Crispy Fish Skin -- how to?

[Busboy]

I guess chefs have always been doing this, but I didn't use to be much of a fish-eater and have only recently stumbled across several preparations that turn out fish filets with the skin side cooked to a positive crackle, usually saltier than you'd expect ,even from ocean-going species. Last night I actually had a dish where the chef cooked sea bass in a roulade, and served the skin separately, like a piece of briny flatbread, for crunch.

Otherwise the fish -- I've tried a couple of different varieties, including rouget and loupe de mer -- seems normally sauteed or pan roasted. I like the tecture it lends and skin like this always seems to be on top of a particularly juicy filet. Is this an amateur-masterable technique?

PS -- I would be delighted to hear any current favorite saucings that would accompany such a preparation. I'm thinking of trying a brothy corn/mushroom thing that I hope will be similar to a great dish I had at Washington's Pesce, but am open. As I said, fish is a relatively new phenomenon in my kitchen.

[Jinmyo]

Yes, it's easy.

Dry the fish well with paper towel. Run the back of the knife on the skin to squeegee out morte moisture. Rub with EVOO or butter, salt well. Bung into pan. Leave it for a good two to three minutes.

[Busboy]

Thanks for the tip. Can't wait to try it oput.

[adt]

How does the flesh get cooked? Or must it be thin enough to cook in the 3 minutes?

Regarding getting the skin crisp, I've tended to use a similar method with skin-on fillets (e.g. sea bass - dry and slash skin, rub with olive oil and salt, fry in hot pan without disturbing for a fair time), but have sometimes found that by the time the plate reaches the table, the skin has lost some crispness.

Most recipes call for turning the fillet over, so that the skin side is uppermost, either to briefly cook the other side or at least to serve. My theory is that the steam from the flesh of the fish will tend to pass vertically upwards (the pan or plate inhibiting escape downwards), reducing the crispness of the skin. However, this could be nonsense... In any case, I've had a good level of success frying the fish in a pan then transferring it to the oven to cook the flesh, and only inverting the fillet the instant before serving.

I've still had occasional failures with the skin getting under-cooked or over-cooked, though, particularly as cooking times vary with species and fillet size. Can anyone suggest a different method, or confirm/dispute my suspicion about the steam??

[alexw]

Crispy skin on fish is done by us in the restaurant by placing the fish skin side down into a hot non-stick (or proved) pan with a little oil. season the flesh only and just prior to cooking.

shake the pan once to ensure that the fish hasn't caught slightly, not really an issue in a non-stick, then leave for a minute. for thin fillets such as bream or tail end pieces of salmon just keep it on a moderate flame until you see it mostly cooked. RESIST THE URGE TO TURN IT YET! for thicker pieces place the whole pan in a 180C oven (plastic handled domestic pans just place the pan area under a salamander for a few minutes.

when ready to serve the fish quickly turn over and finish with a knob of soft butter and a squeeze of lemon, allow to turn to a noisette and spoon the mix over a few times to achive a shine. remove from the pan and serve immediately.

do not cook the flesh as when this dries out and goes brown it is a caramelisation of protien and apart from not tasting great is quite indigestible.

hope this helps

Alex.

[russ parsons]

the crucial part of the technique as our fair jin pointed out, is the squeegeeing of the skin side with the back of a knife. you'll find that a lot of moisture comes off, it will stick to the knife. wipe it off. keep going with this until no more moisture comes up. it's this drying action that gets you really crispy skin that stays crisp. you can finish the dish in a couple of ways: you can reduce the heat after the initial sear and cook it on the stove top or you can stick the pan in a 450-degree oven and let it cook that way.

[mizducky]

Cool! I love crispy fish skin!

Is there a technique for getting the skin around a fish steak to crisp up? I tend to prefer steaks to filets, but I can't quite visualize getting even a thick steak to remain perpendicular to the pan long enough to crisp the skin, without having the steak either fall over or fall apart or both.

[touaregsand]

Crispy fish skin is pretty common in Korean cuisine. The 'truc' is patting the moisture out of the fish as much as possible, a really hot pan (smoking) and a little oil rubbed into the fish itself or drizzled into the pan. Too much oil and you will get that "fried" texture and flavor.

You can dust a little bit of cornstarch onto the skin if you want.

Is there a technique for getting the skin around a fish steak to crisp up? I tend to prefer steaks to filets, but I can't quite visualize getting even a thick steak to remain perpendicular to the pan long enough to crisp the skin, without having the steak either fall over or fall apart or both.

Use tongs. You'll have to stand still for a few minutes though.

[origamicrane]

ok this might deserve a new thread but how about making fried fish bone crackers? those are yummy too.

[touaregsand]

ok this might deserve a new thread but how about making fried fish bone crackers? those are yummy too.

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Don't ya love it though when 'common' Asian stuff gets into a FDR folks go all ga ga and ooh la la over it?

[origamicrane]

ok this might deserve a new thread but how about making fried fish bone crackers? those are yummy too.

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Don't ya love it though when 'common' Asian stuff gets into a FDR folks go all ga ga and ooh la la over it?

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yeah but at the same time there so many yummy stuff from back home that they would run a mile from

[touaregsand]

ok this might deserve a new thread but how about making fried fish bone crackers? those are yummy too.

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Don't ya love it though when 'common' Asian stuff gets into a FDR folks go all ga ga and ooh la la over it?

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yeah but at the same time there so many yummy stuff from back home that they would run a mile from

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We'll both have some gae jang and blow into egullet.

Back on topic, my favorite at home is salmon or snapper.

Here's a crispy skinned snapper with oyster sauce..

[Busboy]

Jeez -- 18 months since I posted this and, despite hours spent squeegeng fish, I still haven't got the stuff to crisp up right. Not that I cook as much fresh fish as I should. I will try again with hotter oil and a longer "burn time," if you will. Also, where do the experts stand on scoring? Occasionally we get that odd crumple from the skin contracting while the flesh stays the same size.

No salt on the skin?

[chefzadi]

Hot, hot, hot pan and just a touch of oil plus a tiny bit more . Salt on the skin, of course.

Scoring will solve the problem you describe.

[lambfries]

O.K., you want crisp skin? Try this. First of all instead of oil use clarified butter. Second, as everyone else suggested squeegy the skin with the back of your knife and pat the skin dry then salt the skin. Now let it set for about 15 min. The salt will actually draw out more moisture so repeat the process one more time (squeegy, pat dry and season). Now, get a non-stick pan nice and hot and add enough clarified butter to coat the bottom of the pan and allow the butter to get nice and hot. Place the fish in the pan skin side down and take a crepe pan or any flat bottom pan and spray the bottom with pam and place it over the fish and apply light pressure to keep the fish flat (have this ready before you put the fish in because it will want to curl as soon as it hits that pan). You only need to hold it there about a minute for the fish to "set". Then remove the crepe pan season with a little salt and cook about 2 more minutes. If it is a thinner fillet 1/2"-3/4" thick, lower the heat to med-low and put a knob of whole butter in the pan (carefully!!) and baste it with a spoon for about 2-3 more min. till cooked. If it's thicker, after cooking it 2 min., drain off the clarified butter in the pan and add more (this will cool it down and prevent the skin from burning) and place it under a broiler for about 2-3 min. Now go get some red snapper or striped bass and give it a try!

[lambfries]

Oh yeah, please don't score the fish.

edit to add photo

Edited April 21, 2005 by lambfries (log)

[touaregsand]

Oh yeah, please don't score the fish.

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Why not?

[lambfries]

I've never had the need using this method.

[touaregsand]

I've never had the need using this method.

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I see what you're saying. You put a weight on the fish instead.

Nice plating btw.

[ducphat30]

I don't know what your exact technique is, but it could be the "weight" of the pan you're using.

I would suggest cast iron. It will hold the heat well so you don't have too great of a temperature drop when you add the fish to the pan. Additionally, do not put too many filets in the pan at a time (just a reminder). If you are doing a few and don't have a restaurant kitchen, I would put the broiler on 500F, Sear the skin side down, medium high heat, light oil, flip to "kiss" the other side and transfer to a baking sheet. Get all of you filets done, then when you're ready to plate put under the broiler (mid rack) this should help to bring back the crisp and cook the filets through. This is all dependent on how thick the fish is. If it really thin, I'd put it closer to the heat source, thicker farther away.

Depending on the fish, and more importantly how its butchered, you may need to apply a little bit of pressure to keep the skin in contact with the pan.

[adt]

The repeated application of salt sound like a good bet. Must try the weight thing too (reminds me of those bacon weights they sell at cookshops for people who already have everything). I'd keep the scoring of the skin though, both aesthetically and to distribute the skin shrinkage more evenly.

There may be a danger of going too far in the crispy skin quest - that is, too hard and thick and crunchy. I've had this in restaurants sometimes, and it can detract from the refinement of the dish. The skin needs to be crisp but delicate. Just to up the ante...

I don't know to what extent skin thickness and toughness is a facet of the type of fish, mind you. I can do sea bass fillets pretty well, but I've never had much luck with the skin of john dory.

[slkinsey]

. . . Additionally, do not put too many filets in the pan at a time (just a reminder). . .

This is an important point, and not only for the reason that overcrowding lowers the heat in the pan.

One important feature of a true frypan is that it has low, sloping sides. This geometry allows steam created at the interface between the cooking surface and the food to evaporate quickly and thoroughly to keep the food "dry," which is an important part of achieving a crispy texture. If there is not sufficent room around your fish fillet for the steam to escape quickly and thoroughly, it is impossible to achieve optimal crispness. For similar reasons, I would not recommend a straight-sided pan such as a saute pan or cast iron skillet unless the pan is large enough to leave a substantial border of empty space around the fillet.

[TheFoodTutor]

Nice plating btw. 

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He's such a showoff. Can you imagine what it's like living with him?

The cast iron pan for extra weight is a good suggestion. We have a set of cast iron and we use them at home for this purpose much of the time. Lambfries has become quite the poissonier. I'm pretty proud of him.

Another thing that works well and looks great for plating is to remove the skin first, and then deep fry it. But you'll have to hold it in a rack to keep it flat, or you could use the technique for baking flat chicken skins between two sheet pans, which can be found under the EGCI, I think. In that case, you just use the crisp skin as a cracker-like garnish, set on a slant on top of the finished fish filet. It makes for a cute presentation, and you can even do a twist on a "napolean" this way, with layers of fish and other ingredients, separated by layers of skin.

Great thread. Lots of helpful info.

[PCL]

Jeez -- 18 months since I posted this and, despite hours spent squeegeng fish,  I still haven't got the stuff to crisp up right.  Not that I cook as much fresh fish as I should. I will try again with hotter oil and a longer "burn time," if you will.  Also, where do the experts stand on scoring?  Occasionally we get that odd crumple from the skin contracting while the flesh stays the same size. 

No salt on the skin?

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Maybe you've been afraid.

Lose the fear man.

Tell the damn fish who's boss.

Order it to crisp up and get the pan H O T.

It could be like bearnaise, it smells your fear.

[camilleboudreaux]

you could try as well a light dredge in some ap flour , or wee little corn starch , cook in well heated cast iron or copper sandwhiched pan , leave on medium heat on skin side, if you want the fish well ( leathery ) finish in a 400 degree oven. fish skin will burn on too high heat