Karin's Week Forty-Five Recipe: Stovetop Fish Boil

This week I was trying to make something tasty and quick without going to the store for new ingredients. I had some frozen haddock that I could use, and Nate said, hmmm what about a fish boil? Now, I have had fish boil up in Door County, WI and it involves a great fire about 6 feet across and giant flames shooting 8-10 feet in the air and a humongous pot. None of these are feasible in my village backyard without involving all sorts of permits. So, what to do? We adapted a few different fish boil recipes to fit into our pot on the stovetop. Here is what we came up with:

Stovetop Fish Boil

1-2lb white fish of your choice (we used haddock), cut into bite-sized chunks
4 large potatoes, with skins on, cut to approx same size as fish pieces
2 large onions, roughly chopped
1/4c salt
1/4c Old Bay Seasoning (we did not have this, so see below for homemade version)
2-3T lemon juice
1/4c melted butter

Old Bay Seasoning (homemade) adapted from here
1T celery salt
1tsp paprika
1/4tsp black pepper
1/8tsp cayenne pepper
1/2tsp ground mustard
1/2tsp garlic powder
pinch ground nutmeg
pinch ground cinnamon
pinch ground allspice
pinch ground cardamom
pinch ground clove
pinch ground ginger
2 bay leaves


In large kettle (preferably one with strainer insert) bring 2 gallons water to a boil. Add in salt and wait until it dissolves. Add in potatoes and boil for 8-10min. Add in onion and boil a few minutes longer. Add fish and spices. Stir to mix thoroughly. Boil for approx 10min more. Using strainer, remove fish, potatoes, and onions from water. Place into serving bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Serve with melted butter to taste.




We will definitely make this again! It was very yummy and easy to make when you need a dose of Door County. It was very flavorful and is a one-pot meal. The only downside is that it takes quite a bit of scrubbing to clean out the pot and strainer insert. Well worth it though!