The Secrets of Cooking Fish
There are many ways to cook fish, each producing unique and delicious results. Different cooking methods suit different fish and it also depends whether you are using a whole fish, fillets, or steaks. Stuffing adds texture and flavor. There is more space in the body cavity of round fish. Do not overstuff the fish because most stuffing contains breadcrumbs, which swell when they are cooked. Parsley and walnut pesto, for example, is delicious with sea bass. You can also roll or sandwich fillets with stuffing and oven-bake them.
Methods of Fish Cooking
Poaching usually gives excellent results. To poach fish, you need to add herbs, seasoning and a thickener such as cream. You can use this as a sauce to serve with the fish. Steaming is easy and suits whole fish, steaks, or fillets. To steam fish, put it in a steamer over boiling water and make sure you use a tight-fitting lid.
Oven baking and roasting are suitable for whole fish or fillets. You place the fish in an ovenproof dish and add herbs, seasoning, oil or butter and white wine. If you want very tender flesh, you can cook your fish “en papillote”, which means you put the fish in sealed paper or foil, so it will cook in its own steam. You might like to add lemon or limejuice, fresh herbs and white wine to the fish before sealing the parcel and cooking it. If you would like to braise your fish, you need to put it on top of sauted vegetables in an ovenproof dish, add some white wine and bouillon, and cook for about 20 minutes, with a tight-fitting lid in place.
If you have a grill, you can use it to cook fillets or small, whole fish. If you want to use whole fish, slash the skin on each side a couple of times and brush the fish with olive oil or melted butter. Turn the fish halfway through the cooking time and baste it to keep it moist and add flavor. You can also wrap the fish in a foil packet and add herbs, lemon juice, and olive oil before grilling it.
Some fish can be cooked without being heated. Ceviche is an example of this, when you soak white fish, such as sole, flounder, scallops, or snapper, in limejuice, chili, and herbs. The acid in the citrus juice cooks the fish.
Another Fish Cooking Method – Wood Fish Board
You can use pretty much any wood to cook fish, as long as it is pest-free and untreated. You need to soak the board for at least an hour before cooking, to ensure it is waterlogged. This means the wood will generate enough steam to cook the fish
Cedar is the most common wood but you can also use oak, maple, alder, apple, or cherry. You can buy a cooking quality wood fish board from specialty food stores or online. A wood fish board lasts for one use.
When cooking on a wood fish board, the fish cooks indirectly so you do not need to flip it during cooking. You should brush the fish with oil on one side so it does not stick to the board. When the fish is seasoned, place it on the fish board and place the board on the grill. You can baste the fish during cooking with lemon juice or butter if you want, but do not use anything flammable. Make sure the fire is low, so the board does not ignite.
Cooking fish on a wood fish board gives plenty of flavors, since the smoldering wood gives a smoky taste. In addition, you will not need to clean the grill afterwards!
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- Creamy Pesto Fish
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- Cooking Guide
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- Light Cooking Recipes And Diabetic Cooking
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Posted by Sandy Bloom
on Aug 11 2008. Filed under Cooking News, Food.
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