The Bizarre Reason Fish Never Served at Blue Bloods Family Dinners
Some types of food are avoided for practical reasons.
The police procedural Blue Bloods is not just a story about the New York underworld, bureaucracy and corruption, ethical dilemmas, and the consequences of police actions. First and foremost, it's the story of the Reagan family that's been involved in law enforcement for decades, trying to stay together despite the conflicts that arise when the older and younger generations clash.
The Reagan family dinners have become a staple of Blue Bloods, as the dinner scenes are featured in almost every episode. During the series' 13-year run, viewers have seen lots of delicious meals served at the characters' table, but fish was never part of their menu. Why?
'It's usually a pot roast, maybe meatloaf, roast chicken with some version of potatoes. Green vegetables. Always dinner rolls. That basically is my mother's menu, the one I grew up with because I'm also Irish-Catholic,' the show's prop master Jim Lillis shared back in 2015.
This menu sounds quite fitting for the Irish-American family, but besides vegetables and meat, Irish cuisine also cannot do without fish. Surrounded by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Ireland is rich in fish and seafood, so we'd expect this food to be present on the Reagans' table.
The reason why fish is never part of the Blue Bloods characters' meals is actually quite simple. It has to do with how long filming the dinner scenes takes.
'We avoid [fish]. That's because the shoot may take hours. Fish is fragile,' Lillis explained.
But according to the prop master, the Reagans actually had fish in one of the episodes. Some salmon was out on the table for hours, and none of the actors dared to eat it because this would most likely lead to food poisoning and interrupted shooting schedule for all.
Also, Donnie Wahlberg, who plays Danny Reagan, once noted that the Blue Bloods team didn't like broccoli either. The reason is the same as for fish: the vegetable is high in fiber and is prone to spoil fast.
What the Reagan family definitely loves is when their table is full of different dishes. Imagine how agonizing it can be for the cast when they spend hours reshooting and eating the same food take after take!
Source: The Virginian-Pilot.