A coworker and I meandered over to Cornucopia, Wisconsin the other day. This is a small town (more officially known as a census-designated place) on the South Shore of Lake Superior, population 98.
Our goal was to speak with some of the good folks with Halvorson Fisheries for our “Fish Dish” podcast. Our next episode is about burbot – a slimy bottom-feeder of a fish that tastes great and is under-appreciated. Halvorson’s is a fifth- or sixth-generation commercial fishery in Cornucopia and they know their burbot and other, more typical Lake Superior fish like lake trout and whitefish.
We arrived at their business on the harbor, but nobody was around. While my coworker made some calls and wrote texts, I had a chance to wander and take photos of the icy harbor and boats. These are the results. I felt like it was time well-spent!
After cooling our heels in the only open restaurant in town (along with about 40 snowmobilers), we were able to meet with the Halvorsons, do our interview, and get burbot. The problem was they had decided to stop fishing for the season but hadn’t anticipated that when my coworker made arrangements to speak with them a few days previously. But that’s life on the lake. You gotta go with the flow.
We haven’t cooked the burbot yet. That comes this week. I’ve never eaten burbot before, so am looking forward to the experience. I’ll include a link to our podcast in this post once it’s available.
In the meantime, please enjoy the scenery.
Update: You can hear all about my burbot-eating experience on “The Fish Dish” podcast. The eating part comes at about 18:18. It was great! Today I’m going to make burbot chowder – substituting burbot for steelhead in my chowder recipe you can find here.
Marie's Meanderings 
This town has one of the best names ever, that’s for sure.
Yes, it’s so Thanksgiving-y!
Nice photos – you make the cold look inviting. “Jolene” is a really nice one. Burbot -a slimy bottom feeder that tastes great? Can’t wait to see how you cook one!
Burbot is known as “poor man’s lobster.” It’s great dipped in butter. (Isn’t anything?) We’re going to make a “poor man’s shrimp” recipe that sounds pretty easy. So, I guess it can pass for shrimp, too!
Update: You can hear all about my burbot-eating experience on “The Fish Dish” podcast. The eating part comes at about 18:18. It was great! Today I’m going to make burbot chowder – substituting burbot for steelhead in my chowder recipe you can find here.
Ack – the links didn’t come through. You can find them in the original post.
I was curious about that boat and looked it up – – 1945 fishtug. Looks in great shape.
Cool! I did not know that. I suppose these boats can last a long time if they’re maintained properly.
Stunning photos! And I look forward to hearing about the burbot.
Update: You can hear all about my burbot-eating experience on “The Fish Dish” podcast. The eating part comes at about 18:18. It was great! Today I’m going to make burbot chowder – substituting burbot for steelhead in my chowder recipe you can find here.
Ack – the links didn’t come through. You can find them in the original post.