Birmingham Food Market: Meat, Fish, Fruit & Vegetables

Birmingham’s food markets are a great place to shop for fish, fruit, meat, seafood and vegetables. I’ve found them to be good value, with excellent-quality produce. The markets (including the Bullring Indoor Market) often offer more variety than the city-centre supermarkets.

The food markets are all located just outside the Bullring Shopping Centre, near St Martin in the Bullring Church. You can access the area from Chinatown and also the steps opposite Birmingham New Street Train Station on Smallbrook Queensway. Map…

Birmingham Food Markets

Fruit & Vegetables

The Bullring Open Air Market is the venue for buying fruit and vegetables, located towards St Martin’s, in the Bullring Church. Many greengrocer stalls sell fresh produce; some sell by weight, but the vast majority have plastic bowls to choose from.

You can buy all the staple foods and more exotic fruits, vegetables and herbs. After searching high and low for fresh turmeric, I was delighted to find the roots at a stall in the indoor market.

Fruit and veg I have purchased here before, including:

• Avocados, some ripe, others needing a few days.
• Jersey potatoes, fresh and delicious.
• Bananas in differing states of ripeness.
• Peaches.
• Radishes are a staple for adding flavour to salads.
• Spring onions are again a flavourful option for salads.
• An enormous bowl of juicy red tomatoes.
• Cucumbers and other salad fillers.
• Mangos. I got a tip that biting into a ripe mango relieves stress. This seems to work for me.
• Aubergine is a staple for bulking up meals and using less meat.
• Fennel roots, which are great to cook with fresh fish.

Cheese Stalls

There are also a few cheese stalls too. They usually have an excellent selection and some real bargains. You can buy by weight or sometimes in special offer packs. I got 4 blocks of feta cheese last visit, which are ideal for crumbling into salads, among other things. Other cheeses I have got over the last year include Edam, Monterey Jack and herb-infused red Leicester.

Indoor Fish & Seafood Market

My favourite market, as I love cooking fresh fish and seafood. There are quite a few fishmongers here selling fish and seafood, and they have a good range. Fish comes either whole, as a steak or as a fillet.

When purchasing whole fish, they have always offered to descale, gut and head and tail what I brought. Some recent buys include whole sea bass, red snapper, salmon steaks, salmon fillets, a dressed crab, North Sea bream and some other whole fish I don’t recall.

The most recent seafood I purchased here was a portion of squid. With the squid, I created a delicate stir-fry with noodles. Dressed crab has become a lunchtime treat, usually eaten with brown bread or a salad.

Meat

In the indoor section, there are many stalls selling meat, including halal and non-halal butchers. They sell meat by either weight or on pre-weighed trays. Bartering and negotiation often take place at the butcher stalls. I often mix trays successfully to get more variety. There is a greater variety of meat cuts than in supermarkets.

They sell the staples like mince, steaks, chops and chicken breasts, thighs and legs. Bacon and sausages are also available at some butchers. I particularly like the offcuts for making soup and using them in a ragu or my favourite chunky bacon sandwich for breakfast. I got some delicious beef ribs and a huge chicken breast on my last foray.

One of the great value items here is the pork knuckle or shoulder joints. These are very nice, slow-cooked with herbs or turned into stews. Game is also available from one butcher. Fresh rabbit, venison, and other game birds are available when in stock. Some butchers here are halal. If halal is a dietary requirement of yours, there are plenty of stalls to choose from. These butchers stock a wide variety of lamb and chicken cuts.

Other Stalls At The Indoor Market

There are many other interesting stalls in the indoor market, including some selling international food. There are country-specific foods, including Chinese and Caribbean. I found I could pick up something a bit different here to make something new. China Mini Market is one of my favourite places for buying fresh herbs and chillies.

Opening Hours For Birmingham Food Markets

The food markets in Birmingham are open from Tuesday to Saturday from 9 am until 5 pm, though not all stalls are open all the time. If you require something specific, getting in early is fruitful.

Market Food Creations

Monkfish Stir-Fry

I cooked monkfish and peppers from the fish market with mushrooms, bean sprouts and noodles. Flavoured with chilli flakes, garlic and soy sauce. A simple yet delicious dish that takes less than half an hour from shopping bag to plate.

Baked Fish

A whole sea bream fish cooked in a baking tray with vegetables, including courgettes, spinach, spring onions, peppers, and tomatoes. Fennel root is also a wonderful addition if they have it in stock.

For herbs and spices, start with salt and pepper. Add garlic, cumin, and smoked paprika for great flavours. However, these absorb flavour well, so make up your own combinations.

Salmon Soup

Delving further into the fish stalls, I spotted some salmon heads for sale which were rather cheap. I picked up a few, intending to make a fish-head soup similar to those I had enjoyed in the Danube delta. Then, I rinsed the fish heads and simmered them with some aromatic vegetables and fresh herbs. I added carrots, onion, and potatoes, all finely diced. Then copious amounts of fresh dill and borrs (fermented bran) were added to create a slightly sour flavour.

Salmon Dishes

Salmon is one of my frequent purchases from the indoor fish market. There are various ways to cook it, as it’s very versatile. I often cook with seasonal vegetables and a few spices, and serve them with whatever carb I fancy. Salmon works well with couscous, pasta and potatoes; however, if putting it in a sauce, the boneless option is better.

Goulash

A favourite slow-cooked meal for me is Hungarian goulash. This is a meat stew flavoured with paprika in all its forms. The ingredients are pretty straightforward and include stewing beef, onions and red peppers.