The following contribution is from another author.
Fish is one of those ingredients that’s notorious for being ‘difficult’ to get right. From filleting through to ensuring things aren’t overdone, even professionals can often feel the pressure. And, if you approach it in the wrong way, there’s definitely no denying that fish cooking can be a faff.
Luckily, that doesn’t mean that you need to run in the opposite direction at 100 miles an hour. Rather, the challenge of fish cooking is in finding ways to simplify, and perhaps even enjoy, the process. So, forget tiny fish bones and the risks of overdoing it, and keep reading to find out how you can make fish cooking easier, and more importantly fun, moving forward.
# 1 – Buy pre-prepared fillets
Life is short. You may want to impress with a whole salmon and, sure, you could probably achieve that goal if you worked at it, but is it worth it? The fact is that we live in a very privileged age where, in most cases, pre-fileted fish is often easier to get than whole fish anyway. Not to mention that pre-prepared options in the supermarket have the very pressing benefit of being de-boned, gutted, and even deskinned if that takes your fancy. In other words, buying a ready-to-go option can save you from all the messy jobs, meaning that you can get straight on with cooking a tasty dish. And, that’s what all of this is about right? What’s more, once you’ve perfected the best fish recipe, no one will have the foggiest idea about whether you prepared that fish yourself or not. In fact, if you’re feeling uber lazy, you could even invest in some frozen ready-done fillets and have at it. Who’s judging?!
# 2 – Choose the right recipe
When people consider fish to be difficult, they’re typically referring to pan-frying which can, admittedly, go very wrong very quickly. But, there are as many ways to cook fish as there are creatures in the sea, and selecting easy recipes, preferably ones that center around oven cooking, is the easiest solution you could hope for. This way, it’s far less likely that you’re going to make any mistakes along the way, and you could still end up with a fantastic tasting plate of food at the end of things. Parchment or foil fish cooking is especially fantastic for this, allowing you to slip a piece of fish in the oven with a few flavorings of your choice, and ensuring a taste explosion that you wouldn’t be disappointed with in a fantastic fish restaurant. All for about the same amount of hassle that you’d put into cooking frozen fish fingers and chips!
# 3 – Think about the smell
The imagined work involved is definitely the worst thing about fish cooking for many of us, but it’s also worth noting that some of us avoid fish recipes because we worry about the smell they could create. And, let’s be honest; a fresh bit of sea bass does leave a stink in our homes for a good few days. Unless, of course, we take precautionary measures. Again, cooking in foil or parchment can be a Godsend here, keeping smells concealed and largely out of the kitchen. If you would like to do a lot of fish cooking but feel that you can’t, it would also be well worth your while to invest in a kitchen air purifier. By neutralizing that fishy stink, this handy piece of kit ensures you can cook fish to your heart’s content, enjoy your meal in the moment, and then move on without a lingering stench that most definitely stands to put the hassle into fish cooking.
# 4 – Always bake in batch
Given that fish is a pretty volatile ingredient from a safety standpoint, many of us resist batch cooking where fish dishes are concerned, but this is another significant mistake. While you definitely need to be careful with fish, and should never refreeze, etc., there’s really nothing to stop you from making batches of your favorite fish delicacies to last through those rainy days. Much like meat, cooked fish actually lasts three days in the fridge, and can also be frozen for up to three months if you fancy creating a sizable stash. Just make sure to defrost in the fridge, and you can quite literally have fish-based, high-quality ready meals at your fingertips.
So, it’s time to stop leaving fish off your menu and delve into these fuss-free, but undeniably tasty, cooking solutions today.
