Best way to get a large fresh Turbot for Xmas Eve

[omniflow]

Hi - looking to do a whole BBQ'd Turbot for Xmas Eve. I'm looking for a fish that's 2+ Kg.

If necessary I can schlep into London and buy one, but I would much prefer to get one delivered directly. I'm happy to pay what it costs, but figure I need to trade off availability with freshness. I would prefer wild caught, but at a push I would accept farmed.

Any thoughts on good suppliers, but also timings of ordering / delivery etc.

Thanks

[Pericoloso]

Any mobile fish seller vans stop in your area ?

If there is ,ask for a suitable turbot to be available for the 24th.

[IanA2]

Good big Turbot or Dover sole can be difficult to find.

Having experienced the olfactory assault of Salmon farming, I wouldn’t touch any farmed fish.

I do like Turbot very much, but prefer Brill.

[warch]

Good for you OP I love fish at Christmas. Very popular in Australia too, because it's far too hot for traditional northern hemisphere style stodge.

[QuartzDad]

https://www.thefishsociety.co.uk/whole-turbot.html...

I've not used them yet, we used to have a good fishmonger nearby but he's recently shut down :-(

[21TonyK]

OP, where are you?

[omniflow]

This is the place I have found that looks the most promising - but that's after just 5 minutes of searching.

https://www.hamiltonsfish.co.uk/turbot-76-p.asp

I would be interested in any actual experiences of any online suppliers.

[Gandahar]

I prefer Halibut to Turbot but both are good fish.

BBQ ? I'd be too worried to do it that way, losing the taste of the fish etc... what's the recipe and your BBQ hardware?

You get a medal for finding such a beast and then BBQing it ... Chuck Yeager of the FDR part of the forum.

[Europa1]

Omniflow, if you can schlep into London, would an early morning dash to Billingsgate be an option? It'll be fresh and cheaper than other options.

[warch]

I prefer pan frying fish in olive oil and vinegar. Fish needs to be nice and moist so I usually cover it to keep the water/steam in.

[omniflow]

I've done it twice before on the BBQ and been happy with the results. I'm basically emulating the method they use at Brat, which seems to work well enough for them. The main difference for me is that I serve it with a Beurre Blanc, which I think works really well.

I use a Weber Kettle, lumpwood, get a reasonable heat going then spread the coals out and close the vents so they're only about 10% open. Put the fish in a cage, baste it with a lemon, wine and oil mix, turn it every 4-5 minutes and keep the lid on.

[dickymint]

My local pub gets their fish direct from Cardiff indoor fish market (so do I when i'm in Cardiff as they only deliver to trade) if i get 'an urge' i just ask the chef or landlord to add it on to their weekly order.

[Hanglow]

I'd second halibut over turbot too, gigha halibut is farmed but it's exceptionally good unlike 99% of farmed salmon for example.

although I think I've only seen steaks for sale in retail

[omniflow]

The plan is for a VERY early morning trip to Billingsgate. I'm looking forward to it as I've never been.

They open at 4:00am and close at 8:30am. Normally they are closed on Mondays, but they are open on Monday 23rd December so that's my plan. I think I will aim to get there at 5:00am - I shouldn't have any issues with traffic at that time of night, even where the M11 goes into 2 lanes.

[Bussolini]

omniflow said:

The plan is for a VERY early morning trip to Billingsgate. I'm looking forward to it as I've never been.

They open at 4:00am and close at 8:30am. Normally they are closed on Mondays, but they are open on Monday 23rd December so that's my plan. I think I will aim to get there at 5:00am - I shouldn't have any issues with traffic at that time of night, even where the M11 goes into 2 lanes.

Billingsgate is good fun, make sure you go to the greasy spoon for a scallop and bacon roll. Be warned: a lot of the sellers will only sell big boxes of fish (10kg+ boxes) - though you shouldn't have any difficult buying a single large fish I wouldn't have thought (albeit I have only been once and didn't buy much for the aforementioned reason!).

[Wadeski]

Definitely go to billingsgate, but also get a box of razor clams (or other shellfish) - must cheaper in bulk than at retail!