Page 16 - foodservice magazine September 2019

16
SEAFOOD
WHAT’S IN A CUT?
AS TIMES GET TOUGH, RELYING ON CHOICE CUTS OF FISH – OR ANY CREATURE –
IS UNSUSTAINABLE IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD. JOHN SUSMAN BREAKS IT DOWN AND EXPLAINS THE BEST WAYS TO HANDLE AND COOK EVERY MUSCLE.
John Susman is the director of the seafood industry agency Fishtales. For more views, insights and understanding of the seafood industry visit www.thefishtale.com.au.
With the looming threat of a recession and fears that, in the country’s current economic state, we are destined to years of eating bread and dripping, it is timely that we look at ways to drive a better yield from the seafood we buy.
While the perfectly shaped square of “centre cut”, skinless, boneless premium fish makes cooking, service and presentation simple, the reality is that this cut comes at a cost.
Have you ever really thought of what happens to the rest of the fish leftover from the upmarket centre cut portion?
Given that in most round fish (salmon, barramundi, kingfish, mulloway etc.) the rest of the fish represents about 70 per cent of the total weight, the centre cut is worth the most to the catcher and distributor.
Smart operators are incresingly considering what can be done with the secondary cuts – still using premium fish, but maximising their return by creating dishes out of bits that cost a fraction of the price of the rockstar centre cuts.
Our mates in the meat and poultry worlds have long addressed the issue of secondary- cut utilisation so much so that pork belly,
beef cheeks and lamb shanks have become fashionable proteins.
While most people only consider whole fish when it is the typical 600- to 800-gram single-serve plate size, whole large fish can be used in ways that will return surprising profits.
A whole, four-kilo kingfish for example, gilled and gutted and poached whole, will yield approximately 2.6 to 2.8 kilos of cooked meat, in addition to the five or six litres of delicious, flavour-packed stock rendered from the poaching of the fish in a simple court bouillon.
If we convert this poached fish into
a salad or pasta, you would expect to get between 25 and 30 portions from the fish, along with conceivably some 20-25 serves of soup or broth.
Thus, compare the resulting 45 to 55 dishes we have made from the whole fish to the 180-gram cookie-cut portions that some extract from the same four-kilo fish.
Clearly, if you choose to only buy these 10 to 14 centre-cut portions, then their value must be amortised by the fishmonger across the rest of the fish. Put simply, you must expect to pay for removing these perfect pieces from the rest of the fish.
It is not just in whole fish where value can be extracted, but careful consideration of each part of a whole fish can yield both better culinary and commercial results for your restaurant.
Just as certain cuts of meat suit certain cooking methods and preparations, so too do the various parts of a fish suit methods designed for their specific muscle types and fat contents. The investigation is further enhanced by knowing the differences between oily, white, pelagic, tropical and deep sea fish – where the basic anatomical characteristics will also vary.
Let’s use the kingfish as an example again and consider the following cuts.
A whole fillet, scaled, skin on, removed from the frame and with the rib cage removed will yield approximately 67 per cent net weight. While the fat content will vary between the belly, shoulder and tail, if this fillet is cooked in one piece (roasted, grilled or steamed) the whole fillet will be moist,
as the fat from the skin and the belly will render through the entire side.
The centre cut could be removed for pan-roasting, but this will leave the shoulder, belly and tail fillets to deal with.
In kingfish, the belly is without question one of the most delicious parts of the
fish. The natural fat makes it ideal for premium sashimi, tartare and even smoked preparations. However, anything more than a light sear over high heat and the belly will quickly loose both flavour and texture as the fat renders, leaving it dry and coarse.