Many people tend to eat fish dinner at restaurants, because they are unable to cook marvellous fish dishes at home. In reality, cooking fish at home is all about common sense and we should be able to repeat it consistently. Depending on our geographical location, fishes can be purchased very fresh or frozen. Compared to other meat, fish is quite delicate and we should make sure that it isn’t refrigerated more than two or three days. It is important to properly thaw the fish before we cook it. After it thaws, the fish should be fully dried to ensure high quality end results.
Pan frying is one of the most popular ways to cook fish and we should only need to use a minimal amount of oil. For fish with particularly delicate meat texture, it is important to coat it, so it can be protected from the heat. The coating should add taste and texture to the fish. It can be a mixture of wholemeal flour or breadcrumbs with various seasonings and herbs. Fish can have a marvellous crispness if the coated fish is fried in a combination of olive oil and butter. The oil should be about 1/8 of the fish thickness and the pan should be preheated to about 365 degrees Fahrenheit before we put the fish in.
To make sure that our pan is hot enough, we could put a small piece of bread; it should sizzle loudly and becomes browner in less than one minute. If our pan is hot enough, we could place the coated fish and we shouldn’t crowd the pan to make sure that the heat is properly distributed. At this temperature, we could cook the fish for less than three minutes on each. However, thicker pieces may require 6 minutes to cook properly on one side, but only 4 minutes at another side. It is important that we should avoid overcooking the coated fish, because it could taste tougher and dryer.
When properly cooked, the white meat should change from its translucent color to something more opaque. When it is done, the fish should begin to flake. Dry and overcooked fish is indicated by fish that flakes much too easily. When we have sturdier fish meats, such as swordfish, tuna, salmon and grouper, we should consider grilling them. In this case, we should clean, lightly oil and preheat the grill. Depending on the texture of the fish, we can use light or no coating at all. When grilling delicate fish, coating it may not be enough, it could be necessary to put it inside heavy-duty foils.
Baking the fish should be quite easy and we only need to preheat the oven to about 450 degrees Fahrenheit. The fish can be seasoned or coated, depending on the texture or our preferences. At this temperature, we should bake the fish for ten minutes for each inch of thickness. Again, sign of properly cooked fish is when it begins to flake and the color has turned more opaque. Even microwave could be used to cook the fish we know how to do it.