Divers Ways of Cooking Fish

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •2-quart / 1.9-liter saucepan
• •10-inch / 25-cm heavy skillet
• •3-quart / 2.8-liter lidded sauté pan
• •Small heavy pot and frying thermometer
• •Small broiler-safe gratin dish
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Divide by method

   Arrange the seven portions in cooking order and label them: cuisson à l'eau salée, friture, meunière, pochage court, braisage, grillade, and au gratin. Pat each completely dry, then season lightly with part of the salt and white pepper just before cooking. Keep the waiting pieces cold. The thick steak and large fillet must remain thick; trimming everything into equal little rectangles would erase the lesson before it begins.

   Ask the fishmonger to make these cuts from one loin. Comparing one fish across seven methods lets you taste what the cooking changes, rather than what a change of species contributes.
2. 2

   Cuire à l'eau salée

   For cuisson à l'eau salée, salted-water cooking, bring the cold water and 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 17 g) of the salt to a full boil in a saucepan. Lower in the thick steak, wait for the water to return almost to the boil, then reduce the heat immediately so the surface barely trembles. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until the flesh is opaque around the outside and just pearly at the center. If the outer flakes begin separating before the center is ready, take the pan off the heat, cover it, and let the stored heat finish the fish. Drain well and glaze with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter.

3. 3

   Faire frire

   For friture, deep-frying, heat the oil in a small heavy pot to 350°F / 175°C. Coat one thin slice with ¼ cup (60 ml / 30 g) flour, shake off every loose speck, and lower it carefully into the oil. Fry until crisp and evenly golden, about 3 minutes, turning once if needed. Drain on a rack and season at once. If the coating drinks oil and remains pale, the fat has cooled; lift the fish out, restore the temperature, then return it for a brief finish. Ça se rattrape. Serve with a lemon wedge.

4. 4

   Cuire meunière

   For meunière, flour-dusted fish cooked in butter, coat the second thin slice with the remaining ¼ cup (60 ml / 30 g) flour and shake it clean. Melt 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 57 g) butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, add the fish and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden and barely done. Transfer it to the platter. Let the butter reach a nutty hazelnut color, add half the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 8 g) parsley, then pour it over the fish. If the butter turns black or smells sharp, don't sacrifice the fish to it. Discard the butter, wipe the pan, and make the finish again.

5. 5

   Pocher court

   For pochage court, a short-moistening poach, butter a small sauté pan with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter and lay in the small fillet. Add ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) The Preparation of Clarified Consommé for Clear Soups (No. 2), cover closely, and hold at the gentlest simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. Lift the fish out as soon as it flakes under light pressure. Reduce the moistening to about 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g), take the pan off the heat, and whisk in 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) cold butter. If the liquid begins boiling hard, pull the pan off the heat and add a spoonful of cold consommé before continuing.

6. 6

   Braiser doucement

   For braisage, braising, heat the oven to 375°F / 190°C. Soften the shallots in 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter without coloring them. Set the large fillet over the shallots, add the white wine, the remaining 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) The Preparation of Clarified Consommé for Clear Soups (No. 2), and the bouquet garni. Cover and braise for 15 to 20 minutes, until the thickest part reaches 140 to 145°F / 60 to 63°C. If the fish finishes before its liquor has body, lift it out and cover it loosely while the liquid reduces. Never keep cooking the fish merely to thicken its sauce. Strain the reduced liquor and whisk in 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) cold butter.

7. 7

   Griller vivement

   For grillade, grilling, heat the broiler fully and place a rack about 6 inches / 15 cm below it. Brush the collop with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) melted butter, season lightly, and set it on a preheated broiler-safe pan. Broil for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until bronze marks form and the center is just opaque. If the surface colors before the center is ready, lower the rack rather than letting the exterior scorch. Finish with lemon juice and a pinch of parsley.

8. 8

   Cuire au gratin

   Butter a small gratin dish with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter and place the final fish portion inside. Coat it with the prepared rapid-gratin finish from Gratins (No. 268), keeping that referenced preparation whole rather than rebuilding it here. Set the dish beneath the broiler until the coating bubbles at the rim, bronzes across the top, and the fish flakes under gentle pressure, about 6 to 8 minutes. If the top darkens too quickly, lower the dish and shield the darkest patch loosely with foil while the center finishes.

9. 9

   Serve in waves

   Cut every cooked portion into four tasting pieces. Serve the cuisson à l'eau salée, pochage court, and braisage first, spooning their butter and reduced liquors over them. Follow immediately with the friture, meunière, grillade, and au gratin while their crisp edges and bronzed surfaces still speak clearly. This is a generous lesson, not a plating exercise. Put the platter in reach, pass the lemon, and compare what each method gave the same fish. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Firm white fish is the clearest teacher here. Cod, haddock, or hake will all show the contrast between moist cooking, butter cooking, frying, and fierce top heat without bringing seven different flavors into the argument.
• •Use one instant-read thermometer and trust your fingers as well. Thick fish should begin to flake under gentle pressure while the center remains moist; once the flakes split widely and shed white protein, it has gone too far.
• •Cook in waves. Moist preparations tolerate a short wait beneath loose foil, but friture and meunière do not. Bring those directly from pan to table, even if everyone has to pause the conversation for a moment.
• •Strain the cooled frying oil through a fine sieve and refrigerate it in a sealed container if it remains clean and smells fresh. Any oil that smells strongly of fish has finished its service.
• •Pour a dry, high-acid white wine. The butter, fried coating, reduced moistening, and gratin all need freshness more than perfume.

Advance Preparation

• •Have the fish divided up to 4 hours ahead. Lay the portions on a towel-lined tray, cover, and keep them cold; dry them again before seasoning.
• •The two referenced preparations can be completed a day ahead and held separately in the cold. Bring only the amount needed for cooking to the stove.
• •Measure the flour, wine, butter, and seasonings before beginning. Once the frying and meunière stages start, stopping to search for an ingredient costs the fish its proper texture.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 400g)