11 things about fish you should know

Gastronomy

Australian chef Josh Niland with one of the specimens that matures in his restaurant in Sydney.

Did you know that you don't have to clean it with water or that the scales can be cooked?

Clues like these are found in 'All the fish', a book that proposes new ways of cooking and eating fish

Its author is Josh Niland, self-proclaimed 'the fish butcher' because he is inspired by meat to work and age marine products

His philosophy is to make the most of the pieces of fish and mature their meat in a chamber

Surely it is not among the 4,800 questions in the Genus edition of Trivial Pursuit, but can you tell

?

Thirty-one,

, because yes, both are eaten too.

When we speak of culinary cuts, we run aground again and again in meat, be it beef, veal, pork and even rabbit;

but fish rarely comes to mind, unless we talk about the so fashionable bluefin tuna and its snoring.

And, hoisting that didactic, vindictive and sustainable spirit of

, Australian chef

(31 years old) has just published in Spain

, a book born to change our relationship with

products. sea ​​... And our vision, because Niland - who, in 2016, opened

in

and two years later, the

store

, literally a fish butcher shop - calls himself

because he is inspired by the handling meat to work, cure, age and take advantage of the genre of the sea.

And it is that fish can also be used even the gait seems to say this chef with the face of a child.

A piece of fish 'dissected' by Josh Niland.

All fish

is "everything" an essay, from how to buy and clean the different species to how to present them on the table (it

), through cutting techniques, conservation, maturation ... And questions -many questions- and answers that reveal not-so-known aspects of fish and that we collect here in 11 keys.

1. What is behind the look.

Who has not looked into the eyes of a bream or a sole looking for its freshness.

But

Well, let them be bulbous;

that have a moist, shiny and translucent appearance and that protrude slightly from the head.

If they protrude a lot, it is not that the piece is not fresh, it is due to the sudden change in pressure that occurs when the fish, which swims in deep water, is removed too quickly from them.

And we keep looking: first,

that covers its scales must be shiny and without imperfections - otherwise it would indicate that it has had poor handling, that it has been in direct and prolonged contact with ice or that it has undergone changes in temperature -, and second,

, which, in addition to being very red and shiny, must be dry and free of residues.

2. The purchase

.

If you opt for a whole fish, ask the fishmonger to

, because this humidity favors the growth of bacteria and spoils it sooner.

If he doesn't, take him home and do it yourself.

3.

From the moment that fish is caught, time runs against it and, as it will have passed through a few hands until we arrive, we may be tempted to

to remove debris and impurities.

But if we have asked the fishmonger not to do it, neither should we, as the water will help the meat retain more moisture, increase bacteria and "when stored in the refrigerator condensation forms," ​​says the Australian .

It is best to

.

Cut of an open butterfly trout without bones, with which Niland prepares 'Turducken' of hot smoked fish.

4. No signs.

A frozen fish should not show frost marks or ice crystals, if it does have them it means that "it has been thawed and refrozen", explains Josh Niland in his book, who adds that, in the absence of fresh fish, "

".

5. Question of degrees.

It must be kept at a temperature (

, above, it spoils easily) and a low humidity (it is necessary to prevent it from depositing on the skin of the fish so that, in addition to preventing bacteria, it is more crispy when we go to fry it).

6. Watch your juices.

If it is not going to cook immediately, it is necessary to avoid

when it comes into contact with any surface.

If we place it

and make it smell strong.

A good option is to fillet it and put it on a rack with a tray, both made of stainless steel, that collects the liquids.

If the grid is not made of steel, we place a previously perforated parchment paper between it and the fish to drain it.

7. Waiting.

Once in the refrigerator, we must prevent the fan from drying our fish:

or we can also cover it with film paper.

When we go to cook it, we take it out and dry it well with a cloth or kitchen paper;

Another option is two hours before its preparation, uncover it and leave it in the refrigerator.

Spinal cord of a fish.

8.

Yes, according to Josh Niland.

In this case, you have to buy a whole piece that will fit in the refrigerator.

After removing the scales and guts, we cut off the head and eyelids, which we will cook right away because they do not resist the temperature changes that occur when opening and closing a refrigerator.

We place our specimen on the rack with its respective tray and store it in the uncovered vegetable drawer.

Be careful, it is essential that every day we

to remove moisture.

9. Maturation.

Not only chamber-matured meats enhance their flavor, the same is true of fish.

A piece of fish

in chamber should be as succulent and juicy as a fresh one.

For example, tuna or swordfish are perfect candidates to mature longer due to their high fat content and dense muscle composition.

Others, such as

(similar to sole), take

.

But not all of them are suitable for ripening, such as whiting, which has little fat and little moisture.

The famous fish soup from the Saint Peter restaurant.

10. A bad result.

Sometimes, after cooking, some fish

, and that has nothing to do with our culinary skills.

The culprit is none other than the kudoa

that lodges in the gills and which, although it is not dangerous for humans, will spoil our plate.

11. Marine offal.

As with meat, some of the fish offal are true

, if we take into account that we usually only

.

For example, the heart, which we can eat rolled and roasted;

the liver, on a toast;

the skin, like crispy chips;

the flakes, fried;

the blood, in the blood sausages;

the roe, on a skewer ...

And what should these so-called waste look like?

Although some can be frozen, such as the heart and blood, "the ideal thing is to consume them the same day that we buy them", points out this chef who cuts the fish with such precision that, placed on a table or a tray, it

.

And it is that few like

know how to minimize waste and maximize flavor.

That is his philosophy, a philosophy that we can also apply at home.

All the fish

(Planeta Gastro)

.

Price: 29.95 euros.

According to the criteria of

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