Other Freshwater Fish

Many of the following freshwater fish are not fished or farmed commercially, and so are unlikely to be found your local fishmongers; however, you may be lucky enough to know a keen fisherman who can provide you with a freshly caught specimen.

Bass

There are many varieties of freshwater bass, all of which make excellent eating. Fillets from larger fish may be poached and served à la meunière (with butter, lemon and parsley), whilst smaller fish may be baked or grilled whole, seasoned with fennel.

Bleak

A small, silvery fish, that looks somewhat similar to a sardine. It may be dipped in milk, coated in flour and then deep-fried until crispy. Serve piping hot with fresh bread and butter and wedges of lemon.

Bream

Freshwater bream is somewhat dry and tasteless and therefore needs interesting seasonings. They may be breadcrumbed and deep-fried, stuffed and baked or poached and served with sorrel or horseradish sauce.

Burbot

The burbot, which can reach 150cm in length and weigh up to 34kg, is the only member of the cod family to live in fresh water, and is most common in streams and lakes of Europe and North America. However, it was last seen in British waters in the early 1970's, and is now considered to be the only freshwater fish to have become extinct in the United Kingdom in modern times.

It has an excellent, firm, fatty flesh and a richly flavoured liver that may be baked or poached with the fish.

Dace

The dace is a rather culinary unexciting fish, found in the rivers and streams of France, Germany, and Ireland. It is best cooked by coating in flour and either shallow or deep-fried.

Gudgeon

The gudgeon is a small freshwater fish found at the bottom of lakes, canals and rivers throughout the UK and Europe. It is a delicious little fish that is at its best when crisply fried like whitebait, and served with chopped parsley and wedges of lemon.

Roach

The roach is a small brackish and freshwater fish native to most of Europe and western Asia. It is a small fish, typically reaching a size of 35 cm (14 in) and weighing up to 1.5 kg (3 lb). Although well flavoured, it does not enjoy wide popularity because of the high number of bones that it contains. The larger fish may be baked in white wine or scored and fried in butter.

Tench

The tench is one of the common and most widely spread freshwater fishes of Europe. It is covered in very small scales that are deeply imbedded in thick skin, which must be removed before cooking.

The flesh tends to have a rather muddy flavour and limp texture; however, this may be improved by keeping it in cool, clear water for a few days, before dispatching and cooking. Tench is best fried or baked and served with a sauce that includes strong flavours as herbs, cloves, garlic or shallots. Alternatively, it may be cooked in a matelote (a fish stew cooked in wine or cider) together with eel, carp and pike.

Whitefish

A collective term used to describe vendace and powan; both species of freshwater fish in the salmon family. They are fished in the lochs of Scotland and Ireland and the cool, clear lakes of northern Europe. They are best cooked by brushing with butter, flavouring with thyme and then grilling, or by gently frying in clarified unsalted butter.