Fireside Eastern North Carolina Fish Stew
By Eva Katz & Morgan BollingPublished on June 25, 2025
Time
1½ hours, plus 1 hour for fire
Yield
Serves 8
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Any mild, firm-fleshed white fish, such as bass, rockfish, cod, hake, haddock, or halibut, will work well in this stew. See “Building a 3-Layer Log Cabin Fire” for step-by-step instructions. Adding fresh logs at the fire’s edge keeps the heat. If you have a hanging Dutch oven and swivel arm attachment for your open-fire grill, you can hang the Dutch oven 6 inches from the coals instead of using the grate. Serve this rustic stew with soft white sandwich bread or saltines.
Instructions
- Light 3-layer log cabin fire in open-fire grill. When most logs have carbonized and broken down into large coals, spread evenly into 2-inch-thick layer over half of grill. Arrange any logs that have not broken down on perimeter of fire, away from cooler side of grill, and top with fresh logs. (Moderate flames will remain as large coals and logs burn. Continue to maintain hot single-level fire by pulling fresh coals created by burning logs onto spent coals and adding fresh logs their place.) Set cooking grate at least 5 inches from coals and flames and heat grate until hot, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, pat 2 pounds skinless white fish fillets, cut into 2-inch chunks, dry with paper towels. Toss cubed fish with ¾ teaspoon salt and set aside on plate. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Place Dutch oven on grill and cook 6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into ½-inch-wide strips, until crispy, 9 to 11 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 2 thinly sliced onions, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, and remaining 1½ teaspoons salt and cook until onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in 6 cups water and 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste, scraping up any browned bits. Add 1 pound unpeeled red potatoes (sliced ¼ inch thick) and 1 bay leaf and bring to boil (this can take about 10 minutes) and continue to simmer until potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes.
- Move pot to cooler side of grill and stir in 1 teaspoon Tabasco. Nestle fish into stew, but do not stir. Crack 8 large eggs into stew, spacing them evenly. Cover and cook until eggs are set, 15 to 22 minutes, rotating pot 180 degrees halfway through cooking. Season with salt to taste. Discard bay leaf and serve, passing extra Tabasco separately.
Time
1½ hours, plus 1 hour for fireYield
Serves 8Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Traditionally cooked outdoors to feed a crowd, this hearty, tomato-rich fish stew from Eastern North Carolina is as much about gathering as it is about flavor. We have a version that can be cooked indoors, but here we cook it over a live fire, which adds a touch of unpredictability—but also a lot of fun. Bacon started things off in a Dutch oven right over the coals and lent smokiness and fat for softening onions. A mix of tomato paste, water, and Tabasco created a deep stew base. Staggered cooking ensured tender potatoes and just-cooked chunks of mild white fish. And nestling eggs into the bubbling stew and covering the pot turned the fire into an oven, gently poaching the eggs until silky. The result is rustic and deeply satisfying—especially when eaten fireside.
Before You Begin
Any mild, firm-fleshed white fish, such as bass, rockfish, cod, hake, haddock, or halibut, will work well in this stew. See “Building a 3-Layer Log Cabin Fire” for step-by-step instructions. Adding fresh logs at the fire’s edge keeps the heat. If you have a hanging Dutch oven and swivel arm attachment for your open-fire grill, you can hang the Dutch oven 6 inches from the coals instead of using the grate. Serve this rustic stew with soft white sandwich bread or saltines.
Instructions
- Light 3-layer log cabin fire in open-fire grill. When most logs have carbonized and broken down into large coals, spread evenly into 2-inch-thick layer over half of grill. Arrange any logs that have not broken down on perimeter of fire, away from cooler side of grill, and top with fresh logs. (Moderate flames will remain as large coals and logs burn. Continue to maintain hot single-level fire by pulling fresh coals created by burning logs onto spent coals and adding fresh logs their place.) Set cooking grate at least 5 inches from coals and flames and heat grate until hot, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, pat 2 pounds skinless white fish fillets, cut into 2-inch chunks, dry with paper towels. Toss cubed fish with ¾ teaspoon salt and set aside on plate. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Place Dutch oven on grill and cook 6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into ½-inch-wide strips, until crispy, 9 to 11 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 2 thinly sliced onions, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, and remaining 1½ teaspoons salt and cook until onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in 6 cups water and 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste, scraping up any browned bits. Add 1 pound unpeeled red potatoes (sliced ¼ inch thick) and 1 bay leaf and bring to boil (this can take about 10 minutes) and continue to simmer until potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes.
- Move pot to cooler side of grill and stir in 1 teaspoon Tabasco. Nestle fish into stew, but do not stir. Crack 8 large eggs into stew, spacing them evenly. Cover and cook until eggs are set, 15 to 22 minutes, rotating pot 180 degrees halfway through cooking. Season with salt to taste. Discard bay leaf and serve, passing extra Tabasco separately.
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