If you are tired of your fish coming out dry, burned, or lacking flavor, it is time to learn the techniques to turn your meal around. It all starts with buying the right kind.
To know if it is the one you want to buy, you need to smell it. Fresh fish should smell sweet: you should feel that you are standing at the ocean's edge.
Any fishy or strong flavors means the fish is past its prime-do not buy it, because at this point it will taste very low quality. You can be sure that the one you choose is moist, delicate, and delicious by trusting in the power of your nose.
You can also tell quality just by looking at it. Whole fish should look as they were just pulled from the water.
They should have bright eyes, and firm flesh-this means that they are fresh. Make sure that your fillets and steaks are firm and bright looking, with no brown spots or discoloration.
When it comes to storing it before or after you cook it, freezing is the best method. Depending on the outcome you are looking for, freeze-drying is another great way to go.
Make sure that you do not store it in your fridge for longer than one or two days-it is highly perishable, and at this point it will start to turn. If you need to store it for longer than that, freeze dry it, as mentioned previously.
Keep your meat frozen until you are ready to cook it. It can be thawed in the refrigerator, or under cold running water, or in the microwave.
As soon as it is thawed, you must cook it before it goes bad. One good way to thaw it is in milk, as strange as that sounds.
Place the frozen piece in a bowl, and cover with fresh milk. Then simply cover it up, and let sit in refrigerator overnight.
The fish will have a wonderful fresh-caught taste. Of course, throw the milk away and do not let it come into contact with anything else.
When it comes to the bones, you can remove these by pressing the flesh with your fingers, and removing the bones using tweezers. There is not much myoglobin in fish, so they tend to be light colored and translucent.
When it cooks, the proteins denature, then reattach to each other. This process squeezes out the water and the molecules shrink, pressing closer together.
You can see this process happening as the fish becomes opaque. Light is not able to pass through the coagulated proteins, so when it becomes opaque, you know it is done.
They are quite delicate when cooked, because they very little connective tissue and fat. A reliable "doneness" test is to check if the pieces flake apart.
Insert a fork or knife gently into the thickest part, and twist. The flesh should begin to separate along the natural lines.
There is a delicate balance between pieces cooked to perfection, and pieces that are overcooked completely. Remember that a pan will hold heat when it is removed from the heat source, continuing to cook the food.
To avoid overcooking, make sure that you remove the fish from the heat source when it is almost done, but keep it in the pan for a few moments-it will finish cooking at this point without getting too dry.
To mix things up a little bit, marinating adds flavor and moisture to the flesh, but any marinating should be very brief. If fish flesh sits in acidic ingredients for more than thirty minutes at a time, the acid will begin to break down the delicate protein, and you will have a mushy mess when you cook it.
Even richer flesh of salmon and tuna should only be marinated for about an hour. You could try using some olive oil to enhance flavor, along with some seasoning such as salt and pepper.
Depending on the end flavor you are going for, you could even try using some crushed red peppers flakes, fresh thyme leaves, or chopped jalapeno peppers. Experiment with different flavors and see what you like the most.
If you use these techniques, you will end up having a much more delicate, delicious end result. You will love the flavor and texture.
Author Resource:-
Jack R. Landry is an accomplished expert in family preparedness and has been giving seminars for over 15 years. He recommends that everyone have on hand an survival food in case of any emergency or disaster.
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