Species sheet · The Edible River
Grayling
A mauve sail raised in the clear current.
- Whole, meunière-style
- Grilled over embers, crisp skin
- Poached in court-bouillon with melted butter
- In French
- Ombre commun
- Scientific name
- Thymallus thymallus
- In the water
- A fish of cold, fast, oxygen-rich European rivers, holding over gravel and riffles in the stretch anglers call the grayling zone.
- Season & buying
- Fishing closes in spring while it spawns; it turns up with anglers and a few trout farms in the warm months, rarely on a fishmonger's slab.
- Common length
- ~30 cm
- How to identify it
- Tall sail-like dorsal fin flecked with mauve
Silver body with violet sheen, small mouth
Small adipose fin behind the dorsal
On the plate
White, very fine and delicate flesh that smells of fresh thyme when the fish comes out of the water.
Avoid: Letting it wait: the thyme scent fades within hours, so eat it the day it is caught.
Its Latin name, Thymallus, comes from the thyme-like scent of its fresh flesh, already noted by naturalists in antiquity.
In Umay recipes
One Umay recipe calls for it.
