I am deep into a cooking weekend. I have sweetbreads soaking in milk (look for a post later this week), gorgonzola sitting in the fridge waiting to be added to the polenta I am attempting tonight to go along with my beef ribs. Last night, I pan seared a black cod (also known as sablefish) fillet.
We all know that fish is a healthy protein, and that most of us do not eat enough of it. Granted, most of us also done live beside an ocean, and growing up that was a challenge. Fresh fish in a smaller, landlocked Ontario town was just not widely available, so the fish I experienced growing up was either the ubiquitous childhood staple, fishsticks, or rectangular bricks of frozen sole or haddock available in the freezer section. Neither were a particularly inspiring introduction to fish, although, as I child I prided myself on the fact that, unlike most kids (particularly my brothers and sister), I liked fish. Things are different now. Decent fish is available in most supermarkets, and if you're lucky, your town/city has a good fishmonger. Ottawa definitely has good fishmongers.
So with good fish more widely available, it stands to reason that we would, as a whole, be eating more of it. The problem is, many, many of us don't know how to cook fish. Or, more accurately, we all know how to overcook fish. Fish, particularly most white fish, with its delicate flesh, offers comparatively little wiggle room - few seconds too long can mean the difference between moist/succulent and dry/rubbery.
Lately I have been on a sablefish kick (it has been regularly available at my local fishmonger). It is a fairly fatty, but not oily, fish. The fattiness makes it more forgiving to cook. Pan searing is one of my favourite ways of cooking any white fish, but particularly sablefish. It is fast, simple and tasty. Fantastic just with a squeeze of lemon, but also easily dressed up with a beurre blanc if you want to impress. Sablefish also works well with Asian flavours - with a dashi broth it is sublime.
I buy the fish with the skin on. The skin helps to guard against dryness, and is good eating when fried crispy in the pan. The skin also helps to maintain the structural integrity of the fish. The first step, salt the skin side, salt and pepper the flesh side. I usually do this about 15-20 minutes before I want to put the fish in the pan. It allows them to come up a little in temperature, and allows the seasoning to sink in.
Heat a pan (I like a non-stick pan best) to med-high and add oil, then a bit of butter. The oil will keep the butter from scorching, and the butter, of course, adds a nice flavour. I use grapeseed oil, which has a high smoke point and a neutral flavour. When the oil/butter is hot, put the fish in, skin side down. There should be a sizzling sound. Depending on the thickness of the fillets, 3 - 4 minutes should be sufficient. When looking at the base of the fillet, near the skin, you should see that the flesh has turned opaque from cooking, while the upper portions remain translucent.
Here, I have flipped the thinner fillet because it was ready while the thicker fillet needed another 30 seconds or so. You can see the crispiness of the skin, and the slightly golden cook on the flesh.
The key to not overcooking fish is, basically, to undercook it. Once taken off the heat, all meats continue to cook for a few minutes, and fish, because of its delicacy, is particularly sensitive. If you take it out of the pan when it is done, it will be overdone when you eat it. Once flipped, another 2-3 minutes and it should probably come out of the pan. You may wonder why it gets longer cooking on one side than the other. It is because the skin offers protection and slows the cook down, and generally there is a layer of fat between the skin and the flesh that needs to render. If you're cooking with skinless fillets, cooking time should be even.
And here we have the finished product. Golden, slightly crispy on top. The flakes starting to pull away from each other. You can see in the fillet on the right that the inside does not look dry. In fact, it looks a little underdone. But, after a couple of minutes, what you have is....
The fish is just opaque, with a hint of translucence in the centre. It remains moist and tender. The flakes come apart easily, indicating its doneness.
There are, of course, many more ways to cook fish, and I vary my methods depending on the type of fish and the season (I like a whole grilled fish in summer - trout is particularly nice done this way) But this is fast and simple - about 10 minutes from putting the pan on the stove to putting the fish on the plate.
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