One of the most common complaints among seafood-haters is that they don’t like the “fishy” taste. Well I’ve got news for you: if it tastes fishy, it’s not fresh! Trust me, if you passed judgment on the entire seafood category based on a crappy carp fillet that you got from the clearance bin, you are really missing out!
So how do you know when fish is fresh? It’s not hard. In this guide, we’ll go through easy tips and tricks to make sure your fish is as delicious (and un-fishy) as it can be.
Whole Fish
When you’re dealing with an entire fish or partially-dressed fish (anything that still has the head on, basically), it becomes nice and easy to figure out whether or not it’s fresh. Just look at a couple of key things:
It’s All in the Eyes
I know it may seem kind of morbid, but look deep into the eyes of your prospective dinner. Are the eyes clouded over or sunken into the head? Bad sign! You don’t want a zombie-fish. Are they bright and clear as they day they came from the ocean? Bingo! That’s a great sign.
Look at that guy. You can practically see yourself in there, can't you?
Scales and Body
Now check out the body of the fish. Do the scales look nice and bright, or do the colors look faded? Again, bright is better, and there shouldn’t be any odd areas of discoloration. Now lightly test the firmness of the flesh with your fingers – fresh fish should be nice and resilient, not soft or mushy. Even through the plastic wrap, you should be able to tell whether or not there is a slimy film on the skin. I bet you can guess if that’s a good thing. (Hint: no.)
Bright-eyed and fresh from the sea
Pre-sliced Fish Fillets
So what if you want to buy a pre-sliced fish fillet? Many of the rules remain the same, but now you don’t have the eyes to check, which are usually the dead giveaway. But not to worry! You can still use the touch and color tests to get a good idea of the freshness.
Touch
A good, fresh fillet should generally be resilient to the touch, springing back when you lightly prod it. If it feels overly soft or mushy, that’s not a good sign. Also beware of a slimy film over the fish.
Appearance
Look for bright, even color over the whole length of the fillet. There shouldn’t be any bruises or discoloration, and watch out for fillets that look like they’re drying out at the edges. Basically, you want it to look like good sushi. (Even if you’re not a big sushi eater, most people have seen pictures of it). That’s what you want – bright, vibrant coloring (especially with salmon or tuna), a smooth, even texture, and a glistening-moist exterior.
Who's hungry?
The Golden Rule
And of course, there’s one rule that applies to just about all cuts of fish: if it smells distinctly fishy, it’s not fresh! It can smell like the ocean, maybe, but it should not smell like the stuff that you feed your goldfish. If it smells or tastes fishy, it’s been out of the ocean for much too long!
Behind the Deli Counter?
When you buy fish from behind a meat counter at your local grocery store, you are reduced to judging it purely on appearance. You can still do the eye-test for whole fish, but fillets will be trickier. So in this case, go straight to the source for information – ask the clerk at the counter how fresh the fish is.
Getting good fish from a grocery store’s meat section ultimately comes down to the grade of fish that they order, the time it takes to get there, and the method of preservation. Top stores will rush in new catches every day, but this becomes more and more difficult (and expensive) the further away you get from the ocean. But once you find a store that does stock consistently fresh fish, take full advantage of it, even if it means spending a couple of extra bucks. Your taste buds will thank you!
A Quick Word on Frozen Fish
Freezing methods have made it possible to get decent quality seafood to even the most land-locked areas at a reasonable price. Of course, you won’t want to throw sushi parties with the stuff you get from the freezer section, but it can be used for plenty of tasty cooked dishes. Here is a quick break-down of the freezing methods for fish:
Flash-Frozen: This fish was quickly frozen on board the ship or in a processing plant within hours of being caught.
Fresh-Frozen: This fish was frozen while it was still very fresh, but the freezing process itself wasn’t done as quickly. This can slightly increase the damage that freezing does to the fish’s cells. Still, it’s a good option for frozen fish.
Frozen: No guarantee on freshness at the time of freezing, no guarantee on freezing time.
Glazed: This fish has been frozen with a “glaze” of ice all around it, which protects it better from freezer burn. It can maintain its flavor longer this way, but just being glazed alone does not guarantee the freshness at the time of freezing, which is important.
“Fancy”: This is simply a code word for pre-frozen fish that has been thawed out and thrown into the deli counter at your grocery store. Pretty fancy, huh?
That’s it for this guide to spotting the freshest of the fresh fish! Trust me, if you’re someone who has been fish-traumatized because of one bad experience, you owe it to yourself to try one amazingly fresh, perfectly prepared fish fillet. One bite, and you may find yourself singing a different tune!
So I’ve recently decided that I should be updating this blog more often – like, daily often, or at least three times a week – with stuff that’s going on in this crazy culinary world. So, let’s start with what I learned today.
Chicken Galantine
Now this stuff is interesting. (And I mean interesting as in “the sea cucumber was interesting”). We’re doing Pate and other cold hors d’oeuvres this week, and I can’t say they’re my favorite. But still, I’ve learned some interesting skills because of it. Like how to skin a whole chicken, for example. (Hint: make a slit down the back like the zipper of a dress, cut away any connecting membranes, and presto, naked chicken.)
We took those whole chicken skins and laid them out flat on a cutting board. Then we seasoned fresh-ground chicken with our choice of herbs, spices and vegetables, flattened it on the chicken skin, rolled it up like a sushi roll, wrapped it tight in saran wrap and aluminum foil, and then boiled the whole thing. Most students put down blanched spinach or prosciutto slices on the skin before adding the chicken. To grind the chicken meat, we used a meat grinder attachment for a kitchen aide mixer, which worked just dandy. Tomorrow we will cut the cooked rolls and coat them in aspic, or a gelatin coating.
The fun part of today was taking the extra ground meat mixes and making burgers out of them! We had fresh baguettes from the bake shop, so it made for a heavenly sandwich. I made my chicken mix with garlic, minced shallots, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, and parsley.
Speaking of sandwiches, today one of my sandwiches was featured on our sandwich bar. It’s an old recipe from my first restaurant, but it was always my favorite thing to get there. It starts with a herb-butter grilled bun. Then you add salami, ham, provolone, and roasted artichoke hearts. (Coat the hearts in olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, and your choice of herb, then roast in a hot oven.) Now take the sandwich and toast it under a broiler or salamander, or even microwave it if you want. Whatever melts the cheese. Add romaine and/or your choice of veggie, and you have yourself one mean sandwich.
That’s it for today’s report. I promise I’ll do better on posting up pictures from now on! Email me if you have any questions, recipe requests, etc.
So you’ve loved cooking since you were little, and now you’re wondering what life would hold if you decided to pursue your passion full-time. Do chefs get paid well? What about stability? Benefits? Would you really be able to do well in life as a chef? Well, here’s a little list to get you psyched up about your prospects!
5. You never starve.
This is the most obvious of the reasons, but it still deserves a mention. As a chef, you always have an abundance of food! And not just any food – if you play your cards right and get hired at a place that serves food you love, you get to be in gastronomic heaven every day! (Just be sure to get a gym membership when you get hired). Seriously, you can get spoiled from all the tasty food you get to sample every day.
4. Pay
Contrary to the popular conception, there are some very handsomely salaried positions out there for career chefs! If you pursue your education and move up to advanced positions in one of the tens of thousands of resorts, hotels, cruise ships, or other hospitality purveyors in the world, you can easily make six figures! Many of my current Culinary Arts teachers have been employed in Executive Chef or Food and Beverage Director positions at salaries well over $100,000 a year
3. Stability
People always gotta eat. That will never stop. (If it ever did, I’d shoot myself anyway). Every person on earth enjoys a good meal. If you can provide that good meal, you’re in business as a chef. Sure, individual restaurants can be affected by economic tides and troubles, but this industry as a whole still provides some of the most long-term stability imaginable. (Unlike record companies and newspapers).
2. Travel
This goes hand-in-hand with the section on stability – people all over the world like to eat! And thus, there is opportunity all over the world for those who like to feed people who like to eat. Want to see the world? Become a chef on a cruise ship. Always wanted to visit Italy? Find an internship at an Italian restaurant. Excellent work experience in a beautiful foreign country you wanted to visit anyway? Can you say “win-win”??
1. Passion
Sure, you can find plenty of good-sounding statistics for any industry, even crappy ones. (Multi-level marketing, I’ve got my eye on you…) But I believe this is what it really comes down to: if you are fulfilling your passion, your greater purpose in life, you will be content. You will be happier than you would in any other field, no matter how great the money and perks would have been. And you will find new ways to innovate and revolutionize the field where you are truly passionate about your work – not something likely to happen when you dread going in every day. No matter how you slice it, it’s just 1000% better if you have the passion for what you do.
Note: Chefitude = Chef + Aptitude. (Not chef + attitude, that is a subject for a different post).
The following list contains five sure-fire ways to increase your cooking abilities and general “chefiness”. I am not legally able to guarantee the following, but the wise employment of these strategies will probably result in instant self-confidence, abundant attention from the opposite sex, and millions of dollars in tax-free income.
Chef tip #1: Get your learn on.
If you don’t already, find ways to keep up on the latest cooking trends, new ideas, etc. Subscribe to a favorite food magazine (I like Bon Appetit). And there’s always the Food Network if you have cable. Note: beware of becoming a Food Network Zombie, who sits and stares at the delicious things on the screen without ever trying to make the food themselves! Apply what you learn to your cooking. And don’t even get me started on the Internet; there is a huge treasure trove of information out there on just about any food topic that you can imagine. Just make sure you get your info from sites that you trust.
Chef tip # 2: Find a class
Local cooking classes will help you get out of your cooking shell and into your local foodie community. Find them on sites like Craigslist and Meetup, or any local sites that you have available. The best classes will have you participate in the cooking so that you can try out new techniques and recipes. Interaction with the instructor and class members will give you plenty of new ideas to work with. And best of all, you’ll make new foodie friends!
Chef tip # 3: Make yourself try something new every day
Don’t get into a rut. If you’re in a rut, bust yourself out of it tonight. Make some Thai Curry or a Satay. Find an ingredient that you’ve never used before and taste it, then make something with it. Have you ever had a cherimoya fruit? It tastes like magic. Find one that is soft but not mushy, cut it open, and eat it with a spoon. Serve it to your family/friends/love interest – they will be blown away! We live in the Information Age, and there is no excuse for sticking to the same old thing. You have a million books, web pages, magazines, and TV shows that are hurling new ideas at you all the time. Pick one thing, find a recipe online, and make it!
Chef tip # 4: Critique your meals
Whenever you go to a restaurant or have a meal that you didn’t have to cook, analyze it in your mind. Contemplate and savor it. Pick apart its flavors; imagine how it was made. Think about the balance of flavors, texture, and all-over mouthfeel. What would you change? If you don’t like the dish, how could you make it good? Remember, this doesn’t mean that you have to be the Simon Cowell of your Bunco group’s pot luck dinner. (“This is an insult to Risotto. Italian grandmothers everywhere are spinning in their graves.”) I think you’ve gone too far when you can no longer enjoy any food without first assigning it a catty remark. This doesn’t win you many friends.
Chef tip # 5: The next step: find a part-time cooking job
Are you really serious about upping your Chefitude quotient? Then it’s time to hit the classifieds and find yourself a cooking job! Cooking jobs help you solidify your chef skills like nobody’s business. In order to master cooking skills, you need repeated, systematic practice. And what better way is there to get that practice than to get paid while doing it? It puts you on a schedule. It puts you in a real kitchen with real chefs. And it gives you a great motivation to learn. I still have the things that I learned from my very first kitchen job deeply ingrained in me – I use them every day.
Sure, there are drawbacks. In a restaurant, you are an employee, so you learn what the employer wants you to learn. (Which is not always what you want to learn.) And with entry-level jobs, the pay isn’t great and the jobs aren’t always glamorous. But if you really want a nitrous-boost to your cooking skills, this is a great way to do it. For best results, choose a restaurant and a position that fit your own interests. If you want to decorate cakes, get hired on at a bakeshop. Interested in large event planning? Work for a catering company. Want to learn gourmet main dishes? Get hired at a gourmet restaurant as a disher or busboy and let them know you have a passion for cooking. (That’s what I did, and they started training me in the kitchen soon after).
Now we come to the conclusion of this Chefitude-boosting seminar. Remember, local renown as a superstar chef is closer than you think!
Cookies and punch are now being served in the back foyer. See you next time!
P.S. If you happen to live in the Utah Valley area, I am planning to start a local cooking group of my own! It will be plenty of fun and delicious to boot. If you are interested in details, contact me at classes@vicariousgourmet.com.
10. Long hours
9. Blazing hot or freezing cold kitchens
8. Doing all those dishes
7. Getting yelled at by chefs
6. Standing for the majority of the day
5. Tuition fees now require your firstborn
4. Cleaning out walk-in refrigerators
3. Cleaning out walk-in freezers
2. Cleaning out whatever the hell is hiding behind the stoves
1. Looking like a walking used napkin 5 days a week
One Reason for enrolling in Culinary School:
1. Because you’re a chef, dammit. This is your passion and your calling, and you’ll be happy with no other.
Motorcycle in its purest form - a bicycle with a motor duct-taped to it.
Over the weekend I found myself searching for a good restaurant in the Springville area, and my sister suggested Art City Trolley – a place that I had passed by many times before, but never once stopped to eat at. My wife and I walked into the lobby of the vintage diner, and my eyes roved over the old-school decor. Some restaurants try to go “retro” by stringing up over-shellacked pop merchandise from the 50’s all over their walls, but they just wind up looking like posers. With Art City Trolley, however, it felt genuine somehow. (Maybe they HAVE been there for over 50 years. Someone want to verify this?) The walls were decorated with old tin signs, glass bottles, and even a motorcycle or two! One in particular (above) looks like it’s one of the first Harley Davidsons ever built – it’s basically a bicycle with a motor on it.
Ribs and Chicken Platter with Onion Rings
The Food
Let’s get down to the nuts and bolts. The menu boasted several local award-winning items, including chicken wings and ribs. They had also been Zagat rated, which came as a surprise to me. Eventually I settled on a combo platter featuring their “Best in Utah” ribs with original sauce and some chicken. Our server asked what sauce I’d like on the chicken, so I ordered their hottest. However, when it came out I found it to be no spicier than Tabasco sauce. (Yes, I am a heat-snob). Also, I had been envisioning some kind of breaded chicken breast or buffalo wing-like dish, but it came out as just a grilled chicken breast with some sauce on it. I was a little let down by that.
However, the salad, onion rings, and fries were exceptional. The onion rings were nice and thick with a perfectly crisp batter, and the fries were done just right. And how about the main focus of the night? I have a tendency to save the best for last, and this was no exception. But wow, it was worth the wait. The rib sauce was a perfect balance of smoky, sweet, and savory. It was amazing. The ribs themselves weren’t fall-off-the-bone tender, but isn’t there something of a primal satisfaction in gnawing meat straight off a rib-bone? I had a good time, anyway.
Malibu Chicken with french fries
My wife had a Malibu Chicken sandwich with french fries, and we were both blown away by the size of this thing. It was huge! And very tasty.
Points for improvement
For one, I want something to jazz up the chicken that comes with the ribs platter. It just seemed weird to have that little grilled chicken breast next to the impressive stack of ribs and onion rings.
I don’t mind ribs that don’t fall off the bone, but if that’s what you’re going for when you make ribs, low and slow is always the key. I usually cook them covered in the oven with a nice dry rub at the lowest possible temperature for about four hours or so. Then I finish them on the grill and slather them with my own sauce, and they don’t disappoint.
All in all, I was very impressed with Art City Trolley, and I may find myself there again soon.
Let me halfway apologize for my lack of posts over the last week. As you may have guessed, it was finals time! (That’s why it’s only a halfway apology – I have a damn good excuse). The hot foods class has taught me a lot about classical cooking, and I’m looking forward to compiling an ebook with all of the goodies that I learned.
Sawadee
Today I had the chance to go up to Salt Lake City, where I tried out a Thai place called Sawadee. It won first place for Thai food in the City Weekly’s Best of Utah awards, so I had to try it out.
Let me tell you, they didn’t let me down. For starters, the value was amazing. Sawadee offers a lunch special for $7.50 that includes a salad, rice, a spring roll, and your choice of two entree items from a list of about 20. My wife and I ordered two kinds of curry, a barbecued pork dish, and a peppered chicken/vegetable dish for our specials. I ordered a Thai Sweet Tea to drink, which soundly blew my mind. Picture a southern sweet tea, if you’ve ever had one. (If you haven’t, it’s simply a sweetened, strong black tea.) Now add a spicy, exotic bite from the Thai tea. Now add a shot of half-and-half to make it oh-so-deliciously creamy. It was transcendent, my friends.
Food and Service
The service was extremely quick – our food was out mere minutes after we put in the order. (The salad was brought out literally right when we sat down, so that probably helped the time seem to fly by. I guess the salad is their comp dish for everyone, like breadsticks at an Italian place.)
A great spread at a great price to boot
The sweet and spicy peanut salad dressing was excellent. The little spring roll with sweet/sour chili sauce was delicious. The barbecued pork was smoky and savory, very well seasoned. The curries (we got Masaman and Red Curry) were distinctly different and both very tasty. The peppered chicken was warm and refreshing. And for dessert, we just had to have their sticky rice with mango and coconut cream. Get this stuff at any Thai place – it’s so simple, yet so incredibly delicious. As long as you get a reasonably ripe mango, you’ll be in heaven. I don’t care how full you are, just get it. You’ll find your appetite. Today we got a lightly firm-yet-sweet mango, and it was delicious.
Points for improvement?
The only possible complaint I can think of is about the chicken that was in our two curry dishes. It felt too tough, like it had been overcooked. This is a tricky one for many chefs, because obviously you don’t want to take chances on underdone chicken. (Hello salmonella, goodbye career!)
The curry’s chicken is very thinly sliced, so it can go from done to overdone in the blink of an eye. There is also the chance that they let the chicken sit in the simmering curry broth for a long time, which will toughen it up pretty quick. What would I do about it? One idea is to cook the chicken breasts whole and slice them up after. And they should leave it a little pink on the inside. Are you raising your eyebrows? Think about it: the chicken is cut into very thin slices,meaning they will cook quickly. Then they are placed into a pot of boiling-hot curry. It willcook them.
So that would be my ideal serving scenario – sear the chicken breast, cut it thin, and drop the slices into boiling curry just before service, letting it cook for barely a minute. Imagine what a difference it would make to have perfectly done, melt-in-your-mouth chicken slices inside your delicious savory-sweet curry soup. Wow, I’m getting hungry again.
Sawadee Thai: 754 East South Temple, Salt Lake City
Synopsis: Today we made a new cream of asparagus soup, with a nice change of seasoning. Today’s soup is thickened with beurre manie, which is simply an uncooked roux. (The term beurre manie means “kneaded butter” in French.) It also has a helping of sauteed garlic, which adds some extra savor.
Recipe: Cream of Asparagus Soup
Asparagus
Celery
Onions
Shallots
Bacon
Chicken stock
Heavy cream
Butter
Flour
Garlic
Salt
White pepper
Thyme
Worcestershire sauce
Chop up all vegetables and bacon. Saute the bacon in the bottom of a large soup pot. When some of the grease comes out, add the vegetables and saute them as well. When the asparagus turns a deep green, add enough chicken stock to cover it completely, plus another inch or so. Let it simmer until the asparagus and vegetables are soft. Now puree the soup well with an immersion blender or regular blender, and strain it well to remove all the tough asparagus fibers. Return it to the heat along with a small pot of heavy cream. While the cream warms, you can make your beurre manie by kneading together equal amounts of butter and flour until it forms a dough. When the cream starts steaming, add it to the soup. Let the soup come to a simmer, and then drop pea-sized pieces of the beurre manie dough into it while whisking vigorously. Add enough to bring the soup to the desired consistency, something like a chowder. Sautee some minced garlic in butter to add to the soup. Season the soup to taste with salt, white pepper, thyme, a splash of Worcestershire, and the sauteed garlic. And if the beurre manie didn’t do it enough for you, you can add in some extra butter at this point. (Screw you, calorie counters). Bon Appetit!
Synopsis: Today my team made this smoky-sweet roasted pepper and tomato soup. It is a little involved, but it makes a big impression! Ideally, you should have a gas stove or a grill to roast the peppers. If possible, I suggest doing it outside, since little black flakes of red pepper skin tend to fly around everywhere and can be a pain to clean up. Feel free to switch up the seasonings in this, but I think the Worcestershire and the sugar are essential to striking a nice balance of flavor.
This soup was thickened exclusively with rice, giving it a bisque texture. Feel free to use a cornstarch + water slurry instead.
Recipe: Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
Red Peppers
Tomatoes, peeled and seeded (can use canned)
Fresh whole tomatoes, quartered
Cooked rice
Onions
Chicken Stock and Tomato Paste, if necessary
Basil
Worcestershire sauce
Sugar
Salt
Pepper
Flame on! Turn on the gas burners of your stove or get your grill nice and hot. Place the peppers directly over the flame and roast those suckers nice and black. Like, ALL of it, don’t leave any bits of red skin. When they are done, take a wet towel or washcloth and sprinkle some kosher salt on it. Now rub the skin of the peppers gently to get the skin separate from the flesh. Don’t worry about loose flecks left on the pepper, because the next step is to rinse the peppers well. Cut the pepper in half, remove the stem and seeds, and chop up the pepper roughly.
Now place the quartered tomatoes into a sheet pan and roast it at 400 degrees until it just starts to get some black tops on it. While they are roasting, saute the onion in some butter in the bottom a large pot. Add the chopped red pepper and quartered tomatoes. Now add the canned peeled tomatoes whole and bring to a simmer. Add the cooked rice. If you wish, you can add some chicken stock and/or tomato paste to adjust the thickness and volume of the soup. (Our team added some of both. It was good, but I think the roasted flavor comes out better if you don’t).
Now puree the soup in a regular blender or with an immersion blender. If needed, add more chicken stock or tomato paste to adjust the final texture. Add Worcestershire, salt, spices, and sugar to taste. Strain the soup to get any rice particles or seeds out. Done! Garnish with cheese, fresh basil leaves, or whatever your heart desires.
Synopsis: Today my team made this smoky-sweet roasted pepper and tomato soup. It is a little involved, but it makes a big impression! Ideally, you should have a gas stove or a grill to roast the peppers. If possible, I suggest doing it outside, since little black flakes of red pepper skin tend to fly around everywhere and can be a pain to clean up. Feel free to switch up the seasonings in this, but I think the Worcestershire and the sugar are essential to striking a nice balance of flavor.