Southern Ocean Deep Sea Flathead
Flathead, so named for their (very) flatheads, are (like all bass strait to plate fishes) wild caught, mainly by trawl on the continental shelf (in our case the bit that juts into the Bass Strait). Southern Ocean Deep Sea flat head are endemic to Australia. Meaning if you see a deep sea flat head that is not product of Australia, it’s probably not flathead.
Flathead has a low oil content which results in fine, flaked flesh. Low oil content also means it is a very ‘non fishy’ tasting fish. Or as the chef people might like to say “a delicate fish”.
Flathead is so fabulous that you can pretty much cook any fish meal you like with it. However, it is a firm favourite in the battered, crumbed and grilled chef options because of that delicate flesh. That means that baking it is not a great option (you may dry it out) and whacking it in a curry may do it a disservice. If you are aspiring to the next season of master chef, or have already won season 2 – knock your socks off and do what you like with it – you’ll love it!
Bass Strait Blue – Eye Trevalla
Blue – Eye Trevalla, so named for their blue skin and rather large eyes, are like all Bass Strait To Plate fishes, wild caught on the continental shelf. In our case the bit that juts into the Bass Strait off the western end of Victoria.
Bass Strait to Plate has included Blue-Eye Trevalla in the product range because it provides an excellent counter point to the delicate Deep Sea Flathead. The Blue-Eye Trevalla has firm, slightly oily white flesh that can withstand cubing, cutting and dicing. It can also look gorgeous pan-fried with that deep blue skin still on (so long as there is enough butter and heat involved for lovely crispy skin). Baking it in the oven with a crust of something herby or nutty suits its fat slightly oily fillets perfectly. Even the amateur chef will have a hard time drying it out.
Another benefit of snap frozen at the source Australian fish fillets is that, because you only defrost them when you are ready to eat them, if you are up for cutting and dicing of your fish fillets, you can do so when they are still slightly frozen. Like the best sushi chefs do. It allows you to have fine knife skills even if you haven’t quite worked out how to sharpen your knives like a samurai on a naked steel!
Discovery Bay Pipi
Discovery Bay Pipi is Bass Strait to Plate’s newest product. Discovery Bay Pipi are hand harvested in the intertidal zone of Discovery Bay. Discovery Bay is in the remote South West of Victoria. It is adjacent to the Bass Strait. It is also mostly adjacent to the Discovery Bay Coastal Park National Park. This means the intertidal zone water where the pipi are harvested is some of the cleanest water you can possibly imagine any where it the world. You should also know that it’s my Dad who hand harvests the pipis- so he only picks the best spots and the best pipi. Pipi are also a fantastically sustainable seafood. Pipi have very short life cycles, because there are hand harvested there is zero by-catch, and they are under sustainable stock management.
Pipi might be a bit confronting for some people. However, once you give them a bit of a go you will find they are super easy to cook and deal with (and I would not necessarily say the same things about all shellfish - I don’t really recommend shucking your own oysters if you are not an expert…..). You really just have to rinse them, and then throw them into any old pot and put the lid on and wait til they open up. You will also find that suddenly, a proper marina is something that you can aspire to in 5 minutes flat. Well except for the cooking of the actual pasta.
Portland Crumbed Squid Rings
Did you know that we think this is the only Australian caught and crumbed squid ring in Australia? Yep, that’s right. Every other crumbed squid ring, in every shop that we have checked, is crumbed in China (or Vietnam, or Thailand, or Korea). Mostly from squid that is also caught in those places, but also often from squid caught in New Zealand but which is shipped to Asia for processing.
Did you know that the people who make the Australian caught and crumbed squid rings for Bass Strait To Plate (and yep that’s my mum) were the pioneers of squid jigging in Australia. One of the most sustainable forms of fishing. This is because squid have very short life spans and jigging has extremely limited bycatch.
BSTP crumbed squid rings represent great value for money, and the best quality Friday night take out you can imagine. You just have to cook them in about a centimetre of hot oil in a frying pan on your stove top. From frozen. If you pick up a packet of each other piece of Bass Strait To Plate super fresh fishes, the crumbed squid rings ensure you have a proper fisher (persons) basket.
