James Beard's New Fish Cookery - James Beard [3]
4. Skinning: Many people like their fillets skinned. Place the fillets skin side down on the table. Hold the tail tightly and with the knife cut down through the flesh to the skin about 1/2 inch from your fingers. Flatten the knife against the skin and cut the flesh away by sliding it forward while you hold the tail end of the skin firmly.
Cooking Methods
THE CANADIAN COOKING THEORY
The consumption of fish has grown a great deal since I first wrote this book and our knowledge of fish is far greater. There has been a great deal of experimenting on fish, most importantly on cooking time. The Department of Fisheries of Canada went through a long period of testing and made what is probably the most important announcement in fish cookery of the last century, certainly since Mary Evelene Spencer* of the University of Washington gave her ideas. The basic principle of the Canadian rules for cooking is that fish is measured at its thickest point – its depth, not across the fish – and that it be cooked, no matter how, at exactly 10 minutes per inch. We have a little diagram for this so you will get the feeling for it more clearly.
This applies to fillets, whole fish, and steaks, and it applies to baking, broiling, braising, sautéing, frying, poaching, steaming – every sort of preparation of fish. When cooking rolled fillets, measure the diameter of the fillet after you have rolled it. When poaching fish, wait until it reaches the simmering point after you put it into the boiling water, then count your 10 minutes per inch. In sautéing or frying, measure a fillet or a fish, and give it 10 minutes per inch or any fraction thereof. In baking, bake it at 10 minutes per inch in a 450° oven. In braising, do the same thing. And in pan frying or broiling, follow the same rule. The Canadian cooking theory does not apply when cooking shellfish or crustaceans. Elsewhere, it works like a charm and is completely foolproof. Remember, measure the fish at its thickest point, when it’s on its side, not erect, and then give it 10 minutes per inch, no matter how you cook it. I have used this method for over seven years, both in classes round the United States and Europe and in demonstrations. I assure you that with it you get better fish without all of that testing and flaking, which often causes mutilation and overcooking.
The Canadian theory works equally well with fresh fish and frozen fish. If you are cooking frozen fish, do not thaw it, but cook the fish frozen. Instead of counting 10 minutes per inch, simply count 20 minutes. Thus a fish measuring 21/2 inches would take 50 minutes. (If the fish were fresh and measured 21/2 inches, it would cook for 25 minutes.)
Any fish may be cooked by any of the methods given in this section. Sometimes you may hear people say that such and such a fish is “too fat” to broil or that another fish is “too dry” to eat with mayonnaise. These are silly notions. Don’t believe them.
Fish is most responsive to flavoring during the actual cooking process. Some varieties of fish require special flavors to complement natural flavors that are somewhat neutral. Others need only salt and pepper to make them outstanding. And don’t forget that good butter, olive oil, sweet cream, sour cream, and wine enhance fish and give it added goodness.
BAKING
Measure the fish at its largest point. Allow 10 minutes cooking time per inch of thickness. If fish is frozen, double the cooking time. Bake in a very hot oven (425°–450°). When baking stuffed fish, stuff the fish as usual and measure the stuffed fish at its thickest part. Bake it as already explained, allowing 10 minutes per inch for fresh fish, 20 minutes per inch for frozen fish.
Cooking fish in