On a recent short break to Cornwall i was fortunate enough to go out in a friends boat, fishing along stretches of the river Foy. This 10lb Bull huss was the first and largest fish of the day.
The Bull huss like the humble dog fish and Smoothhound has a somewhat mixed bag of opinions. Indeed it is still not part of our national diet of favoured fish, and yet there are no strict fish quotas on either of the three species.
Once upon a year dog fish was indeed battered and deep fried and sold as rock salmon. No more however, as it has now been relabeled by some bureaucrat or other as rock eel.
huss on the other hand i can only guess as being one of the same, as the species are very similar.
The recipes i am about to show you are quite simple so i hope you have a go. A few of the better Supermarkets will sell Huss and should a number of good fishmongers if you are fortunate to have one near you.
The flesh is bone free, very soft and quite sweet.
Deep fried Bull huss in a cider Batter
It is possible to see in the image on the left how white and bone free the flesh is. Once skinned the huss can be easily filleted. the bones should be used to make a light fish stock or nage.
Batter recipe
200ml good quality single apple cider
125g flour
salt & pepper
1 egg separated
method
1.In a bowl add flour salt and pepper and egg yolk. /whisk in cider and set aside
2.Whisk the egg white too stiff peaks and fold into the flour,egg and cider mixture
3.Take each piece of fish and first dip in seasoned flour and then batter.
4. Fry at 180 degrees until crisp and brown.
I served this with a wild fennel herb mayonnaise
Wild fennel Mayonnaise
2 egg yolks
1 tbl sp white wine vinegar
250ml light olive oil
salt & pepper
lemon juice
1 tbl sp freshly copped wild fennel herb
Method
1. Whisk egg yolks with white wine vinegar till frothy and sabyon esq.
2. Begin adding oil slowly emulsifying the liason. Continue to add oil if too thick add a tbl sp water.
3. When consistency achieved add fennel and adjust seasoning with lemon juice.
