Smoked Fish Pie

Kai Ika Smoked Fish Pie

Turning your fish heads, wings and frames into Smoked Fish Pie is a great way to make the treasure go a long way so it can be shared with family and friends. While this takes quite a bit of work, the end result more than justifies the effort. It is good value, really nourishing and above all, makes four sensational fish pies that look big enough for five or six people, but are really only enough for four people after the naughty second helpings are invariably called for.

The essence of this dish is utilising every last piece of the fish and combining this with any leftover stale bread that we accumulate in the freezer (for the garlicky, buttery crust). The utilisation doesn’t stop after the meat is removed, as the head, bones, skin and any leftovers are used to produce the concentrated fish stock which carries the dish.

Recipe by: Janet Macindoe – passed down to proud son, Scott. Photos: Tim Kavermann

Prep Time:  60-90 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Feeds: 16 – 4 pies (scale up or down accordingly)
Part of fish: Head, wings and frames

Ingredients

Filling:

• 2kg smoked fish meat

• 2kg potatoes skin on– lightly boiled and roughly mashed. Leave some lumps

• 2kg kumara skin on – same as potatoes

• 12 eggs hard boiled

• 20 large stalks of parsley – finely chopped

• 1kg frozen peas or mixed veges (if in doubt, use more)

The brew:

• 300g butter

• 300g flour

• 1L high octane smoked fish stock

• 4 onions

• A handful of finely chopped parsley

Garlic bread crumb topping:

• 2-3 bread bags of old stale bread and crusts

• 2 bulbs of garlic, peeled and crushed

• 400g butter

• Heaps of ground black pepper

• Zest of 4 large lemons

Method

The filling

1) After a good smoke of your heads, wings and frames (we use a 1:1 ratio of salt to sugar and smoke low and slow), strip the meat, avoiding scales like the plague. Have a bowl of water to constantly rinse your hands. Then go hunting those cheeks, lips and tasty morsels around the back of the head and out of the wings/collars.

2) All backbones, skins and skulls go in a pot. Hard boil them up to produce the stock. You will need about 4 or 5kg of fish and about 1L of water. The heads and frames will give plenty of volume (freeze any leftover stock). 45 minutes will do.

3) While the stock is on the boil, throw another pot on the stove and cook the flour into the butter to make a roux. Take your time – up to 10 to 15 minutes until you can ‘smell the biscuit’. Be careful not to let it get too dark or burnt. Then add the stock using a whisk to ensure there are no lumps. If too thick, add some more stock or milk. Be careful not to make it too runny. Add roughly chopped onions and a handful of chopped parsley and soften for a few minutes.

4) Using a food processor, blitz the bread into crumbs. Don’t be afraid if it is not all the same size as this will add to the character of the pie. You’ll need around two large handfuls per pie. Put in a large bowl and mix in the rest of the parsley and pepper.

5) In a pot on low heat, combine the crushed garlic and butter, stirring as it melts. Once the mixture is ready, pour it into the breadcrumbs and mix evenly. 

There is a huge amount of great flesh in the heads and wings - it just takes a bit of time to collect.

The assembly

6) Once all the ingredients for the dish are prepared, it is time to combine. Use the biggest bowl or pot in the house. Mix the frozen peas, potato, kumara, ‘the brew’, and fish meat. Be gentle. Try to retain the pieces of fish – think texture and personality. 

7) Butter the dishes well. Slice a few eggs for each pie and lay them on the bottom. Add several handfuls of filling in each dish and then a nice generous topping of the bread crumb brew. Finish off with lemon zest and black pepper. Wrap in aluminium foil and put them into the fridge. They only get better with a day or two rest.

The 'doings' of the smoked fish pie.

Cooking

8) Remove foil and place them into the oven at 160C for 30 minutes and then 10 minutes at 185C. The goal is a golden crust, but be careful not to overcook the topping.

Serve with a slice or two of lemon. Most people we know want more. 

The finished product - a delicious smoked fish pie.

January 2022 
New Zealand Fishing News Magazine.
Copyright: NZ Fishing Media Ltd.
Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited