Gefilte-Fishing at home

In my family Gefilte Fish is an obsession. Twice a year my mishpocha gathers at my mother's house to engage in the 6-7 hour process of making the fish. We argue about the same thing each year, is it seasoned enough? is the mix of fish proper? do we save the stock? is it kosher to eat gefilte fish when it is still hot? We don't have the answers but we make damn good fish. And we do eat it hot, because after a full day of stinking up the house, you've got to try your product. Bless my mom, it is always perfection.

We start with 30 pounds of fish. This year it was 25 pounds of whitefish and 5 pounds of trout. Sometimes we add five pounds of pike if it looks good. My cousins swear in years gone by that our grandparents also used "sucker" in the mix for its fattiness. Growing up my grandmother used to grind her own but in a nod to the modern age we have the fish monger grind for us. Reserving heads, tails and bones 30 pounds of fish yields 15 pounds or so of meat. The rest goes into the stock that you have got to get going early.



While the stock is simmering the fish is mixed with chopped onions. The onions add liquid to the fish which then has to be skimmed away by hand.



Once the liquid is skimmed away the fish is whacked in small batches with egg, matzoh meal, white and black pepper and kosher salt.



Once the desired texture is reached, matzoh meal is added to firm up the fish, one brave soul samples the raw fish mixture to test the seasoning. Here is the fish pre-boil.



Next you shape the gefilte fish into palm size portions



By this time your stock should be at a gentle boil and ready to accept your little fishies for their 2.5 hours of cooking.



Simmer away for the next 2.5 hours and this is how they should look when all is said and done.



We then transfer the fish outside to let it cool.



Add some thinly sliced carrots and you have the finished product.



Ahh, pesach. They tried to kill us, but we survived. Lets eat.

Brava!

Does the stock turn into gel when it cools or does it remain liquid?

Otherwise, I am absolutely speechless. Great effort and wonderful post.

iblock9 wrote:Once the desired texture is reached, matzoh meal is added to firm up the fish, one brave soul samples the raw fish mixture to test the seasoning.

To more accurately test the seasonings, you may consider either a brief cook in the microwave or simmering a small quantity in salted water. It will be a more faithful replication than eating the seasoned fish raw.

Thank you for your efforts documenting the family cooking ritual.

Regards,

gastro gnome wrote:Does the stock turn into gel when it cools or does it remain liquid?.

This used to happen when we were kids but doesn't any longer. The speculation is that the absence of sucker or some subtle manipulation (ie adding gelatin) is the reason. We don't miss the gelatininess one bit.

Cathy2 wrote: To more accurately test the seasonings, you may consider either a brief cook in the microwave or simmering a small quantity in salted water

And deprive someone the joy of eating the mix raw? Probably a good idea although many generations of a genetic predisposition toward hardheadness will most likely prevent its implementation.

BTW I just had a piece this morning for breakfast and it was outstanding.

iblock9 wrote:BTW I just had a piece this morning for breakfast and it was outstanding.

Iblock9,

If the gefilte fish tastes half as good as it looks I can only imagine the deliciousness.

Wonderful post, brought back warm memories of my grandmothers kitchen.

Enjoy,
Gary

Thank you for the great presentation.

iblock9 wrote:

We then transfer the fish outside to let it cool.

I did a double take when I looked at this again this morning. Are those floaters, or are those pots all filled to the brim? What was the yield on 30 lbs of fish? Looks like it would feed a minion for a 2 weeks' worth of Seders!

gastro gnome wrote:Are those floaters, or are those pots all filled to the brim?

No floaters. There were well over 100 pieces of fish in those 3 pots. 35 people on the first night and 18 on night two. Plus extras for left overs. We always over do it a bit.

iblock9,

Wonderful job on the fish!

Nine years ago, after twenty years of experience working in high end hotels and clubs, I took the job as chef of The Standard Club of Chicago. By trial and error, I've figured out how to produce the classics in high volume without sacrificing quality. I have memories of my mother's gefilte fish, which is what I base my version on, but back in those days, I had no interest in the fish other than enjoying it every Pesach. I had to rely on classic Jewish cookbooks as well as experimentation.

I made 150 lbs. of gefilte fish a few days ago. We average between 1000 and 1100 covers between our dining room buffet, about 25 private seders, and to-go orders. I ordered 150 lbs. whitefish and 150 lbs. walleye pike, and had it sent already filleted, in order for my butcher to grind. Just as you say, the yield is about 50%. 300 lbs. whole fish = 150 lbs. of fillets. One year, I included 1/3 carp which I believe is classic, and I wasn't at all pleased with the color.

Some of our veteran cooks talk about an older club member, who came in and supervised the gefilte fish production
for many years and used buffalo fish for the broth.

We mix our fish, eggs, matzo meal, grated onion and seasonings in 4 batches in a Hobart 80 qt. mixer and then pat out in oval patties. I taste the mixture batch by batch in it's raw state. Starting a week out, our production saucier makes 3 ea. 200 lb. batches of fish fumet using snapper, grouper or halibut bones which we purchase. When I say trial and error, I learned the hard way that when preparing such a large quantity, you never have enough broth. If anything, the ocean fish fumet is cleaner, lighter in color and flavor, as well as less fatty than using the fresh water fish bones. We poach the fish in 60 gallon steam jacketed kettles and remove after several hours of simmering. Gelatin is added and the broth is quickly cooled in a cooling tank, stirring frequently. I test the strength of the jelly by freezing a small amount on a sheet pan.

You'd think that 600 lbs. worth of fish fumet would yield a very gelatinous broth, but I still need to add between one and two pounds to achieve a nice jellied consistency.

We typically do 500 pounds of first cut brisket for the holidays, which is now supplied to us by Excel, thanks to being turned on to it by GWiv.

Today we rolled and cooked about 5000 or so petite matzo balls. Our 100 gallons of double chicken consomme was finished last week and frozen. Tomorrow, 80 lbs of chopped liver, which will be finished with 2 to 3 gallons of duck fat from Hudson Valley Foie Gras Co.

iblock9, I enjoyed reading about your gefilte fish experience. Have a wonderful holiday.

Ronnie,

Thank you for the praise. I have tasted your gefilte fish many times and I agree that you have not sacrificed quality in the least in spite of the quantity. For those of you that are not aware, The Standard Club has excellent food. Your matzoh ball soup is particularly good.

We have played around with the fish mix too. We find that whitefish suits our palates, and collective memories, the best. We are sacrificing a bit of tradition by forgoing the gelatin, but we find that we now prefer it that way. The consensus opinion is that the fish tastes "fresher."

When we add the onions we remove a lot of liquid before mixing it up with the other ingredients. I forgot to mention that we reserve that liquid and add a little back in as needed if we find that the final mix is too dry. I cant imagine how you deal with the onion liquid when dealing with such a large quantity.

Making the fish has turned into a treasured family experience. This year we had lots of little gefilte fish makers with their hands in the fish making the patties. We also make up a huge, and I mean huge, batch of matzoh brei for lunch.

Great Post! Thanks-Dick

Thanks, iblock, for taking the time to document your process. I've done this before with low success (lots of work, so-so results) and I think your pictorial is just enough to get me to try it again (and hopefully get it right this time).

=R=

Beautiful - my favorite is the homey shot of all those pots on the porch. Lovely.

Evil Ronnie-

I had no idea of your background, and will pay attention to your posts accordingly.

I was lucky to be taken to the Standard Club a number of times by my boss, Ferd Kramer of the real estate company Draper and Kramer. The club had a magnificant kitchen back then - the early 60's - and I'm sure it still is.

Mike

Just had to bring this thread back up to the top. What a wonderful effort! Maybe it will inspire someone this year . --Joy

Great to see this again. It is inspiring, and sounds like a lovely family experience.

On the other hand, my bubbe always used to use the fish from the jar and doctor it up. The few times I tried making gefilte fish from scratch, after all my efforts, the results were no better than my bubbe's doctored-up version. (Basically, she reboiled the commercial stuff with added vegetables and seasonings.)

The one recipe I've made that seemed worth the work is the baked gefilte fish from Hyman Goldberg's "Our Man in the Kitchen," which is quite unique -- very different from the traditional style.

I have since taken to making my own Gefilte fish.
I have not found a good source for whitefish whole, indeed the one i purchased from Fresh Farms, I discarded while filleting as it was not up to my standards.
What I have been sucessful with is using farm raised salmon fillet.
For liquid reduction, I chop the onions and squeeze the liquid out in a cloth bag.
The fish are processed in a food processor with no loss of texture in the final product that we can detect.
The poaching liquid is a simple vegetable fumet.
The finished product is certainly comparable to the stuff sold commercially in jars but I would suppose that it would not be as good as someones traditional version.
If I can find a decent source for some pike and whitefish with bones, that is next on my list.-Dick

I made what my Aunt Louise called "gefilte fish pate" today for tomorrow's Seder. The fish comes from Robert's Kosher Fish Market on Devon. I love how Arturo, who took over from the original Robert, has his Yiddish humor down pat. When I placed the order, I asked if he'd be open today, the Sunday before the holiday. "Only for you," he told me.

The recipe is here. This is a double batch.

My ingredients:


After finely chopping the carrot and onion, I add them to the ground fish, beaten eggs, seasonings, and matzo meal:


All mixed up and ready to go


In their water bath, ready to be covered with foil.


Cooked and ready.


I put these in the fridge until tomorrow and will slice it up for everyone. We'll serve it with Aunt Louise's sauce and horseradish. We can remember her and enjoy some fantastic fish. Happy Passover!

EvA, this is very lovely! Thanks for the photos! I had already a copy of Aunt Louise's recipe from you earlier post but the photos make it look quite doable. --Joy

EvA-I just made it!! Looks absolutely lovely --I added a few things to the fish mix-- some cilantro and celery leaves--and a bit more cilantro, a few dashes of fish sauce, a splash of rice vinegar and a generous spoonful of sambal oelek to the sauce. I'll let you know how it turns out but the sauce is delicious already and the pâté set up perfectly. Thanks for sharing the recipe and pics!!

Joy wrote:EvA, this is very lovely! Thanks for the photos! I had already a copy of Aunt Louise's recipe from you earlier post but the photos make it look quite doable. --Joy

Thanks, Joy. It's not hard at all, especially if you have the fishmonger grind the fish for you. I'm glad the pictures helped; finally, my first post with photos. It's beyond cliched, I know, but my college-aged son helped me .

boudreaulicious wrote:EvA-I just made it!! Looks absolutely lovely --I added a few things to the fish mix-- some cilantro and celery leaves--and a bit more cilantro, a few dashes of fish sauce, a splash of rice vinegar and a generous spoonful of sambal oelek to the sauce. I'll let you know how it turns out but the sauce is delicious already and the pâté set up perfectly. Thanks for sharing the recipe and pics!!

Sounds excellent, boudreaulicious! The recipe is not spicy at all, as befits one from a 1960s-suburban Jewish hostess, so I'm sure your additions will be good. I follow Aunt L's pretty faithfully because that's what the whole family expects. I am happy we still have leftovers from last night, although one of my brothers came over today for another piece! Have a great Seder!

Hi,

Is gefilte fish eaten cold, room temperature or warmed? In addition to horseradish and Aunt Louise's sauce, what else do you eat with it? I have some canned gefilte fish, which I plan to eat for a meal. Would boiled potatoes go with it?

Thanks!

Regards,

We eat it slightly chilled with white or red horseradish.
I have never eaten a canned product, only in glass. Do mean in glass?
Simply serve with what ever strikes your fancy.-Dick

And, I'd add that you shouldn't judge gefilte fish by what comes out of a can/bottle. It's like comparing a good roasted ham to spam.

Echoing stevez' post, the commercial gefilte fish often contains carp or other second/third-tier fish which imparts a fishy taste. The texture is also off from homemade. It's just an inferior product. Not horrible, but it can be off-putting.

There's no comparison to a freshly-ground whitefish or salmon based gefilte fish.

I've always said I would try this but haven't...

I think it would be interesting to use it for fish balls--purée in food processor them mix with egg, matzo meal or breadcrumbs, onion, herbs--then form into balls and either pan fry, bake or cook in broth. Serve in soup like a Matzo ball or even with a lemon/horseradish sauce and rice. I think it could rehabilitate the canned stuff. Though I admit to not hating it as much as others on here.

boudreaulicious wrote:I've always said I would try this but haven't...

I think it would be interesting to use it for fish balls--purée in food processor them mix with egg, matzo meal or breadcrumbs, onion, herbs--then form into balls and either pan fry, bake or cook in broth. Serve in soup like a Matzo ball or even with a lemon/horseradish sauce and rice. I think it could rehabilitate the canned stuff. Though I admit to not hating it as much as others on here.

It's not a hate issue, it's just a fairly big concession on what can be a very good dish. If someone's first experience with fried chicken is with a Banquet TV dinner it doesn't really convey what the real product is like. It may be an okay experience on its own but it's the Velveeta experience.

As for rehabilitation, go to your fishmonger, get some ground whitefish, add finely grated onion and carrot, eggs and matzo meal or breadcrumbs and have a go at it.

Ok, except she has a can she wants to use so that's what I was trying to help her do. Of course scratch would be better but short of throwing out the can, I don't think that's helping answer Cathy's question.

Throwing out the can might actually be the best answer to Cathy's question. (I keed, I keed).

I've actually done some other fun things with the canned stuff. One year I made beggars purses-- matzo meal "crepes" filled with a piece of canned GF and some parsley tied with a chive and served with a lemon, horseradish & tarragon mayo. It was a big hit . I now make from scratch but only learned (thought to try) in the last few years and while it's certainly better, I still usually grab a can of the stuff during the holiday and I love it in a matzo sandwich with horseradish sour cream and a squeeze of lemon. Different strokes...