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Hints and Tips: Cooking Fish
Fish for the PotIf you are going to keep a few fish for a meal, there is more to it than bashing them on the head and slinging them in a bag. Although to be honest, that is what most of us did until the Japanese, in their search for the ultimate sashimi, discovered that if a fish died calmly the meat was much better. If you want to have great fish fillets, here is what to do. As soon as the fish is landed, it must be killed by pushing a spike into its central brain just behind the eye. This is quick and humane. You can either use an Iki Jime spike if you know a Japanese chap who has one, or make your own by filing an old, slender screwdriver into a spike. Push the spike into the right hand side of the head and wiggle it around to destroy the brain. The fish will go limp (unsurprisingly). The heart will carry on pumping for a while, so to create the whitest fillets, the fish needs to be bled. You can do this by cutting the gill rakers with a knife or scissors, or cutting through the narrow bit of belly right under the gills where there is an artery. Let the fish bleed for a while. Next, gut the fish and take out the gills. Wash in some sea water, then ideally, pack it in ice in a cooler, stuffing some ice into the belly cavity. If you do this, the fish will remain edible for up to ten days. For every hour left out of ice, the fish will last a day less. If you don't have a box of ice, at least pack it with a few frozen 2 litre drinks bottles around it. Go home and enjoy the best fish you have ever tasted.
Balti Fried FishIf you like Asian food and want a change from plain-cooked fish, try this. Ready in minutes. You will need (for 4): White fish (fillets, off-cuts) e.g. cod, pollack, pouting, dogfish, bream, bass: about 675 g/1.5lb 2 tomatoes ! medium onion, sliced 1 tbs lemon juice 0.5 tsp salt 1 tsp garlic puree 1 tsp dried or minced chillies 1.5 tsp garam masala 2 tbs fresh coriander leaves 2 tbs cornflour Oil for shallow frying Chop the fish into bite-sized chunks. Dry and chill. Take everything else except the oil and cornflour, and whizz to a pulp with a blender - a hand blender is ideal. Put it into a bowl and mix in the cornflour. Put your oil in a pan to a depth of 2cm and heat until a cube of bread turns brown in 30 seconds. Mix the fish into the sauce until well coated. Take individual pieces of fish and drop into the hot oil one at a time, do this in batches so you don't over-crowd the pan and cool the oil. When the fish lumps turn brown (1-2 minutes max) use a slotted spoon and scoop them out. Put them on kitchen paper to drain and keep warm while you do the rest - probably 4-6 batches in total. Serve with rice or paratha bread, plenty of chutney (apricot or mango is good), and a raita. Not forgetting the cold beer of course.
Crispy CodSo easy, and so totally delicious. Impresses the mates (and quick too). You will need (for 4): 4 cod steaks - best cuts are thick slices from a large fillet 2 thick slices of old bread (going a bit hard but not mouldy) Two tablespoons of mayonnaise 1 lemon Salt and pepper Heat your oven to 190deg C. Lay the cod steaks on an ovenproof dish (I use a very small tin roasting tray). In a blender or food processor, zap your bead into crumbs (crusts too). Grate all the zest of the lemon and add that too. Add a pinch of salt and a good grinding of pepper. Zap again to mix. Now spread the fish with mayo, and pour the crumb mix over the fish. Press gently to get it to stick to the mayo. Now put it in the oven for 15 minutes for thin steaks, 20 minutes for thick, and check after halfway through to make sure it doesn't burn or overcook. I like this served very plain with boiled new potatoes and green beans or peas, with some real butter to melt on and lemon juice too if you like more tang. If the fish is good and fresh, it doesn't get any better than this. Dogfish 1 - Deep fry in Beer BatterThis is the best way to cook dogfish and only if you tire of it should you try the next one! As with all dogfish recipes, skin them and freeze the fillets for a couple of weeks, this eliminates any taint of the ammonia which affects all cartilaginous species. You will need: A can or bottle of lager-style beer (or half beer half water) Plain flour Salt Oil for deep frying Dogfish fillets I am not giving any quantities because it all depends how many you have. The method is simple. Put the beer and flour in a bowl and stir together, you need a batter the consistency of pouring cream (OK if you want quantities, 8 tablespoons of flour to 250ml of beer is a good start). Add a bit of salt. Heat your oil until a cube of bread turns brown and crispy in about 20 seconds. Then dust your dry fillets in some flour, then dip right into the batter mix to coat, then drop the coated fillet into the hot oil. Don't crowd the oil, you don't want it to cool. They are done when they look like the ones in a chip shop. Drain and blot excess oil in kitchen paper, and keep warm in an oven while you do any others. Superb with chips, lashings of salt and tomato ketchup. Dogfish 2 - Dogfish done like Osso BuccoWhich if you eat Italian you will know is a way of cooking veal. This is similar but with dogfish (huss, rock salmon, whatever). You will need: 4 fillets (two dogfish halved), shopped into 4cm lengths. 3 garlic gloves chopped A handful of fresh parsley leaves, chopped Olive oil 1 shallot or half a small onion chopped 4 tomatoes chopped ! tablespoon tomato paste 1 glass of white wine Grated zest of a lemon Salt and pepper You will need a casserole dish that can go on the hob and in the oven. Put a glug of olive oil in the bottom and gently sweat the shallot/onion. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook a couple of minutes. Add the wine, Cook a couple of minutes more after it has boiled. Add half the parsley and garlic. Stand the dogfish sections upright in the casserole in a little group. Put in the oven and cook at 170degC or 325degF for 30 minutes. Check it after 20, if it is drying up, add half a glass of water. When the fish are done, put fillets on each plate and keep them warm. Put the casserole back on the hob to heat, add the lemon zest, the rest of the garlic and parsley, season with salt and pepper and give it a quick bubble - again, make sure it doesn't dry out. Spoon over the fish and it should look like this:
(From a Mitch Tonks recipe) Dog-BurgerOr you could just call this "Huss Fish-cakes". It doesn't even need to be huss, any white fish will do, even a mixture. I made this recently with a dogfish, two skate "eyes" and a stray bass fillet! You will need (for 4 generously): Two small dogfish or equivalent (frozen then thawed) Two medium potatoes Splash of milk chopped parsley Lemon juice 1 beaten egg Breadcrumbs or two slices of bread put in the blender Oil for shallow frying Dogfish are best filleted and frozen for at least two weeks. This extracts any remaining ammonia taste and also removes some water. Whatever fish you end up using, skin and fillet the fish, and put in a bowl with a splash of milk and microwave for three minutes. Peel and boil the potatoes - use a ratio of twice as much fish to potato. Drain and mash the potatoes, and dry over a gentle heat. Drain and flake the fish, taking out any bones and skin remaining. Mix in with the potatoes and add lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix into a mush. With your hands, press and shape into as many fish-burgers as looks right, it will depend in the amount of mush and individual greed. It helps to put them into the fridge to firm up and chill at this point, otherwise they may collapse at the next stage. Pour oil into a large frying pan to a depth of about 5mm. Heat until a cube of bread browns up in about 30 seconds. Now the tricky bit. Dip each fish-burger into the beaten egg to coat, then into the breadcrumbs, pat to make them stick then lay in the oil. Quickly repeat until your pan is full. By the time the last one is in, the first will need turning over. Cook about three minutes each side, then remove and drain on kitchen paper. Nice served in a burger bun with mayo, or tartare sauce, and a salad. Don't tell anyone it's dogfish and they'll never guess. Not Just Any Old Fish KebabsYou will need: 4 white fish fillets or steaks (any white fish as long as the fillets are chunky: cod, whiting, pouting, pollack etc.) 16 large uncooked prawns 8 thin rashers smoked streaky bacon 1 Lemon 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme 2 garlic cloves Olive Oil Adapted from a Good Housekeeping recipe.
Spider CrabsYou are bound to catch these sooner or later in the Eastern Solent area, and if they are big enough they are superb eating. Here is how to do it. Firstly, catch one (use a landing net as they may drop as soon as they break the surface. If it is large enough (minimum 130mm from between the eyes to the back of the carapace for males), keep it cool and out of water. As soon as you can, cook it. First, scrub it with a vegetable brush to remove the worst of the muck that collects on them, then kill it with a spike pushed through the centre of the underside and wiggled. On males, go in at the end of the pointed flap. It will go limp. Put it in a big pot of boiling water with a handful of salt added, and boil for 25 minutes. Take it out and plunge in cold water, then stand it on end to drain. There will be plenty of gunge floating about, just wash this off, it looks a bit horrid but it is OK. Cool it as fast as you can, and keep it in the fridge - eat within a couple of days. To "pick" a spider crap, pull off all the legs and claws, break each segment with a hammer or rolling pin, and pull the white meat out. To get at the white body meat, prise off the shell and peel off and remove the feathery gills that are all around the body. Wash your hands after, these can harbour nasties. Then get to work on the leg sockets, that is where there is a load of white meat. There is some edible gooey brown meat around the shell if you fancy it. Getting at the socket meat is fiddly but worth it. Each leg socket has a thin shell around it, so you have to cut or pick this open and flick the meat out - it is best to use an old bent skewer and flick the meat into a bowl. All this will take ages, and you will scoff what you have prepared in a minute or two. Be careful though, if the cat gets there first and scoffs it, you will probably kill it in a fit of rage and then you would have some explaining to do.
Crab Pasta in a HurryFor two people you will need: Crab meat (from your spider crab above or a tin of crab meat will do) I red chilli 200 grams spaghetti 100 grams frozen peas 1 lemon Small bunch or parsley 3 tablespoons creme fraiche So easy you can do this blindfolded. Cook your pasta, and half way through the cooking time add the peas. Remove the seeds from the chilli and chop finely. (Tip - use those disposable latex gloves or put your hands in a plastic bag. If you handle chilli juice then touch your eyes or willy it will burn like crazy, even hours later. ) Grate the zest of half the lemon. Chop the parsley. Drain the cooked pasta and keep some of the water. Mix in the creme fraiche, crab meat, lemon zest, chilli, parsley, salt and pepper and mix about. If it looks too sticky put some of the water back in, a splash at a time, until it looks right. Serve. Eat.
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