How Do I Cook This Fish?
Channel: slobomotion
Date: 2012-04-16

Ha ha ha ha!  The fish came whole, with scales on it, from the greenmarket in Saint-Denis, France, and I didn't even know which type it is!

Salting it for an hour helped get the scales off with a serrated steak knife, but those scales went all over the kitchen.  Probably best to do this kind of work outdoors, but we live in an apartment.

There were lots of messy guts.

Upon reflexion, I probably should have wrapped some sulphurized paper around it once it was cleaned and tied that at both ends with kitchen twine, but instead it had ground ginger, fancy thick soy sauce, dill, tarragon, lemon juice and a little water on it and it poached in a glass ovenproof baking dish.  Whole.  The heads, tails, bones and other bits of fish can be used to make boullions, but I am not expert in all that so didn't do that.  This was served with a lettuce and walnut salad vinaigrette, and some plain white rice.  Never serve salads vinaigrette with wine, by the way -- ruins the palate.  But we don't drink wine ... well, I do, but I shouldn't.  You get the idea.

Look at this messy kitchen and hear my confusion!  And as you hear on the clip, I am opposed to eating any fish or shellfish at this point!  But I'm just the cook, really.  What he brings and wants to eat, I figure out how to cook and serve.

Seriously, if you like cooking any certain thing and truly have no idea how to do it, consider taking some lessons in person.  Cookbooks and videos can only do so much!  

It is said that the bonier the fish, the more flavor it has, and this one tasted fine, and it was bony and spiny as could be, even though it would have probably been excellent with just lemon juice -- I was all fahrklempt.  Generally, when you buy fresh fish, get it unwrapped from a fish monger, never wrapped in plastic, look for clear eyes, a bit of red around the gills, no strong odor and firm flesh.  Otherwise, it may very well be stale.

copyright 2012 Lisa B. Falour, B.S., M.B.A. all rights reserved LISA, INC. (EURL) cutecatfaith.com

Some fish do not have actual scales.  Mackerel comes to mind?  Or they have very soft ones.  Usually, putting sea salt on them for half an hour or so will help you rinse them off or as need be grate off the scales.  Remember, the more carnivorous and aggressive the fish is, the more toxic it is likely to be.  I really won't eat tuna much anymore, for example.

If you want to stuff the body cavity with veg, use ones with little water content.  Parboiled potatoes and fennel come to mind.  Capers are usually nice with fish.  Many ovens have a "fish" cooking setting.  I am opposed to cooking with foil but the wrapping in sulphurized paper is a good method.  A little butter is nice.  You transfer the whole thing, paper and all, onto each plate and diners open it and eat right from that.  "En papillote," I think the French call it.