Norwegian cod stars on The Dawson menu
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Over the last two decades, the wild cod population has depleted near North America due to overfishing, but a Norwegian cod, also caught in the wild, is now being harvested more responsibly, and a few restaurants in town are carrying it on their menus.
The Norwegian word for cod is "skrei," and that's exactly what chefs like Chris Gawronski are excited about this spring, as it plays a starring role on the menu at The Dawson in West Town, which recently started carrying the wild caught fish.
"So they make a really, really beautiful, flaky, but high in Omega-3 fats so it has that nice buttery flesh to it," said Gawronski.
A mousseline of fish trimmings, cream and egg whites is blended with basil, and becomes a stuffing.
"We'll actually roll it back together again, with that mousseline between, so there's this nice, beautiful, spring green color going all the way through it; roll it up, slightly poach it, and then do a little bit of breadcrumbing on the outside and nice saut for a good texture on the plate," said Gawronski.
Served with sauteed ramps and carrots, it's an ode to Spring. Gawronski says he often relies on suppliers to dictate what he serves.
"I'm fortunate enough to basically have a fishmonger that really does his homework and kind of turns me on to all the fun little things you can't find all that often," he said.
That would be The Fish Guy Market, in Mayfair, on the city's Northwest Side, where entire skrei are delivered in boxes full of ice, and then either shipped to chefs whole, or broken down into fillets and sold to the public. They also cook skrei, among other items, and serve them in their adjacent caf called Wellfleet.
"So this time of year, they're very abundant and extremely well-managed fishery and real high-quality cod," said Bill Dugan, owner of The Fish Guy Market.
Now if you can't find any skrei in local restaurants, you can always just come here, to The Fish Guy, since he's one supplying all of the restaurants in Chicago. Just remember it's a highly seasonal product so it's not going to be around forever.
The Fish Guy
4423 N. Elston Ave.
773-283-7400
The Dawson
730 W. Grand Ave.
312-243-8955
