James Beard's New Fish Cookery - James Beard [2]
When you buy whole fish, make sure you are getting the freshest by checking these points:
1. The eyes must be bright, clear, and bulging.
2. The gills should be reddish or pink, clean, and fresh-smelling.
3. The scales should be bright, shiny, and tight to the skin.
4. The flesh should be firm and should spring back when pressed.
5. There should be no strong or unpleasant odor.
Fish spoils easily. As soon as it comes from the market, wrap it in moistureproof paper or place it in a covered dish and store it in the refrigerator.
FROZEN FISH
The frozen-food companies now produce a wide variety of frozen fish, and their selections are excellent buys. If you live far from the fresh supply, or if you have your heart set on a fish that is not at the height of its season, the frozen product can solve your problem with little or no sacrifice in flavor or texture. The amount per person is the same as for fresh fish: 1/3 to 1/2 pound of edible fish per person. Keep frozen fish, packaged in its original container, in the freezing unit or the frozen-food compartment of your refrigerator until you intend to use it. Thawed fish must be used at once.
To thaw: Fillets, steaks and dressed fish may be cooked without thawing, but you must allow additional time in the cooking process (see page 8). If you wish to bread or stuff the fish, take it out of the package and place it in the refrigerator (not the freezing compartment), allowing it to thaw slowly at 37° to 40°. Thaw it just enough to make it easy to handle. Thawing is always necessary for whole fish in order to clean it. Whole fish may be thawed more quickly by placing it under cold running water. Thawing at room temperature is unwise, as the fish is apt to become shapeless and soggy.
HOW MUCH TO BUY
You will need about 1/3 to 1/2 pound of fish for each person, but this means edible fish. Do not count the bones, head, tail, and so on. As a general rule, figure on buying about 1 pound of whole fish per person.
Cleaning and Dressing Fish
Much of the fish sold today in the markets is already cleaned and dressed, filleted, or steaked. If you are a fisherman and catch your own, or if you are fortunate enough to have sportsmen friends who give you some of their catches, then you need to know just how to clean and prepare fish for cooking. Here is the process (for further directions for blowfish, see pages 73–74).
1. Scaling: Place the fish on a table, holding it firmly by the head with one hand. In the other hand hold a sharp knife, and starting at the tail, scrape toward the head, taking off the scales. Be sure to remove all scales around the fins and the base of the head. Wet fish can be scaled more easily than dry, so you can simplify this job by soaking the fish in cold water for a few minutes before you begin work.
2. Cleaning: With a sharp knife slit the belly of the fish the full length from the vent (anal opening) to the head. Remove the intestines. Next, cut around the pelvic fins (those on the underside toward the head) and pull them off, being careful not to tear the fish.
Take off the head by cutting above the collarbone; also remove the pectoral fins (on either side just back of the gills). If the backbone is large, just cut through to it on each side of the fish; then place the fish on the edge of the table so the head hangs over and snap the backbone by bending the head down. Then cut any remaining flesh that holds the head to the body.
Cut off the tail. Next remove the dorsal fin (the large one on the back of the fish). Cut along each side of it and give a quick pull forward toward the head to remove the fin and its root bones. Take out the ventral fins (at the back on the underside) in the same way. Do not take fins off with shears, for simply trimming them will not remove the little bones at the base.
Now wash the fish in cold running water, being sure it is free of any membranes, blood, and viscera. It is now dressed and ready for cooking. Large fish may, of course, be cut crosswise into steaks.
3. Filleting: