‘Zeesnoek’

Snoek is a popular species of snake mackerel found along our continental west coast. It reminded the early European settlers of their ‘snoek’; a fresh water pike. Hence the name ‘zeesnoek’.

The atun is found all along the west coast of southern Africa from Namibia, Angola, around to Mossel Bay in South Africa. It also occurs in Australian water and along the coasts of Argentina and Chile.

Nowhere is the snoek as popular as it is along the west coast of South Africa.

The annual ‘snoek-run’ in places such as Lambertsbaai is something to behold. I was privileged enough one year to be on holiday in the vicinity during a particularly generous run.

We cooked and ate snoek for nearly seven days non-stop. We smoked them, fried them, made smoorsnoek and fish cakes. We ate snoek with toast; with rice; and wurgpatats (baked sweet potatoes). I even had two dismal failures at snoek ceviche.

I ate snoek until I could no more. For 12 consecutive years after that snoek-crammed holiday I bought, stole, cook or ate no snoek.

None whatsoever. Niks. Nada.

Until one fateful weekend a few years back when we went fishing for snoek here off our local coast.

I recorded the details of that trip in an earlier column, so there is no need to redo it here. Suffice to say a member of our fishing party got violently ill which was both very entertaining and a little disconcerting.

Since then, I had snoek on a few carefully spaced, and well-controlled occasions. I feel I may be getting back in the swing of things, so to speak.

Snoek is a strong firm game fish with plenty of large bones. Most snoek sold commercially is treated with salt being sold, either fresh or frozen. Other snoek is smoked and could be bought fresh or frozen. Some of the commercial brands of smoked snoek is not actually smoked over wood, but is treated with an additive to create the smoky flavour.

As soon as the fish are caught, the fisherman kills it by snapping its neck. This causes the fish to bleed out, ensuring that flesh remains white.

Perhaps the most common problem with snoek is what is commonly known as a ‘pap snoek’ – a phenomenon where the flesh of the fish goes mushy; and while still edible, a pap snoek is a major culinary disappointment.

There are many fishermen’s beliefs and theories about what causes a snoek to go pap. If it fought too long on the line causing the pH-level of the fish to go up; or if the neck is not broken soon enough; or if the fish is stored at too high temperatures; or if the fish is not salted soon enough after being caught, and so forth.

Ask any proper fisherman with salt in their veins, and you’ll get a course mouthful about the dos and dont’s of snoek preservation.

The scientific reality is that the damage is caused by myxosporean parasite of marine fish called Kudoa thyrsites, which causes post-mortem myoliquefaction or softening of the flesh in a wide variety of fish (including pilchards and snoek); hence the notion of a pap snoek.

This parasite is not harmful to humans – so you would not get sick from eating a pap snoek – but it does render infected fish unsuited for commercial trade, thus causing significant economic damage to the fishing industry the world over. Sadly, because there is currently no known treatment, we will have to make peace with the fact that we may end up with a pap snoek every time we purchase one.

Early on in this column I provided a recipe for smoorsnoek. This time round I am using left-over snoek from the last family get-together to make a simple snoek pâté which fits well with my quest to abstain from buying ready-made and manufactured foods from super-markets and convenient stores.

I strongly recommend this on good toast at midnight when everyone else is asleep and blissfully unaware and if you do have some left over ice-cold straw wine in the fridge, your illicit feast will be complete.

• 250 grams smoked snoek

• 250 grams cream cheese

• 15 mililitres lemon juice

• Pinch of ginger powder

• 2 teaspoons tomato paste

• Black pepper

• Half a small chopped onion

• 1/2 cup fresh cream

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