Fish and brewis (pronounced "brews") is one of the oldest traditional dishes of Newfoundland. The fish in Fish and Brewis is salt cod and the brewis is made from hardtack or hard bread, which is available everywhere in Newfoundland and in specialized grocery stores across Canada. The dish is always sprinkled with scrunchions, crisp fried bits of salt pork. Fisherman's Brewis is sometimes the same as Fish and Brewis, but often the fish and bread are chopped while hot and mixed together, or fresh cod is used instead of salt cod. "

Since the seasonal beginnings of the first European settlers to the island, Newfoundland has had a long and interesting economic dependence on the fishery and therefore relied heavily on fish, not just to make a living but also just to live. Since seasonal fishermen generally went on voyages for long periods of time, anywhere from 6 to 9 months, ships had to be stocked with a large quantity of food that would be able to last without spoiling. The ships provisions usually included salt cod and hard bread (also called Hamburg bread, hard tack and ship's biscuit), both of which were long-lasting and easy to store.

It is prepared as a small, kiln-dried cake without shortening and gains its consistency by the extraction of its moisture and the lack of a leavening agent. The bread is made from a special winter wheat flour and cannot be made using an ordinary baking flour or be produced in the home. Yeast is not used in the process, nor is the dough allowed to rise naturally. The hard consistency is finally achieved through baking in either evaporation lofts or by kiln fire.

Cover fish and hard bread separately with cold water. Let soak overnight. Next day, pour off water from fish and add fresh water. Bring to a boil. Boil gently for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and remove bones. Bring hard bread to a boil. Remove from heat and drain. Immediately add the cooked fish and the "scrunchions" (which are small pieces of fat pork rendered to a golden brown on a heavy skillet). Serve at once "as is", or with molasses or sugar.