Page 487 - YC Cooking School

will stew or poach instead of developing a lovely golden crust.

Turn the fish only once
Cooking fish is like handling a delicate piece of china, so be gentle. The flesh is dainty and
tends to crumble if you move it around too much, so try to only turn it once.

Testing for doneness
Fish cooks more quickly than red meat because it contains less collagen, a connective tissue
that softens with heat. As a rule of thumb, work on a cooking time of 4-6 minutes per
centimetre of thickness. Although there are no hard and fast rules, it’s usually best to err on
the side of undercooking, as the fish will continue to cook for another few minutes until
after it comes off the heat source.

To test for doneness, look at the colour and texture of the fish. Raw fish has a transparent
appearance that gradually becomes opaque when cooked through. For oily fish, it’s often
best to cook it only until the inside is still a little pink while the outside is opaque. Use a fork
to pull apart the flesh at one of the thickest points. If it flakes easily, you’ll know its cooked.

You can also test for doneness by inserting a meat thermometer into the thickest part of
the fish. At an internal temperature of 60 °C (140 °F) fish is cooked.

Then finally, the “fingertip test” is a genius tip for testing doneness. To do this, rest your
fingers gently on the surface of the fish. If you feel a faint bubbling sensation, it means the

internal juices are starting to cook and the fish is ready to take off the heat. Careful not to
burn your hand while you do this!

Remember health and safety
Raw fish can be a breeding ground for nasty germs. To prevent bacteria spreading, always

wash your hands with hot soapy water in between handling the fish and other ingredients.
It’s also really important to thoroughly wash any work surfaces or utensils that have had
contact with the raw meat before using them for anything else.

A few notes on homemade fish stock

Save the offcuts
With the exception of fish innards, you can throw just about any bit of the fish into the
stockpot - tail and fins included! It’s a good idea to remove the gills from the head (unless
the fish you’ve bought is completely fresh), as these can impart an unpleasant flavour. As a
general rule, white fish is better suited to making stock than oily fish.

Roughly chop the aromatics
A mirepoix (or chopped carrots, onion and often celery) forms the yummy flavour base of
many stocks, soups and stews. Perfectionists take note: don’t waste precious time carefully

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