Fish and seafood: crisp skin, juicy fillets and shrimp that aren't rubbery
How to choose fresh fish, thaw it properly and salt it in 15 minutes, pan-fry it with crisp skin and not dry it out in the oven. How many seconds shrimp and squid need, how to get rid of a muddy taste and what to do with mussels.
How to choose fresh fish
Fresh fish smells of the sea, of cucumber or simply of water — but not "fishy". A sharp ammonia or sourish smell means it has been sitting a while.
- Eyes — bulging and clear, not cloudy or sunken.
- Gills — bright red or pink, not brown or grey.
- Flesh — springy: a fingertip dent springs back in a second.
- Scales — shiny and tight.
- Fillets — no dried edges and no pool of cloudy liquid in the pack.
Thawing without losing juice
The best way is to move the fish to the fridge overnight on a plate so the liquid can drain. A fillet thaws in 8–12 hours and loses very little juice.
The quick way is in a sealed bag in a bowl of cold water: a 2–3 cm fillet thaws in 30–60 minutes. Hot water and the microwave cook the edges while the middle is still frozen.
You can cook fillets from frozen in the oven or steamer, allowing about half as long again. For pan-frying, though, thaw and dry them thoroughly.
A 15-minute dry brine: firm, flavourful fillets
Fish is more delicate than meat and falls apart easily. A short salting in advance makes it firmer and juicier: salt slightly restructures the proteins so they hold on to more moisture when heated. It also cuts down the white curd-like albumin that seeps out of salmon.
Sprinkle the fillet with salt — ½ tsp (3 g) per 200 g of fish — and leave for 15 minutes in the fridge. Pat away the moisture that appears. No more salt is needed while cooking.
How to pan-fry fish with crisp skin
Crisp skin is about moisture and patience. The skin must be bone dry: pat it with a towel and, if you have time, leave the fish uncovered in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Make 2–3 shallow cuts in the skin so the fillet doesn't curl.
- Heat a pan with 1–2 tbsp oil until it just shimmers.
- Lay the fillet skin-side down and press it with a spatula for 10–15 seconds.
- Don't move it! It spends 70–80% of the time on the skin: 4–5 minutes for a 2.5 cm fillet.
- When the flesh has turned opaque two-thirds of the way up, flip for 30–60 seconds and take it off.
The oven: the 10-minute rule
A simple guide that works for almost any fish: 10 minutes per 2.5 cm of thickness at 200–220 °C. Measure at the thickest point.
With a thermometer: salmon with a slightly translucent centre is 50–52 °C inside, fully cooked is 55–60 °C. White fish (cod, hake, pollock) — 60 °C. Above 63 °C any fish starts to dry out.
Without a thermometer: the flesh flakes easily with a fork and is no longer glassy in the middle.
Getting rid of muddy and fishy smells
Freshwater fish (carp, pike, silver carp) and pollock can taste muddy. Milk helps: soak the fillets for 20–30 minutes, then rinse and dry. Milk proteins bind the compounds behind the smell.
Acid works too: lemon juice, white wine, vinegar. Sprinkle the fish 10 minutes before cooking. Not longer — acid starts to "cook" the protein and the flesh turns mushy.
Lemon or salt gets the smell off your hands and board; a couple of spoons of vinegar in hot water does the pan.
Shrimp: count the seconds
Shrimp cook very fast and turn rubbery just as fast. The main guide is shape: a cooked shrimp curls into a C. If it has curled into an O, it's overdone.
- Raw (grey) peeled medium shrimp — 2–3 minutes in a pan, 1–1.5 minutes per side.
- Cooked-frozen (pink) — just warm through: 30–60 seconds in a sauce or 1 minute in boiling water.
- King prawns in the shell — 3–4 minutes in salted boiling water once it returns to the boil.
Squid and mussels
Squid has two windows: 1–2 minutes or 30–40 minutes. Quick over high heat, it's tender. Longer than a couple of minutes it toughens and only turns soft again after a long braise. Anything in between is rubber.
Sort mussels before cooking: throw away any open ones that don't close when tapped. Cook covered in a little wine or stock for 5–7 minutes until the shells open. Discard any that stay shut.
Seasonings and sauces for fish
Fish loves simple things: lemon, dill, parsley, garlic, butter, white wine, capers. For oily fish (salmon, mackerel) — soy sauce, honey, ginger, mustard. For white fish — paprika, thyme, tomatoes.
A quick sauce for any fish: melt 50 g butter, add the juice of half a lemon, 1 tbsp capers and chopped parsley. Ready in 2 minutes.
Questions and answers
Why does fish fall apart in the pan?＋
It's turned too early or too often. Let the crust form and flip once with a wide spatula. The 15-minute dry brine helps too.
Do I need to devein shrimp?＋
For large ones, yes: the dark vein can be gritty. Slit the back with a knife and lift the vein out with a toothpick.
Can I refreeze fish?＋
Raw — better not, the texture suffers. A dish cooked from thawed fish can be frozen, though.
How do I tell fish is done without a thermometer?＋
Push a knife into the thickest part for 5 seconds and touch the blade to your lip. Warm means done, cold means not yet. The flesh should also flake.
How long does cooked fish keep?＋
1–2 days in the fridge in a sealed container. Reheat gently and covered or it will dry out.
Try it in practice
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