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Clay-baked Fish

Clay-baked Fish in the absence of an oven, baking a fish in a covering of clay is a traditional way of preserving maximum flavour and protecting the fish from the fire. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic traditional version of a Clay-baked Fish.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

40 minutes

Total Time:

60 minutes

Serves:

4–6

Rating:

Tags : Wild FoodHerb RecipesBaking RecipesBritish Recipes

This is a very traditional way of cooking fish in hot coals. The clay coating acts both to seal all the flavour of the meat inside whilst also protecting it from the heat of the fire itself. Traditionally river clay was used (this is generally poor-quality and not good enough for pot making, but it is more than adequate for cooking). If you want to be completely authentic dig a pit, place dry gorse wood in this (gorse is good as burns very hot and doesn't spit). Cover your meat or fish in clay and place in the fire. It's probably easiest if you use a plank of wood to support your meat and clay casing as the clay is very sloppy and will simply fall off if you carry it. Using the plank you can set the fish by the fire to dry the clay a little before placing the plank and the clay-coated meat in the fire. The plank will simply burn away and the clay will harden cooking the meat inside. If you want to try this in your own kitchen then buy raku clay from a craft store and use your oven. Raku clay contains a fair percentage of sand and approximates river clay very well.

As always, if you're not completely certain in recognizing a wild plant, do not pick it. However, this basic guide to wild edible plants is provided as a basic guide.

Ingredients:

Gutted fish complete with head and tail
grass, ramson leaves, myrtle leaves or burdock leaves (basically anything you can use to cover the fish and protect it from the clay)

Method:

Cover the prepared fish in the grass or leaves so that it is completely covered (use twisted grass to tie this on. Lower the fish onto a layer of clay placed on a layer of foil in a baking dish. Use more clay to completely cover the fish then place in a hot oven pre-heated to 200°C (400°F/Gas Mark 6). Bake for about 40 minutes.

At the end of this time the clay will be hard. Break it open and this will reveal the juicy fish inside. As a variation you can stuff the inside of the fish with herbs, butter, leeks or ramsons or even fruit such as damsons.

Clay baking is the fore-runner of modern en croute cookery where pastry or Breads is used to coat the meat before cooking.