[Techno Music Playing]
Largely surrounded by the icy waters of the North and Baltic Seas, Denmark enjoys abundant seafood.
Among the regional specialties you'll find there,
are Nordic crabs, black lobster, Norwegian langoustines,
Icelandic cod, and unfamiliar varieties such as this lumpfish.
Browsing the early morning catch at Copenhagen's Fish Market is Chef Lars Kronmark,
a native of Denmark and an instructor at the Culinary Institute of America.
Joining Chef Kronmark is Bo Jacobsen,
television host, cookbook author, and chef/owner of Restaurationen —
a classic Danish restaurant in the heart of Copenhagen.
[Bo Jacobsen speaking] Well, we're at the Copenhagen Fish Market. This is the place that supplies some of the fish shops in Copenhagen.
Lots of the restaurants get their fish from here. I get my fish from a guy just over here. Every morning.
So, this where it all comes from.
Smoked fish is a big speciality in in Denmark and, of course, the most famous is the smoked herrings.
These are really fresh-smoked. You can see still see the salt on the skin.
If you feel them you can feel, they're not cold. These are still fresh smoked.
They're still just body temperature.
And this is a.... Smoked herring is a beautiful fish.
It's because of the fatness.
The fish takes the smoke really well. You don't get that harsh kind of ashtray-ish,
a bitter kind of smoke.... But you get the rich.....
....fat flavor of the smokes with the herring. It's a very, very beautiful fish to smoke.
[Lars Kronmark] Beautiful color. [Bo Jacobsen] Beautiful color.
And right behind them we have the mackerel, which is also a fish that is smoked in there, like a lot.
And this is a great season for mackerel.
The early summer season, they're not too fat....
And these are always so fresh — very fresh-smoked.
And you can.... You can smell that it's a rich.....
...sweet, smoky taste.
Not that harsh smell you get if the fishes are too lean.
[Lars Kronmark] But this is a warm smoke or cold-smoke? [Bo Jacobsen speaking] These are hot-smoked, yeah. Warm-smoke.
[Lars Kronmark] What kind of wood do they use for smoking the fish? [Bo Jacobsen speaking] Beechwood. Beechwood is the primary wood for smoking.
You get a fine taste and not too aggressive.
[Lars Kronmark] Scandinavian? [Bo Jacobsen] Yes, definitely. Lots of it around here, yeah.
[Lars Knromark] What do you got there, Bo?
[Bo Jacobsen speaking] This is the black lobster. A local one from the North Sea, off the coast of Java.
And black in our waters.
If you go further south — Britany maybe — they're bluish. They're called blue lobster.
But these are....
Slow-growing, cold waters. Very dense in taste. Very firm meat.
[Lars Kronmark] Typical for Scandinavia? [Bo Jacobsen speaking] Very typical, yes.
This is what we get in terms of lobsters. You can see they're a lot more thick-shelled than the Maine lobster.
It's a really, really thick shell.
They can grow big, really big. You get sometimes three, four kilos in one lobster.
[Bo Jacobsen speaking] In flavor, these are denser and more intense than the last lobster. [Lars Kronmark] Sweet meat?
[Bo Jacobsen] Yeah, sweet but also salty. [Lars Kronmark] Oh, because of the cold water.
[Bo Jacobsen speaking] Because of the saltiness of the cold water. Yep.
And I think that's one of the prime reasons we have such good fish in Denmark, is that we have cold waters.
This is "plaice." This is the most widely known and common fish in Denmark.
See if I can pick them up. These are still alive.
So you can see — still live fishes. These are the easiest fish to get the freshest in Denmark.
We use these for raw marinade because it's so fresh every day. Tastes like hazelnuts when you.... Really nutty and nice flavor.
Um....
They're called "red spotted" in Danish. The plaice.
Because they have these red spots on top, on the skin.
And you fry them up whole. You fillet them, you bread them for lunch, and have a Remoulade....
Poach them. Anything is done with the plaice.
[Lars Kronmark] Are they always alive?
[Bo Jacobsen] This is a fish you can get this fresh everyday. Everyday.