Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’

As a CFA (come-from-away), going to see the capelin roll has been on my ‘to do’ list since arriving in the province. That image of thousands of silver fish just under the surface of the water caught my imagination right from the beginning. Local artist Patsy Gosse has beautiful pictures of the capelin that she sells at the St. John’s Farmers’ Market and she first told me the story of their seasonal migration. When I was screeched in at the Inn of Olde in Quidi Vidi I ate my first smoked capelin, and Linda there jokes with each visitor that it may be the most tail they’ll ever get in Newfoundland.

This past Tuesday was the first time I’ve been able to make it out during that brief window of time that the capelin are flocking to the beaches. My boyfriend picked up a net at Canadian Tire, we grabbed a bunch of empty ice cream containers from home, and we headed to Middle Cove right after work. We saw straightaway that we weren’t alone because the roadways were blocked with what seemed like hundreds of cars full of locals and tourists vying for a spot to see the capelin too. One man joked as he walked by us: “Sure there’s more people ‘n capelin here today!”

On the beach we saw all manner of nets, from grocery bags on sticks weighted down with beach rocks to great big green fishing nets, and it was difficult to tell who was having the most luck. Most people were there just to enjoy the sight and their curious dogs poked through the remains of dead capelin washed up on the rocks. I tried with our net without any success, wading into the shallows in rubber boots and soon retreating when the first few waves soaked me in cold water. My boyfriend persevered though and we went home with a few buckets full. To be honest he did all the work washing and cooking them as well. I’ll try my hand at cooking odd foods like knotweed, but the small capelin had me intimidated.

Capelin symbolize a lot of things when they arrive: that summer weather is almost here, that whales may soon be nearing the coastline, and they’re a reminder to celebrate traditional seasonal food. What follows here are some pictures from my first capelin roll adventure and the recipe for how we made up our catch when we got home. They were much tastier than I thought they would be and while they may not be my new favourite food, catching the capelin was a local food experience that I won’t forget.

Here’s a video of what it looks like when the capelin roll in, and another video from CBC-NL of all the people on Middle Cove Beach this past Monday catching capelin.

If you have capelin stories, recipes or pictures to share, pass them on to info@rootcellarsrock.ca and we’ll post yours as well!

A crowd at Middle Cove to see the capelin come in.

A first capelin catch

"Capelin are a treat fresh, salted, dried, fried or barbequed. But capelin were more than food in the days when many people grew their own vegetables. The fish were piled onto gardens to make an excellent (though smelly) fertilizer."

After an exhausting trip into shore to spawn, many capelin don't make it back out to open water.

The capelin don't come into shore alone. They're followed by seagulls, cod and whales that all think capelin are a treat to eat as well. Capelin season is tied closely with tourism in the province because it's also the best time to spot whales and many sea birds.

This photo is staged, since I didn't have any luck catching those capelin. But I got to show them off.

Once home, wash the capelin right away in cold water. We rinsed them a few times to get all the bits of seaweed and sand off. While they're still damp, dredge the capelin in a mixture of flour, salt and pepper.

Set a fair bit of butter on medium heat in a deep frying pan. Once it's melted add the capelin in and fry them until the batter is browned on both sides and the fish starts to feel flaky when you poke it with a fork. We ate ours plain, but they're good served with bread or potatoes.