've bought bbq sauce and never got a bbq out of it. Geez I was annoyed. Not as much as when someone wanted to show me a booby bird though. But it makes up for it when I eat mud crab. Parrot fish was better than I thought it would be but I was not as relieved as when someone wanted to give me a big knobby to eat to find out it was a fish.

Seriously though, we were at Mooloolabah on the weekend and got fish and chips from the mob at the end of the spit. We ordered snapper and they had it in the window. Tasted great and I know it was the real deal, since they need to teach their cleaner how to scale and skin a bit better. They did have fresh fish for sale in the same shop too, so I'm guessing it's the stuff that's on the cusp of what they would freeze or on sell. Squid was great and the crumbed prawns were tops and they gave us 6 when we payed for 4. I think you have to go to the mobs with direct access to trawlers that go through plenty of product.

[Noelm]

Seafood sticks/crab-sticks/seafood extender have a good quantity of cow tripe in em (most probably more tripe than seafood)..

Dan
Nope, no tripe, that is an urban myth, just the same as scallops being made from ray flaps, it just isnt the case, in fact, "proper" scallops can be brought in from Indonesia far cheaper than any ray flaps can be purchased here in Aus, the "manufactured" scallops/crab sticks/calamari rings and so on are made that way to cater for the non fish eater types, they produce consistant product that has a good shelf life, and in constant supply at the same price, that's why we have this tuff in the first place.

[Noelm]

OH and "sandbankmagnet" I kind of think that places near Trawlers and so on tend to want you to think you are getting fresh stuff straight from the boat, when in fact they have the same frozen shit purchased through various wholesalers, just like the guy 20 miles from a wharf!

[charleville]

I've bought bbq sauce and never got a bbq out of it. Geez I was annoyed. Not as much as when someone wanted to show me a booby bird though. But it makes up for it when I eat mud crab. Parrot fish was better than I thought it would be but I was not as relieved as when someone wanted to give me a big knobby to eat to find out it was a fish.



Best LOL I have had all day. Thanks heaps!


Reading these pages makes me think that the professional fishermen must be very disappointed at the prices that they receive for premium fish species. Based on what I read here, pretty well every fish'n'chip shop in Australia is run by underhanded crooks who would substitute tyre rubber for coral trout if only they knew how to bleach the stuff and add a bit of flavour.


With all of the substitution of basa and ray for quality fish, there must obviously be a premium being paid in the market for basa and ray and poor prices for the quality fish, based on supply and demand. That is how markets work.


I regularly buy fish'n'chips from my local Vietnamese owned fish'n'chip shop. I usually get coral trout, labelled as being Indonesian in origin. It seems damn fine to me. I have no doubt that I am getting what I pay for. They are good people.

[Noelm]

Not too sure where all the business about ray flaps being used for all sorts of things comes from, rays have a very distince flesh 'structure" and as such, do not lend themselves as a good swap for anything (not that it does not go on) Basa is primarily used because it is white (sometimes artificially white) has no bones, and no fishy flavour (much like Barra I suppose) the other South African and NZ species (Hake and Hoki and "Cod") and the like are used because they are cheap, plentiful and easy to process, and have no scales to remove either, and appeal to a large section of the "fish and chip" buying public, they have a mild flavour, are a nice shape for cooking. those who go to a road side fish and chip shop and expect to get a just caught fillet of Coral Trout and going to be sadly disappointed, their business is to cater for the person who wants to just walk in, ask for such and such, pay a modest amount and go and sit on a park bench or the sea side and enjoy a nice, quick meal at a good price, they do not expect to be some sort of CSI detective and examine every item they have purchased to ensure it is really some sort exact species, or some sort of processed squid or whatever, it is what it is, fish and chips is around 5-6 dollars in most locations except those at a local wharf where they can charge a big amount because it is straight off the boat!

[bennykenny]

yeah charlie there are some good frozen product out there aswell, coral trout , gold band snapper and emperor coming from that region and it is very reasonably priced. some of the shops will use it, but you do pay for it, so you know if your paying $5.50 for fish and chips its not going to be one of them.

[MudRiverDan]

Nope, no tripe, that is an urban myth, just the same as scallops being made from ray flaps, it just isnt the case, in fact, "proper" scallops can be brought in from Indonesia far cheaper than any ray flaps can be purchased here in Aus, the "manufactured" scallops/crab sticks/calamari rings and so on are made that way to cater for the non fish eater types, they produce consistant product that has a good shelf life, and in constant supply at the same price, that's why we have this tuff in the first place.

When I worked at an abattoir that was the case,,
maybe not always, I must say the Asian crabby things at China town taste ok and actually have a real crab claw in them with meat in it.

Cheers

Dan

[phantomphisher]

Once went to an RSL and ordered whiting. Was triangular in shape and tasted surprisingly like flake... looked (was) exactly like the fish on everyone elses plates, despite the fact that there were some 20 species of fish on the menu.
what I hate is that they don't have the basic decency to tell their customers that they are out of everything but flake. and they still charged more for the poor bugger who though that he would have something nice to eat. Luckily we were travelling to that place so hopefully won't have to eat there again

[charleville]

yeah charlie there are some good frozen product out there aswell, coral trout , gold band snapper and emperor coming from that region and it is very reasonably priced. some of the shops will use it, but you do pay for it, so you know if your paying $5.50 for fish and chips its not going to be one of them.



Yup - that seems a fair assessment. At my local fish'n'chips shop, I pay $8 for Indonesian coral trout, $8.50 for sea perch. By comparison, the cheapest fish is Basa at $6. Why would anyone order Basa? The price difference is not significant; especially when the order is quite generous and also includes extras like a half dozen prawn cutlets and a half dozen scallops.


I don't have any concerns about the quality at that shop. Cleaniness is pretty good also under the current Vietnamese ownership - much better than it was under the daggy Aussie who sold it to become a cleaner at a major shopping centre.


.

[nigelr]

Personally I reckon real flake, often wobbegong hereabouts, is prime eating when cooked in a batter; I rue the day they made wobbegong a no-take for recs in NSW.
Our local co-op also has a 'hot' shop, best fish and chips in town!
Wouldn't our best wild-caught fish be sold overseas? Thought that was why we have to import basa, nile perch etc.....

[MudRiverDan]

Personally I reckon real flake, often wobbegong hereabouts, is prime eating when cooked in a batter; I rue the day they made wobbegong a no-take for recs in NSW.
Our local co-op also has a 'hot' shop, best fish and chips in town!
Wouldn't our best wild-caught fish be sold overseas? Thought that was why we have to import basa, nile perch etc.....

I always thought they were a no take in QLD until I looked up the DPI.

Bit strange,, I wouldn't take one but would try a shovel, they say they are good.

Dan

[Lancair]

It appears to me that local fish n chip shops sell what their average Joe punter will buy. There's a few locally and all but one are selling mostly the frozen imported stuff for all the reasons posted. The local Co-Op, where one would think youd get the best product, is far from the best. It was explained to me the the Co-Op's goal is to get the best price for the members ie: pro fisherman. Thats to be had in Sydney markets and internationally, not locally thats for sure.
There's a wholesaler/retailer that is better than average with usually a good selection of local fresh seafood etc. The best fish shop (no t/a cooked food tho) in the district is in Byron Bay. Where people WILL pay top dollar for seafood, he always has the likes of fresh tuna, kingfish, blue eye, hapuka, fresh green prawns, lobster etc.

[Lucky Loz]

When my old man used to run a fish and chip shop 40 years ago the Cod was in frozen boxes from Sth Afrika. Big white firm flesh fillets that had to be cut into 3 or 4 pieces to sell . Always tasted great. Now you only see the Smoked Cod in Coles and Woolies from Sth Africa. The fillets are of a fairly consistent small size , so could now be farmed. Now most places I go sell N.Z Hoki for Cod and its not bad I think.

[tunaticer]

Over the Christmas break, my Mrs and I dropped into the Red Dolphin Seafood T/A at Margate for a quick and easy bit of F&C for a change.
Ordered two pieces of snapper, four sea scallops and a min serve of chips plus two chocolate milk shakes. Total price was $41.30!!! The "snapper" was most likely snapper seeing them in the window prior to purchase and they battered them to cook. The fillet size was not quite as big as my hand and relatively thin, so obviously from barely legal fish unless it was cut down from a larger specimen.

I probably go to a takeaway only once a year unless I am away on holidays and even then i prefer to eat at small restaurants or in my camp/unit.

[Fish_gutz]

Morgans @ scarborough can`t even put aussie fish in their seafood basket. it`s some rot from south africa and personally it tasted like crap. never again for this black duck.