Serving up a one-fish dish

Published date18 August 2021
He believes this thinking will only continue to result in the widespread depletion of oceans so in Take One Fish he hopes to open people's eyes to the potential of just one fish in the kitchen.

In this edited extract from Take One Fish Niland, who established Fish Butchery, Australia's first sustainable fishmonger, gives advice on how to buy and store fish as well as cook it.

Storage Essentials

1. Chuck the ice: When you buy your fish, request that it is not directly surrounded by ice. Ask for the ice to be supplied separately or, alternatively, bring along an ice pack in a cooler bag for transportation.

2. Wrap it in paper: Request the fish be wrapped in paper, not plastic. Fish that is stored in plastic at variable temperatures will start perspiring, become damp and develop ammonia aromas (aka fishy fish).

3. Take it out of the packaging: Once home, remove the fish from its packaging. If your fish is already scaled and gutted and you are cooking it that day, then transfer it to a clean wire rack set over a small tray or dinner plate and place it in the main chamber of your fridge, uncovered, until ready to use.

A minimum of 2 hours in the fridge like this will result in a skin that is dry enough to achieve crisp skin when pan-frying and give you confidence that it will not stick to your grill bars or pan (your fridge will only smell fishy if you are buying poor-quality fish).

If you are buying a fish for 2-3 days' time, still place it on the wire rack but instead of putting it in the central part of the fridge, clear out the crisper at the base and store it there with the humidity vents left open. This will allow the fish to sit at a slightly lower temperature and not dry out too far, as we want to maintain day-one excellence but remove some of the fish's unnecessary moisture. On the day you remove it from the crisper, ready to cook, put it in the main part of the fridge for 1 hour to dry the skin before cooking.

4. Leave the skin on: Regardless of whether you are pan-frying to make the skin crisp or poaching with the intent to discard the skin, it will benefit the fish's overall flavour profile and nutritional value if you leave the skin on. The seam of fat that sits beneath the skin provides much of a fish's wonderful flavour and is also a rich source of omega 3s.

5. Do not wash a fishy fish: Washing a fish will not remove the smell of ammonia. If anything, it will make the fish more challenging to cook and add to the issue. The only way to partially eliminate or dilute volatile aromas such as ammonia is through the use of acidity. Lemon juice or tomato-based cookery methods, along with garlic and other alliums all help mask odours (one reason that they are used so often in fish cookery), but the best approach is to shop wisely to avoid this situation in the first place.

6. Keep it on the bone: When working with a whole fish, keep it on the bone right up until you decide what to do with it. Leaving the fish on the bone reduces the potential for the flesh to be exposed to external moisture or bacteria growth.

7. Hang for longer-term storage: If you want to store fish beyond its first few days, use a static fridge with no fan. Here fish can be stored on perforated trays but, ideally, they will be hung from the tail on hooks in a whole form post-scaling and gutting. To maintain these fish over a period of time, wipe the skin and cavity of the fish with paper towel to remove the perspiration that naturally comes to the surface.

8. Look after leftovers: For leftover cooked fish, ensure it is completely cold and then store in a clean, dry, covered container (ideally with a ventilated lid) in the fridge for up to 2 days, making sure that the temperature is well maintained. If reheating to serve, do so thoroughly.

Tips When Buying Your Fish

1. Have a game plan: Know how many you are feeding and what methods of cookery you have available to you before you go to the fish shop.

2. Know what to look for (whole fish): Glistening eyes that are bulbous and clear, a firmness in appearance and to the touch, scales that are tightly composed and are unaffected by bruising, abrasions or deep cuts, and a light ocean or seaweed odour.

3. Know what to look for (fillets): Ensure that the fillets are dry and not sitting in a puddle of their juices, ice and water, that the skin is intact, free...

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