Very rarely does a chef get a 4-star review while a critic is still at the table, but in my case our resident critic (that would be Craig) exclaimed, on biting into the fish you see above, “This is seriously the best fish I’ve ever had in my life. You could charge $40 for this at a restaurant!”
You might think Craig was hyperbolizing, but when I bit in I felt the same way. And it wasn’t like I considered myself a big fish expert by any means; because good fish takes more effort to find than good chicken or good produce, I very rarely make it. This dinner was a total anomaly but because it turned out so terrific, I’m thinking it’ll become a regular weeknight staple for us. Why did it turn out so good? Let’s examine.
Reason #1: I Bought Great Fish.
I’m very lucky to have McCall’s Meat & Fish Company close to my apartment. It’s where I got the seafood when I made my Bouillabaisse; and it’s where I always mean to go when I want to make fish. Because it’s a tiny drive, though, I rarely work up the energy at the end of the day and make chicken instead. (For some reason, probably good ones, I can’t bring myself to buy seafood at my local Gelson’s; it always looks so sad and gray under those fluorescent lights.)
The key to buying good fish is to ask questions. I told the fishmonger that I wanted fish with skin that I could crisp up and that I was planning to serve it with a fennel salad; he suggested the Arctic Cod. Two fillets were expensive–$24, in fact–but fish is one of those things where you just have to pay more to get the best results. In this case, paying $24 yielded some of the best fish we’d ever had, so it was entirely worth it.
#2: I Consulted The Experts.
I jokingly Tweeted, later that day, “Will someone ask Eric Ripert if I should pan sear the Arctic cod I bought for dinner?” James Beard Award nominee Kenji Alt Tweeted back, “What could possibly be stopping you?” He sent me a link to this marvelous post he wrote all about searing fish and after consulting that, I also dug into my own cookbook referring to Rebecca Charles’s advice and Alain Allegretti’s.
It was from Allegretti that I got the idea to serve the fish with a fennel salad; that was such a winning move. Slice the fennel as thin as you can and then, in my case, I tossed it with segmented cara cara oranges, a splash of rice vinegar, olive oil, Kalamata olives, salt, pepper and chopped parsley and dill:
Be generous with the olive oil and vinegar and you have a killer sauce that peps up your fish as you eat everything together.
#3: Get Your Oil Hot and Don’t Be Afraid of Flare-Ups.
Ok, here are the secrets to perfect fish at home. For starters, use a small metal skillet because it keeps the heat in. Use one per fillet. Coat the bottom of it with vegetable oil or canola oil because it has a high smoke point and can get really hot. Blot your fish very dry with paper towels, sprinkle it with salt and then heat your oil on high heat for at least a minute, maybe longer. A good test to know if the oil is ready is: stick the back of a wooden spoon in the oil. If bubbles form around it, it’s ready.
Lay the fish in carefully, skin side down, and it should immediately sizzle. Per Kenji’s instructions, lower the heat slightly here. Cook for about two minutes and as it cooks, you should see the flesh of the fish go from transparent to opaque. The moment to flip is the moment when the skin detaches itself naturally. I stupidly didn’t have a fish spatula on this night, but the next day I went and bought one: it makes this job much easier.
Still, I used a metal spatula and carefully slid it under the skin to test whether it was detaching yet. When it went under effortlessly, I flipped the fish.
Here’s where I had a flare up! Some of that hot hot oil hit the flame and the pan lit up with flame. A lesser home cook than me would’ve flipped out and started crying. And though there were tears and a few “SHIT SHIT SHIT”s, I kept my cool, moved the pan away from the heat, and when the flame subsided (it goes down really quickly, as you probably have seen on Top Chef or any other high-octane cooking show) I put it back on the heat to finish the job. Kenji suggests taking the fish’s temperature with an instaread; I did, and when it was 120 in the center, I lifted it out of the pan, blotted with with paper towels on the spatula (another chef trick I learned) before laying it on the plate next to the salad. As a final touch, I drizzled the whole thing with good, flavorful olive oil.
And there you are, one of the best dinners I’ve made in a long, long time. So good, I can’t wait to make it again. Next time, I’ll have my fish spatula at the ready and I won’t freak out if there’s a flare-up. Ok, maybe I’ll freak out a little, but not as much. You can teach a man to cook fish, but you can’t teach him not to freak out at flare-ups. That happens naturally over time.
what other less expensive fish fillets (with skin) would be a good substitute for this technique?
This technique will work with any fish that has the skin still attached when you buy it as a fillet. (So: skin-on salmon, cod, etc.)
McCall’s is a shamockery of the highest order. I get that Los Feliz is “far” from the sea, but they consistantly sell their seafood 2x above cost (or for that matter, above places like the excellent Santa Monica Seafood). And the wild Pacific cod you buy at Gelson’s comes from the same purveyor as McCall’s – you’re just paying for better lighting.
You might want to mention the Wondra flour that Ripert uses in many (most?) recipes at Le Bernadin for crisping up fish.
That fennel salad looks awesome. I bet it tasted so great next to the fish! Yum!
Looks great-If you are looking for a repeat- and only for cod- have you tried “pil-pil”? you put the olive oil in sooner, moved that pan around for about 2 mnutes, and you get an awesome sauce out of it with what the cod “sweats”- One of Arzark’s trademarks- and it always works!
Carrie: could you share that cooking move with me? I’m new to fish as well and I don’t know what “pil-pil” is. Thanks.
I don’t follow the blotting paper towel spatula trick. Can you elaborate?
Sure: when you lift the fish out of the pan with the spatula, before you put it on the plate, blot it with paper towels to get rid of excess oil. The oil that it fried in won’t taste very good at this point, which is why you’re getting rid of it; also, it could pool on the plate and make it look greasy.
You might really enjoy this video of Dan Brown from Blue Stone Barns talking at ted about the most amazing fish he ever ate. His talk on youtube is:
Dan Barber: How I fell in love with a fish
Dan Barber, I mean, oops : )
Sounds delish, but I settle for a less challenging preheated cast iron skillet under the broiler for similar results without flare-ups… or trade crispy skin for layered flavors with fish & aromatics en papillote.
I don’t flip the fish. After I put it in the hot oil to sear the skin I put some seasoned bread crumbs (homemade with Italian herbs and grated cheese) on top and then pour some minced garlic briefly cooked in 3 tablespoons of butter on top of that and then slip it under the broiler (8 inches down) for 2 minutes more to finish it. I love cod but this works with any fish. Cook for less time for thinner pieces of fish. Easy and out of this world taste. Just don’t over cook the fish.
MMMmmmmmmmm!
yes that’s right
Looks delicious. I love how you got real-time expert advice through tweeting. What are the seasoning “dots” that are visible on the final photo?
Pepper!
Good golly, my mouth is watering! I feel like I just finished an incredibly important cooking class. Can’t wait to try this- fennel salad included!!
I have to quit reading these right before bed! Tummy is growling and it’s getting nothing, nothing I say.
Great post! Nice tip is also to cut the skin with a sharp knife horizontally before frying to get the Pro-look….
mmmmmmm!
Lovely!
The fish (and side) look really amazing. Nice presentation, and it looks delicious!
Sam, http://www.howtocookfish.net
Cooking fish is great fun, i like this …
greetiing with you
:)
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sounds soo yumm! i had fish tonight and had sprinkled dukkah over the fish and enjoyed the fennel in it. i will try the fennel salad next time ;-)
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