Behind the French Menu: Grenadier Gris

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Grenadier

www.naturalhistorymag.com

The Grenadier family members seen on French menus includes the Grenadier gris or Grenadier Berglax and the Grenadier de Roche. (On most French menus only the word Grenadier will be used). These two members of the larger Grenadier fish family compete for space on some beautiful French tables. Nevertheless, you and I are unlikely to tell the difference between either of these two fish. On the menu, only a filet will be offered.

Steamed Black grenadier

prepared with coconut milk and a light touch of curry

Photograph courtesy of Pavillon France

These two family members come from the deep waters of the North Atlantic, and they provide very firm sweet white meat. Chefs consider it them superior to pollack or whiting and they will be offered as filets pan fried or baked. They are large fish reaching up to a meter in length; however, the head takes up to 25 of the length and the long thin tail even more. All that is brought back to France is the filet.

The Grenadier fish on French menus:

Filet de Grenadier à la Concassée de Tomates et Basilic – A filet of grenadine prepared with coarsely chopped tomatoes flavored with basil. I imagine that the filet being offered here is pan-fried.

Grenadier Piccata with Zucchini Noodles.

In the UK the zucchini is called a courgette.

Piccata means sliced, sautéed, and served in a sauce containing lemon, butter, and spices. In this photograph, we can see chives and parsley. Piccata is usually a fish or meat dish.

Photograph courtesy of Real Good Fish.com

Grenadier Cuit au Four, Concassée de Tomates, Beurre de Sydre

"Les Argelettes" - Grenadine, the fish, baked in the oven with coarsely chopped tomatoes cooked in a cider butter prepared with cider from Les Argeletts.

When a chef has a duck, chicken, wine or cheese that he or she believes is very special then the name of the farm or the producer may well be on the menu. Here the menu notes the brand name of a cider used for the cider butter in the dish mentioned above. I looked into Les Argelettes and found that this is the private brand of cider. It is produced by a boutique cidriculteur, a boutique cider maker. In this case, the cider is made by an ex-three star Michelin Guide sommelier, Eric Bordelet. Eric gave up the world of wine to return to his family’s roots as a cider maker.

Pan fried Roughhead Grenadier

with fresh prawns and bok choy in crayfish sauce.

Photograph courtesy of Ingrum.

Filet de Grenadier aux Épinards Sauce Citron – A filet of grenadine prepared with spinach and served with a lemon sauce.

There are quite a number of other grenadier family members and no doubt some of them may grace the occasional French menu, but I have yet to encounter them. As you travel, you may meet the Pacific Grenadier on a menu on the USA’s West Coast and the Blue Grenadier in Australia or New Zealand.

Grenadier Gris

attached to the back of this fish is a parasitic copod.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/noaaphotolib/14318884118/

Photograph courtesy of NOAA Photo Library

https://www.flickr.com/photos/noaaphotolib/14318884118/

The Grenadier fish in the languages of France's neighbors:

The Grenadier Gris or Grenadier Berglax: - The Grenadier, the Roughhead grenadier or Onion-eye grenadier. (Dutch - noordelĳke grenadier),(German- grenadier, grenadierfisch or rauhköpfiger grenadierfisch), (Spanish - grenadero de roca).

The Grenadier, Grenadien, Grenadier de Roche – The Roundnose grenadier, Black grenadier, Rock Grenadier. (Dutch - grenadier ), (German –- grenadier, grenadierfisch), (Spanish – granadino).

Connected Posts:

Basil, Common Basil or Sweet Basil. Basilic or Herbe Royal; Herbs and Spices in the French Kitchen II.

Beurre - Butter in French. Butter in French Cuisine.

Céleri - Celery. The Joys of Celery on French Menus.

Ciboulette – Chives, the herb, in French Cuisine.

Cidre - Cider in France. France's Fabulous Ciders, Sparkling Ciders and Basque Cider.

Citron – The lemon; the fruit behind many of France’s culinary successes. Also the Citron Vert - Lime, the Cedrat – the Citron, the Combava – the kaffir lime and the Chadec - the Pomelo.

Crevettes - Shrimps and Prawns on French Menus. Shrimps and Prawns are Some of the Many Tasty Crustaceans seen in French Cuisine.

Écrivisse - Crayfish, Crawdad, or Crawfish. The Écrivisse is the Freshwater Crayfish and may be Among the Crustaceans on Your French Menu. Crustaceans III.

Persil - Parsley in French Cuisine. Parsley on French menus.