Unspoilt flavour of Nature

In an our competing world where chefs are trying  to create new menu's and be one step ahead of each other its quite ironic quoting John Major 'Let's get back to basics' works brilliantly. Why would you want to put for example rhubarb and sherry sauce or garlic on a beautiful tasting fish like mackerel? That beats the hell out of me! In certain cases spices and herbs are used to disguise not enhance the flavour of food.Imagine going to a first class restaurant and ordering fish in sauce, garlic and sherry leeks (I actually read this on a menu). Gods knows what else! It may come a cross as creative cooking,but  believe me it not. Its a terrible decimation of fantastic tasting seafood.Seafood tastes great its nutritional and healthy why spoil it.

What a great animal a lobster is.There is are so many processes that go in to catching them because they are they are such unique animal, when it comes to cooking  they should be treated properly. Believe it or not there is actually a recipe out there that involves this delicacy  in a pie! What a disgrace to prime sea food.

The best way to cook lobster is to have a pot  of boiling sea water and cook it for  seven minutes per pound. You can always, which has been scientifically proved, rest the lobster for 20 minutes per pound in the freezer to let the lobster go to sleep and thus not causing distress to the animal before cooking.This makes sense because this process allows the lobster to relax and with no stress on its nervous system and it tastes sweeter.       

                                                                                                          

The arrival of the Silver Darlings

Here we are leaving the harbour yesterday in winter sunshine passing this old lay by berth of the old coal boats.
Amble used to be a prominent  the coal export port and one of the companies I used to work for as a young seafarer was Coe Metcalfe Shipping. There is a great history from Amble for quality coal and this was recognised  by the amount of coal taken south as the the quality was so high this employed a lot of men not only in the coal mining industry but on the coastal trade of the merchant navy. A man I met many years ago while working at sea was himself one of the people that sailed out of Amble on the flat tops to London. Many times we spent sailing in the Baltic  Seas and during that time he taught me navigation. and to navigate the world. I owe my career to this very fine man Captain William  Amyes extra Master Mariner.

We were out fishing on the marks where in the summer we had caught a lot of cod, however  the seasons change and different tides have an effect on where the fish may feed and this time we were not in luck! This did not detract from such a perfect winter day on the Morning Star. Just before we headed for home I was in for a surprise I foul hooked a herring! As everyone knows herring are a mass shoaling fish and this was a very good sign which shows some evidence that not only are there some fish around , but the coastal waters are healthy and able support life and new fishing. We came to the conclusion that the cod were full of herring and not interested in us so we headed for home.

By the time we headed for home it was deck lights and tie up alongside.

A short but perfect day.

Parlour Pots

The idea of the Parlour Pot is one entrance for the animal to get in tempted by the bait. When it has its fill it exits by the parlour which drops down to form a trap. This is achieved by slightly weighting this false exit with lead so it has to make an effort to enter and closing after it. This is so effective in some states parlour pots must incorporate a completely separate opening to allow smaller animals to escape. The entrance hard eye is six inches wide allowing access to bigger animals.

I decided to add a parlour pot to my hobby chest.

Catch,cook and eat

With the interest in fishing sustainably and fresh fish valued for its nutriment, I think this is an ideal time to share with you some of the ways I prepare the fish we catch. This picture was  taken in the August when mackerel were plentiful.

It is my belief mackerel must be super fresh, anything older than 12 hrs is lobster pot bait. We wouldn't eat anything older than 2-3 hrs to preserve the natural peppery flavour,however that leaves us with a problem of how to preserve the mackerel we can't eat or give to friends and neighbours?

I found using a method my father taught me of curing the fresh fish made delicious alternative meal and something that you could freeze!

Peppered Mackerel

Fillet the fish straight away and using a generous amount of  freshly ground pepper (black or mixed) rub into the flesh and wrap them individually in tin foil and rest over night to cure. You can then store them for  up to 24 hours in the fridge or vacum freeze for at least a month (I don't know beyond  this as they never last long in our house!)

 Smoked mackerel

This is another way to preserve the food value and vary the flavour mackerel can offer. I got a smoker /barbecue from Cobb and it has proved to be good value. The wood I am using here is wild cherry which our wood carving friend David gathered from the beach after a storm!  I am getting the smoker rev ed up here. The smoking ,when the lid is on, is naturally without  flame but the smoke can alert the neighbours to treat being prepared!

Boiled mackerel
This may not sound as good as it can taste. It is another of my father's recipes.!You need to use very fresh tail section of the fish in boiling water and malt vinegar. It doesn't take long and is good warm with wholemeal bread.

How I made a lobster Creel

I was given  4 lobster pots by Davy Bell however as my father was a fisherman and had taught me how to knit nets I decided to make my own

The traditional way to make a lobster pot in the Belfast lough was slated wooden base with hazel whips. It is logical to use what is available and in this area they use heavy solid plastic piping and bend it  into  the shape of  bows using the vice as a lever. I made the base from oak on larch for sturdiness, however  pallet wood could serve the purpose. The larch timber was cut into 28"x19" lengths.

Once I was happy with the frame I drilled out the slots for the bows to slot into. Then I had a frame to strengthen up further.

A lot of pots round here are made with machine net and it is fine but I decided to knit my own. I used 3 mm netting twine and netting needle to make the half hitch knots.

 I stretched each loop to 1 1/2 "  slowly building up the net until I had enough to cover the frame.

The next stage was to stretch the net and make it firm to the sides of the frame.I used clouts to attach it to the base and drew the ends together with twine.

I cut the trap entrance, sealed the ends with heat and then I was ready to work on to the funnel which is completed with a hard eye.



I cut an entrance to be able to bait the creel and retrieve the catch!

The creel was nearly ready but as this coastline in the North Sea you have to prepare your creel for the weather so I roped it before adding the connector line.

Before any of these pots can be fished they need to be registered with Northumberland Fisheries and allocated  tags to identify the owner and comply with the Fisheries Laws.

Sunset in Amble Harbour

The last few days have been perfect conditions for some line fishing, clear blue skies calm seas and an evening high tide. I am Mrs Classic Coble and managed to catch the Morning Star sailing into Amble Harbour with (hopefully our supper).

This is the time of year for lobster pot making to get ready for next season. Sandy is preparing some traditional pots with larch on oak base. More of this from Sandy soon.....

An item of history

The Northumbrian Coble is part of local coastal heritage and of interest to boat builders, fishermen and historians alike, The traditional coble building skills are about to be lost together with the skills of handling the craft.

Traditionally rowed and sailed from ports reaching from Berwick to the Humber estuary it is unique to this coastline. Her distinctive shape is recognisable from 19 century painting of Grace Darling's sea vessel of sea rescue.. The characteristic flat bottomed and high bowed shape can cope with the local seas.
It was my good fortune to acquire a coble here in Amble in 2009. The builder of this coble was also a near neighbour and the story of how she was built in 1978 soon became known to me....
The coble was built by Victor Henderson , a local fisherman and boat builder using Northumberland larch on English oak. Her characteristic shape is down to the builder's eye, skills and experience. It was built to suit the needs of the user. Victor was building this with no customer in mind taking his time. Instead of steaming the timber into shape he painstakingly shaped and clamped the timbers daily over two years to fashion this fine vessel. It turned out to be one of his last cobles he was to build but by no means his last fishing vessel he is constructing a steel vessel now as I write this blog!
Unusually the idea for building this coble came from Andy Scott who owned the Wooller based saw mill  AJ Scott Ltd. Andy had come across a particularly fine larch tree which 'would make a very fine coble' and he managed to persuade Victor to make just one more.

Many local fishermen has learnt their craft and living on this coble and when I bought her she was a recently decommissioned fishing boat berthed in the Dock Amble with the name  Dawn Marie owned by fisherman Davy Bell
So my adventures began........First the handover notes

There were some dry dock tasks to take place. She is a 9.75 metres in length weighing in at 3.93 tons with a Ford 4D engine and Borg Warner 2/1 reduction gear box. After some hull painting, replacement of decking and

with the sign writing by Paul Robinson in place she became The Morning Star

Her choice of name owes its origins to the name of my Grandfather's boat which he used for fishing in the Belfast lough in the early 1900s...
The engine was given an overhaul by Mike and Neville Mac Kay in their workshop and then all was ready for the launch from Amble Boat Yard in April 2009...

She was ready to work again........

This time the crew were family and friends but the fishing has been good!

And sometimes even surprised the fisherman!

This is Michael's first time on a coble and second time in his life to go  fishing! His new name on the street is 'King Cod'
 Or fisher woman...

We got ready for all weathers! 'Finger Major' local wood carver and cabinet maker enjoys time on the boat,...but fish can bite!

As for the weather you never can tell with The Northumbrian coast!

When the weather is right we can get the pots out and see if we get lucky.  At first the crabs seemed to like the bait and most of these had to go back!

Of course we did get lucky and nothing tastes sweeter than your own fresh caught lobster!

With fresh vegetables from our allotment!