Chef’s note: South Sailor uses a whole barramundi for this recipe. If you can’t get barramundi use another white flesh fish like snapper, bream or mullet – it’s ok to use a couple of smaller fish rather than one large one. If you can’t use whole fish, substitute with high quality fish stock and fresh smoked cod.
For the fish stock – fillet the fish then remove the gills, innards. If you can’t do this yourself have your fish monger do it for you and make sure they give you the fish’s frame and head. Cut the fish frame in half and place in a large pot with the remaining stock ingredients. Bring to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes, then remove from the heat and stand for 2 hours. Strain through a fine sieve and set aside.
To smoke the fish – halve each fillet, and smoke using wood chips at 110⁰C for 45 minutes, restocking the wood chips half way through. If you don’t have a smoker, smoke the fish by placing the fillets on a cake cooling rack inside a deep roasting dish. Place some wood chips into a small steel or ceramic dish and ignite with a blowtorch or lighter. Once burning well, blow out the flames and put the woodchips into the roasting dish. Seal the roasting dish tightly with foil and smoke for 1 hour. To finish, bring some olive oil to a medium-high heat in a non-stick frypan and fry the fish for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until golden.
To make the chowder – heat some olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and add the onions. Sauté for 5 minutes, then add the fish stock. Melt the butter in a microwave and stir through the flour. Once the stock is hot, whisk in the butter and flour mixture and reduce to a low heat, whisking continuously until the flour has dissolved. Simmer for 15 minutes, then add the cream. Season to taste with salt and cayenne pepper, then simmer for a further 5 minutes or until you have a rich chowder base.
While the chowder is simmering, blanch the potato, carrots and celery in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain and refresh under cold water. Cut the smoked fish into chunks and add to the pot, along with the diced vegetables, parsley and lemon zest. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until the fish is flaking and the chowder has thickened.
To serve – prepare the bread bowls by cutting the top off the rolls and scooping out the inside. Toast in the oven at 150°C for 5 minutes, then remove and drizzle with olive oil. Season the chowder to taste, then ladle into the bread bowls. Finish with a sprinkling of dill leaves and cracked pepper.
2.5kg whole barramundi
wood chips, for smoking
olive oil
2 brown onions, diced
50g butter
75g plain flour
200ml cream
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 potatoes, peeled & diced
2 carrots, peeled & diced
2 stalks celery, diced
½ bunch parsley, chopped
4 large sourdough rolls
lemon zest and dill leaves, to serve
salt & pepper
fish stock
cleaned barramundi frame
1.5L water
½ brown onion
¼ fennel bulb
3 bay leaves
10 peppercorns
parsley stalks
celery leaves & trimmings