Trotternish Tide‑Box: Pollack & Saithe Stew
Staffin Bay dawn: a Trotternish tide-box stew
Staffin Bay air smells of kelp and diesel before the light hits the cliffs. Pollack (Pollachius pollachius) and saithe (Pollachius virens) come in quick on the ebb, lean and flaky—perfect for a short, salty pot rather than a long boil.
Use a 2–3 L pan and 500–700 g fish, cut into chunks about 2–4 cm thick. Sweat one large onion, a leek or spring onions and a little crushed garlic in butter for 5–8 minutes. Add two diced potatoes and 600–800 ml fish stock with a small strip of kelp or a handful of dulse; simmer until the potatoes are nearly tender, about 12–18 minutes.
Tide‑box kit and timing
Add the pollack and saithe and cook gently 5–7 minutes until just opaque. Season with black pepper, parsley and a squeeze of lemon to brighten the broth. Keep the stew light; it must warm hands and stomach without weighing down a morning on the rocks.
On the water, the kit stays simple: a 9–10 ft spinning rod, 15–30 lb braid, 20–30 lb fluorocarbon trace and 2/0–4/0 hooks. A 60–100 g lure or a mackerel strip reaches the gullies and tide races off Duntulm, Uig or the Minch where both species feed.
Serve from the pan into tin bowls, kelp scent lingering as gulls wheel above Portree Sound—salt, steam and a clean, flaky fillet taken at first light.
Recommended: coastal spinning rod