Sériole or Sériole Couronnée – The Amberjack or Greater Amberjack in French Cuisine.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 
The Greater Amberjack.
Photograph courtesy of NOAA Photo Library
www.flickr.com/photos/noaaphotolib/5187507077/

  

Sériole, Seriole, Sériole Couronnée, - Greater Amberjack, Amberjack. The Greater Amberjack is a big fish and can reach 30 kilos (66 lbs) and more. Most of these fish reach close to a meter (3.25’) in length, though they can get even larger. When cooked, with its tasty ivory-to-white meat, it will be offered as steaks, sometimes fried or grilled, but mostly baked and served with a sauce. Nevertheless, when I have seen the Greater Amberjack on menus in France, its texture has meant that it was often chosen for a Tatare, Carpaccio, en Escabèche or Ceviche. I enjoyed an exceptional Tatare de Sériole in Sète on Southern France’s Mediterranean coast, and a noteworthy Steak de Sériole in Bordeaux on France’s Atlantic coast.

The Greater Amberjack is found all over the world, including France’s Caribbean Departments. In Martinique, it is called Limon and in Guadeloupe Amberjack.

Amberjacks
Photograph courtesy of Enrico Strocchi
https://www.flickr.com/photos/strocchi/51496676517/sizes/l/

When a menu with Sériole in French is translated into English as Amberjack while correct, it may be confused with its cousins who also have amberjack in their name. Despite the possible confusion, the Amberjack on menus along France’s Mediterranean coasts will always be the Greater Amberjack. The Greater Amberjack owns the Med.

Greater Amberjack on French menus:

Pavé de Sériole à la Plancha, Arôme de Vanille  – A thick cut of Amberjack cooked on the Plancha and flavored with vanilla.  A Plancha (Planxa in Basque) is a Basque cooking tool that uses a solid, thick, flat steel sheet that achieves a taste somewhere between grilling and frying. The modern plancha may look like the flat cooking plate of a fast-food hamburger joint, but look again carefully; it has three times the thickness of steel. The Plancha produces a very even heat, requiring very little oil with its resulting unique taste. The Basques claim ownership of the plancha, as do the Spanish. 

Catch your own Greater Amberjack.

Photograph courtesy of Fish Rules.

Filet De Sériole a l'Orange et Coriandre Fraîche, Salade d'Algues et Echalotes - A fillet of Amberjack flavored with orange and fresh coriander and served with a seaweed and shallot salad. Seaweed has been part of French cuisine long before Japanese cuisine reached Europe, and now France exports seaweed to Japan. 

 The two best-selling French seaweeds are Porphyre, called Nori in Japanese and traditionally used to wrap sushi and onigiri; the second is Fougère de Mer, Wakamé in Japanese. This seaweed is most often seen in Miso Soup and salads.

   

Grilled Amberjack
Photograph courtesy of Gloria Cabada-Leman
https://www.flickr.com/photos/67238971@N04/7846416890/

  

Tartare de Sériole de Méditerranée aux Framboises – A Greater Amberjacy Tartar from The Mediterranean flavored with raspberries.

Carpaccio de Sériole, Huile de Sésame et Yuzu – A Greater Amberjack Carpaccio prepared with sesame oil and flavored with yuzu. (Yuzu is a member of the citrus family that originated in China, though it is considered Japanese. Yuzu has a taste somewhere between that of a grapefruit and an orange).

Greater Amberjack Teriyaki with Yuzu Flavor

Photograph courtesy of Jun Seita

www.flickr.com/photos/jseita/6854027879/

   

Sériole, Jus Vert, Émulsion de Pommes de Terre a l'Anis Sauvage – Greater Amberjack served with a cold green onion vinaigrette sauce and accompanied by a thick potato and wild anise sauce.

   

Catch your own Amberjack
Photograph courtesy of WIDTTF
https://www.flickr.com/photos/widttf/3589891879/

Escabèche de Sérioe, Citron Vert – Greater Amberjack marinated and served in lime juice. An Escabèche is made with marinated raw fish or seafood: with, some recipes call for smoked fish and smoked seafood. Unless the menu indicates otherwise, the fish or shellfish offered will have been marinated in wine vinegar; herbs and spices; here, fresh lime juice replaces the vinegar. Rightly or wrongly, many chefs use the terms Escabèche and Ceviche interchangeably, and no significant damage is done. The history of these dishes may be different, but in France, in the kitchen, their preparation is not so different, and the name used is the chef’s call.

  

Slicing Lime

Photograph courtesy of Didriks

www.flickr.com/photos/dinnerseries/5062084841/ 

  

On menus around the world, the Greater Amberjack and the yellowtail Amberjack may be confused on the menu. However, when Sériole is on the menu in France, it will be this locally caught member of the family, the Greater Amberjack. The Yellowtail Amberjack is found in subtropical waters. These two fish are cousins, and apart from the real experts' no one will notice the difference when the fish is cooked and served with a sauce.

To solve the confusion between the Yellowtail Amberjack

and the Yellowfin tuna

There are a number of fish called Yellowtail, and none are related to the Yellowfin Tuna, the Albacore Thon à Nageoires Jaunes in French.  The Yellowfin Tuna is the Tuna sold as Chicken of the Sea or White Tuna in the USA. It is not found in the Mediterranean.

The Amberjack on your menu in Japan.

In Japan, the Amberjack on your menus for sushi is probably the Japanese Amberjack called Hamachi as sushi; the fish itself is called Buri. 

Sériole - Greater Amberjack in the languages of France’s neighbors:

(Catalan – círvia, cèrvia ), (Dutch - grote geelstaart, barnsteenmakreel), (German – gelbschwanzmakrele), (Italy – alici, alicosa, seriola, seriola di dumeril), (Spanish - pez de limón, seriloa, serviola), (Latin - seriola dumerili). 

Sériole - Greater Amberjack in other languages:

(Arabic (Lebanese) – intyâs), (Chinese (Mandarin) - dù shì shī, Gāo tĭ shī, 红甘鲹), (Danish - stor ravfisk), (Greek – mανάλι, magiatiko), (Hawaiin – kahala), (Hebrew – intias, seriol Atlanti, seriloa, - שולה סריול אטלנטי, אינטיאס), (Japanese – kanpachu), (Portuguese - charuteiro-catarino), (Tagalog – tonto).

 

--------------------------------

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman 
Copyright 2010,  2019, 2023.
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com 

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Carpaccio - The Tasty, Thinly Sliced, (Ideally Paper Thin) Dish of Meat, Fish, Vegetables or Fruits in French Cuisine.

 

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Sète - The Largest Fishing Port on France’s Mediterranean Coast.Sète and Cuisine Sétoise.

 

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Rosé des Prés or Agaric Champêtre – The Field or Meadow Mushroom in French Cuisine. French Mushrooms X.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com 

The Field or Meadow mushroom.

Photograph courtesy Ian Grant

www.flickr.com/photos/sporeprint/50834208/

  

The Rosé des Prés or Agaric Champêtre is called the Field Mushroom in the UK and the Meadow Mushroom in North America. It is found all over France and will be on many menus from May through to November.

Champignons Sauvages -  Wild Mushrooms.

Many French restaurants have year-round contracts with ramasseurs, professional foragers, who bring in wild mushrooms, herbs, and fruits. But because the field mushroom is found everywhere and because of its association with the cultivated button mushroom, it brings in low prices, and it is sometimes among those mushrooms just listed on menus “champignons sauvages” wild mushrooms.

The Meadow mushroom

Photograph courtesy of Bob Richmond

www.flickr.com/photos/bobrichmond/5982355650/

  

As a child in the North of England, the field/meadow mushroom spoiled many planned wild mushroom hunting expeditions when, after the rain we planned to go into the woods searching among the trees. Then we would find the field mushroom had grown in the middle of a freshly mown lawn right outside the back door. The other option often chosen by these mushrooms is a field where the cows or sheep did not appreciate noisy children on their turf. The field mushroom grows anywhere where there is grass. 

   

The Rosé des Prés, the Field or Meadow mushroom on French menus:

Noisettes De Veau Aux Rosés Des Prés – Small tender cuts of veal Prepared with the Field Mushroom.

Rosés des Prés en Salade aux Herbes Fraîches – The Field or Meadow mushroom served in a fresh herb accented salad. This mushroom can be eaten raw, and with most salads, that is how it will be served.

   

Salad with goat’s cheese and field mushrooms.

Photograph courtesy of Edsel Little

www.flickr.com/photos/edsel_/5572588115/

Rognonnade De Veau Rosés Des Prés Farçis – A veal loin chop with part of the kidneys attached and stuffed with the Field/Meadow mushroom. In the USA, I was told this cut was called a kidney chop, but it is rarely on today's USA steakhouse menus.

The Field or Meadow Mushroom

Photograph courtesy of Alexandra E Rust

www.flickr.com/photos/aerust/43057652772/

Filet de Canette aux Rosés des Prés et Grenailles  Façon Salardaise - Slice of duckling breast served with the Field mushroom and small new potatoes prepared Salardaise; that is baked in duck fat and flavored with garlic and parsley. The dish is named after the town of Sarlat-la-Canéda in the department of Dordogne in Nouvelle Aquitaine. Sarlat is the capital of Périgord Noir, with its own contributions to Cuisine à la Périgourdine. Black Périgord is famous for its forests, a significant number of which are chestnut forests, and among the clearings, in those forests, the Field mushroom thrives. 

  

Émincé de Bœuf aux Rosés des Prés et Galette de Pomme de Terre – Slices of beef served with the Field mushroom and potato pancakes.

   

Rumsteak Grillé avec Tomates, Rosés des Prés, Frites et Sauce Béarnaise  - A grilled rump steak served with tomatoes, field mushrooms, French fries, and Sauce Bearnaise. French rump steaks include part of the UK cuts called rump, silverside, and topside. In the USA, the French rump steaks are part of the USA cuts called sirloin and round. 

The French names Romsteak and Rumsteck confuse English speaking visitors. That is not too surprising as North America and UK restaurants and butchers cannot agree with each other over what defines a rump steak. (Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw acknowledged long ago that Britain and the United States are two countries separated by a common language).

Osso Bucco de Veau Veau Corse et Rosés Des Près - Corsican Veal Osso Bucco with the Field/Meadow mushroom. Osso Bucco, in French, is also called , Jarret de Veau., but French chefs often use the Italian name.  

   

The Rosés Des Près on menus listings as Champignons Sauvages – Wild Mushrooms.

Crème de Champignons Sauvages aux Herbes Fraîches - A cream of wild mushroom soup accented with fresh herbs.

Filet de Sandre Poêlé, Champignons Sauvages –  A lightly fried filet of the freshwater Zander/Pike-Perch with wild mushrooms.

   

Wild mushroom risotto.

With oregano and Parmesan cheese

Photograph courtesy of Gloria Cabada-Leman

www.flickr.com/photos/67238971@N04/6703097183/

Checking Wild mushrooms in France

When collecting wild mushrooms have them checked by experts, There are many similar-looking but poisonous varieties. Every town and village in France has a trained mycologist, a mushroom expert, and local pharmacists have these expert’s addresses. The Yellow Stainer mushroom, the Agaricus Xanthodermus; in French, the Aagaric Jaunissant, looks similar to the Field/Meadow mushroom.  Regular mushroom gatherers may easily spot the difference; however, you may not, and it is poisonous and can make you very very sick! More people get sick because of the yellow stainer mushrooms than any other. In the kitchens of France’s restaurant's wild mushrooms of all types, maybe on the menu; however, chefs only buy wild mushrooms that have been clearly identified by the ramasseurs de champignons, the professional mushroom gatherers.

The Rosés Des Près – the Field of Meadow Mushroom in the languages of France’s neighbors:

(Catalan -  xampinyó silvestre ),  (Dutch - gewone weidechampignon), German - feldegerling, feldchampignon, wiesenchampignon),  (Italian - prataiolo bianco, psalliota campestre),  (Spanish - champiñón de campo ),  (Latin -  agaricus campestris).

--------------------------------

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Copyright 2010, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2023.

 

--------------------------------

Searching for the meaning of words, names or phrases

on

French menus?

 

Just add the word, words, or phrase that you are searching for to the words "Behind the French Menu" (best when including the inverted commas), and search with Google, Bing, or another browser.  Behind the French Menu’s links, include hundreds of words, names, and phrases that are seen on French menus. There are over 470 posts that include over 4,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations.

For other mushrooms on French menus see these posts:

Bolet, Cèpe Jaune des Pins or Nonnette – The Weeping Bolet Mushroom in French Cuisine. The Mushrooms of France IX

Shiitake or Lentin du Chêne –The Shiitake Mushroom in French Cuisine. The Mushrooms of France VIII.

Corne d'Abondance, Craterelles or Trompette des Morts, - The Horn of Plenty, the Black Chanterelle and the Black Trumpet Mushroom. French Mushrooms VII

Pleurote – The Oyster Mushroom in French cuisine. The Mushrooms of France VI.

Morille, the Morel  Mushroom. Morel mushrooms on French Menus.  The Mushrooms of France V.

Chanterelle Girolle - The Chanterelle Mushrooms in French Cuisine. The Mushrooms of France IV.

The Cèpe; the porcini mushroom grows wild in France. French mushrooms III.

The Mousseron, the St. George's mushroom.  French mushrooms II.

The Champignon de Paris, the Button mushroom. French Mushrooms I

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Coeur de Romsteck and Pavé de Rumsteck – Rump Steaks. French Cuts That Make for Some of the Tastiest Steaks.

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Jarret de Veau. The Dish Called Osso Buco in Italian. In France, Jarret is Also a Cut Used for Many Other Dishes Made With Veal, Beef, Lamb, and Pork.

 

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Persil - Parsley. Parsley in French Cuisine.

 

Rognons - Kidneys on French menus.

 

Sauce Béarnaise, its Creation, its Creator and its Connection with Béarn. Sauce Béarnaise in French Cuisine.

 

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