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Fish and Brewis (Salt Fish and Bread)

Fish and Brewis (Salt Fish and Bread)

Fish and Brewis is a traditional Newfoundland dish combining salt cod softened hard bread and crisp scrunchions for a hearty comforting meal rich in history and flavour often served with pickled vegetables
Prep Time 12 hours
Cook Time 45 minutes
Course Main Dishes
Cuisine Canada
Servings 4
Calories 837 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the main dish

  • 500 g salt cod
  • 4 pieces hard bread hard tack or ship’s biscuit
  • 2 medium onions finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp butter

For scrunchions

  • 200 g salt pork diced into small cubes

For seasoning

  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • To begin, place the salt cod in a large bowl of cold water. Soak overnight, changing the water at least twice. This reduces saltiness while retaining flavour. Transition to preparing the hard bread.
  • Place the hard bread in another bowl, cover with cold water, and soak overnight until softened. Drain excess water before cooking. Move to boiling.
  • Drain the soaked cod and place in a saucepan with fresh water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then simmer for 15 minutes until the fish flakes easily. Transfer to a plate, flake into chunks, and set aside. Proceed to cooking bread.
  • Drain the softened bread and add it to a pot of fresh water. Simmer for 10 minutes until tender but not mushy. Drain well. Transition to preparing scrunchions.
  • In a skillet, fry the diced salt pork over medium to low heat until golden brown and crisp. Render out the fat, as it will be used to flavour the dish. Move to onion preparation.
  • Add chopped onions to the rendered pork fat. Sauté until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Stir in the butter for extra richness. Transition to combining ingredients.
  • Place the flaked cod and boiled bread together in a large pan. Pour over the onion and scrunchion mixture, ensuring everything is well coated in fat and flavour. Stir gently to avoid breaking up the bread too much.
  • Serve Fish and Brewis immediately, topped with extra scrunchions for added crunch. Best accompanied by pickles or mustard pickled vegetables for contrast.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 837kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 82gFat: 52gSaturated Fat: 21gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 22gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 256mgSodium: 10204mgPotassium: 1942mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 439IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 219mgIron: 3mg
Keyword Seafood
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