Fish is actually one of the few foods that I rarely cook at home. The whole process of choosing a fish, getting it home, and then figuring out what to do with it has always felt really intimidating to me. But with Melissa Clark's tips, I might just be ready to give it another go!
These tips come from an interview with Melissa Clark on The Splendid Table a few weeks ago. Clark was full of great advice and enthusiastic support for fish-wary folks like me, but what has really stuck with me was her advice on actually cooking the fish.
She says that oven-roasting is the way to go, anywhere between 400°F and 450°F. If you roast the fish on an ungreased baking sheet, the bottom skin will stick to the sheet and make the whole job of peeling it away to serve much easier.
And here was the clincher for me: Clark says that the fish is done as soon as you can smell it. So easy! To double check, you just need to slip the tip of a paring knife into the fish somewhere along its backbone. If you feel any resistance, give the fish a few more minutes. If the knife slides in easily and you can wiggle it a little, the fish is done.
For more advice on choosing fish and preparing it for baking, take five minutes and listen to the full interview:
• More Tips on Fish! Melissa Clark on Roasting a Whole Fish on The Splendid Table
Related: Fish on Fridays: Grilling Fish 101
(Image: Flickr member malias licensed under Creative Commons)
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letting the skin stick seems like a waste! salty fish skin - yum! the backbone check is a great tip, thanks!
I'll try those tips for determining when the fish is done, but I am notoriously paranoid about undercooked fish (which is why I don't cook it at home), so I often end up overcooking it and having dry fish. I've even tried other cooks' tips about looking at the fish to make sure it's no longer translucent but I can never fully trust it.
Here's another tip for checking 'doneness': leave on the dorsal fin. When the fish is cooked, it will come away easily with no resistance. Also, leave on the head - the eyes will be opaque when the fish is cooked through.
My parents always said that if the meat comes off the bone easily, even if the bone still looks raw, it's done. I'm pretty sure the fish is probably rare at that point, but I'm still alive.
the fish in that pic doesn't look fresh at all :S
I don't agree with the tip "the fish is done as soon as you can smell it" nor with "if the meat comes off the bone easily, even if the bone still looks raw, it's done"
codfish, as an example, the meat doesn't comes off the bone easily depending on the way you cook it
sardines start smelling as soon as you start cooking them
there are so many kinds of fish you can't have a universal rule
as claypotclub said "still alive"... I think there's too much myth around fish, just cook it, open it at a side and take a peek, as pearmelon said, if the eyes (and also 'meat') are opaque it's cooked
my advice to someone who thinks it's too hard to choose fresh fish: buy it freezed, usually got the nutrients are more intact/healthy than in fresh fish
because it's frozen as soon it's in the boat now, just think of the time it takes to get a fish from the boat into your kitchen... unless you live in a fishing village
sorry about my spelling --> not a daily basis Ebglish writer...
eNglish