What to serve instead of gefilte fish

amother

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 7:35 am

Gefilte fish is becoming to expensive. What can I serve before soup or maybe just go straight to soup?

singleagain

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 7:42 am

I've seen a slice of cantaloupe as an appetizer... But go straight to soup..what's the big deal?

teachkids

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 8:23 am

I don’t know your budget, but many stores sell a cheap in house brand of gefilte fish, often cheaper as a twin pack. And then cut smaller slices. That being said, I rarely serve fish anymore. Fri night is straight to soup. Shabbos day we do dips.

If you’re makpid on fish, I’ve made sushi salad using canned salmon- 2 cans comes out to $4, which is slightly less than a cheap roll of gefilte fish

amother

IndianRed

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 8:25 am

teachkids wrote:

What stores and store brands do you speak of? Do tell

teachkids

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 8:33 am

amother IndianRed wrote:

What stores and store brands do you speak of? Do tell

I’ve bought the Aron’s one in queens, seasons, and bingo. We’re not too fussy and liked all of them.

It’s been a while since I’ve bought gefilte fish , but now you can get a twin pack Raskin for $12 at seasons, which is $6 a roll.
I believe bingo was under $10 a twin pack but I don’t remember.

Raisin

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 8:36 am

I feel like its too much food to do soup and fish. But people like dips. So I do salads (maybe 2), some dips and straight to soup. You can make one dip a fish based dip if you want to davka have fish. Herring, tuna, etc.

amother

Freesia

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 9:07 am

teachkids wrote:

Can I have your sushi salad recipe? I don't like raw fish so called Salmon sounds good!

amother

Ballota

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 10:10 am

Cut thin slices. And a nice piece of carrot on top. It's just an appetizer, anyways. You don't want people filling up on the fish.

amother

Cyclamen

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 10:42 am

I’m so clueless that I don't understand how can one loaf of gefilte for Shabbos cut thin is too expensive.

amother

Kiwi

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 1:46 pm

I buy the Chef Tzali brand (about $5). It has a similar flavor profile to the Raskins fish which we like a lot, but it's a good $4 cheaper.

I started making only one loaf, cutting up 2/3 of it for Friday night (thin slices) and using the rest for Shabbos day.

(Note that the loaves in the twin packs of gefilte fish are usually smaller than regular loaves.)

For those who don't understand the concept of too expensive... I've had to make Shabbos with $30 more than once. My Shabbos meals are nice (IMHO) but very very frugal.

amother

Fern

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 2:23 pm

amother Cyclamen wrote:

I’m so clueless that I don't understand how can one loaf of gefilte for Shabbos cut thin is too expensive.

1 loaf is around $9 I think

teachkids

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 2:28 pm

amother Freesia wrote:

Can I have your sushi salad recipe? I don't like raw fish so called Salmon sounds good!

Cook rice before Shabbos. Mix 2 cans of salmon with soy sauce. Cut up carrots, cucumbers, avocodo- the nicer you cut them, the nicer it looks but I’m lazy. You could do some diced roasted sweet potatoes if you want. Assemble with some sweet sauce or teriyaki sauce.

amother

Blushpink

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 2:33 pm

Challah and 4-5 dips. Then soup. I serve fish for Shabbos lunch.

mha3484

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 2:41 pm

I don't serve fish and soup its too much and my kids much prefer fish to soup so I skip the soup. Same with shabbos day, they would rather fish then cholent so I serve a small cholent and fish and salad. Sometimes a potato kugel. But the only meat is what I put in the cholent and I dont go crazy.

Tao

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 3:03 pm

My sister and I were laughing at the price of gefilte these days. The ENTIRE point of gefilte is that yidden couldn't afford fish, so they got all the gross parts and shmushed them with cheap stuff to make affordable gefilte. And these days it's a fortune! Gotta laugh at the 180 degree turn it's taken.
I don't buy gefilte because I find it doesn't get eaten. If I do serve, I'll cut a log into 3 and serve 1/3. I serve sushi salad which can work out not so expensive because you don't need to put a lot of protein since there's other cheaper stuff, like rice and vegetables, to take over.

amother

Oxfordblue

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 3:05 pm

Canned salmon salad. Mix salmon with mayo, lemon juice, and dill.

amother

Oxfordblue

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 3:07 pm

amother Fern wrote:

1 loaf is around $9 I think

It's under $6 where I am, but if you'renfeeding a lot of people and you eat more than one roll per Shabbos it can add up! If you don't understand the problem, just be grateful.

Cheiny

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 3:23 pm

amother Ballota wrote:

Cut thin slices. And a nice piece of carrot on top. It's just an appetizer, anyways. You don't want people filling up on the fish.

And Hashem pays back every penny you spend for Shabbos.

justforfun87

Mon, Jan 22 2024, 3:29 pm

amother Blushpink wrote:

Challah and 4-5 dips. Then soup. I serve fish for Shabbos lunch.

4-5 dips is way more expensive than gefilte I would think. Are these home made and if so, which ones are cheap to make?