In Cod We Trust

My recent trip to Newfoundland was really spectacular. From sea kayaking in Trinity Bay, hiking many miles of the East Coast Trail (http://www.eastcoasttrail.com/), a boat tour (and a Dildo Island boat tour at that....thanks Gerald and Dennis), a winery tour (http://www.rodrigueswinery.com), live Irish music, a garden party, touring the Cape Shore including Cape St. Mary's, camping at La Manche park, cod fishing, dining out at Bacalou (2 impressive meals), and spending quality time with family and friends...I really was able to do it all. When people have since asked me if I did get to do all that I wanted, I jokingly say I didn't eat enough fish and chips. On second thought, that's no joke...I didn't eat enough fish and chips!

While my waistline is probably thanking me, I was limited to only a single "feed" of fish and chips...and what a meal it was! While I had plans to get fish and chips in St. John's, and also possibly on the southern shore, I knew my first choice had to be my old stompin grounds out around the bay in my hometown of Green's Harbour. Until recently, this restaurant/take-out was known as Taylor's (and probably always will be in my mind) but has since been sold and renamed to "CJ's". It's good to know however that they still have the same cook behind the closed door, dishing out what I could tell were the same recipes, although I did find that the fish batter had improved, as it was a little thinner and lighter. This place really has the best chips, dressing and gravy I've ever had, and their fried chicken is also outstanding. It's better than Mary Brown's and that's saying something (my sister gave me once of her wings and it was better than I rememmbred). On this occasion however I needed to have the deep fried cod, and the 3 piece dinner at that, with dressing and gravy. Served with a tasty creamy coleslaw, and some peas and carrots, and tarter sauce, it was a meal fit for a bayman prince. The cod was super fresh and the batter was crispy. I don't usually order 3 pieces of fish but I inhaled this meal and had room for more (even on top of the wing and two glasses of Black Horse beer). It's really too bad I can't find deep fried fish like this here in New York and New England. I'm going to have to start making it for myself as a treat once a month!

Besides the deep fried cod, I did have cod more than once while I was home. The best of the bunch had to be the pan fried cod I cooked on the second last day of my trip, using cod my wife, father-in-law and myself caught that afternoon, on the first day of the food fishery. For appetizers we had succulent cod tongues and cheeks with a lemon/malt vinegar tarter sauce, and for the main meal we feasted on morsels of pan fried cod, oven baked fries, peas, gravy, and fresh corn. There really is nothing like eating extremely fresh fish, cooked the day it comes out of the water. For my money, cod is king when it comes to my favorite type of fish to cook and eat.

I am still excited for having the opportunity to get out on the water, and catch cod this summer. It really is a shame that Newfoundlanders only get a couple weeks a year to get out and do the same, to put food on their tables, in their freezers, and in their bellies, when the inshore cod fishery and hand lining is such an intrinsic part of our culture, our heritage and way of life. While I don't know if there will ever be any more than this for our "food fishery" at least we have it. It could be worse I suppose.

Jiggs Dinner/New England Boiled Dinner...Part I

This wouldn't be much of a blog on Newfoundland and New England cuisine if I didn't dedicate a couple of entries to Jiggs Dinner, New England Boiled Dinner or whatever it is you call your salty cured meat boiled along side a crop of winter vegetables. As promised in an earlier post, here it is, well Part I at least. For this post I'll talk a little about these classic regional dishes, notably the different names given to each, as well as the differences in their ingredients and preparation. Both dishes are a derivative of "Corned Beef and Cabbage", a dish associated with Ireland. While New England Boiled Dinner has not wavered much from the original, Newfoundland's version, faithfully called Jiggs Dinner, is a little more unique.

It is generally agreed these days that the name Jiggs Dinner, referring to the common Newfoundland meal of salt beef (or salt pork spare ribs), boiled vegetables and steamed pudding got its name from the popular comic strip "Bringing Up Father", which began back in the early 1900s. In that comic, the main character was an Irish lad named Jiggs, whose favorite meal was corned beef and cabbage. While the Newfoundland version does not have corned beef, but instead uses a fattier cut of trimmed naval beef (cured), the similarities were obviously close enough that the label of Jiggs Dinner stuck somewhere along the way and became entrenched in Newfoundland food lore.

Besides being called Jiggs Dinner, Newfoundlander's also call this dish consisting of slat meat, cabbage, potatoes, carrot, yellow turnip (actually rutabaga) turnip greens, and pudding (yellow split pea is most common, but a blueberry or figgy duff is also traditional), boiled dinner, and salt meat dinner. For my family, and like many other from across the province, this meal was often accompanied with a roasted piece of meat (chicken stuffed with savory and onion dressing, pork or beef) and served on Sunday's...every Sunday! Traditional condiments for the meal include mustard pickles and pickled beets. For this meal of the extra fresh meat and delicious gravy, the term Jiggs Dinners may be dropped and replaced by "cooked dinner" or "Sunday Dinner". Finally, it is quite important to cook plenty so there are ample leftovers for hash on Monday! Somewhere along the way in history, Newfoundland became associated with the fatty cut of trimmed naval beef we know as "salt meat" instead of the leaner and meatier corned beef. It probably had much to do with price and the relationship between what merchants made available to Newfoundland outport fisherman and also to what would last the longest in the brine. Most Newfoundlander's though do not seem to mind and are "salt beef junkies" through and through.

Moving south to New England, or "the Boston States" as often refereed to back in the day by Newfoundlanders and Maritimers alike, the traditional boiled dinner consists of corned beef (usually brisket, either a flat cut or point cut piece, but also a cut of round) and many of the same winter vegetables, notably cabbage, potatoes, carrots, turnip, parsnips and beets. What we don't see are the use of steamed puddings, roasted meat and gravy does not get paired with the meal, and a new range of condiments are used to accompany the meal.

Here is a comparison breakdown:
Newfoundland Jiggs Dinner .............. New England Boiled Dinner

Meat

Salt Beef (trimmed naval beef) .....................Corned Beef
or Salt Pork Spare Ribs ..................................(flat cut/point cut brisket/round)

Veggies

Cabbage ..........................................................Cabbage
Potatoes (often blue spuds) .........................Potatoes
Carrot.............................................................. Carrot
Rutabaga .........................................................Turnip
Turnip (Rutabaga) Greens ...........................Parsnip
Onion ...............................................................Onion
...........................................................................Beets
...........................................................................Brussel Sprouts

Side Dishes

Pease Pudding (Yellow Split Peas)
Figgy Duff
Blueberry Duff
Bread Pudding
Potato Cakes with salt pork belly
Roast of chicken, pork or beef
Savory Dressing

Condiments

Pickled Beets ....................................................Grainy Mustard
Mustard Pickles ...............................................Mustard Pickles
Gravy ................................................................Vinegar
.............................................................................Horseradish


So there it is, the differences between Jiggs Dinner and New England Boiled Dinner. This past Sunday I made my own version of these dishes, a bit of a fusion between the two. I have fallen in love with corned beef. While I've always loved the flavor salt beef put on this meal, I've always thought it to be too fatty and not meaty enough for my taste. Corned beef fits the bill and makes for some awesome hash, not to mention Reuben sandwiches.

Stay tuned as I'll be posting a write up of that delicious meal in the next day or two. Here's a picture to tide you over.