I have some fresh black cod

[CRUZMISL]

I'm not too familiar with the fish and need some pointers on the best way to prepare it. What temp does it need to be cooked to or is that personal preference?

Thanks for any ideas!

Joe

[I_call_the_duck]

The best black cod I've had was at Nobu in New York. It was broiled with a miso sauce. I've since found a recipe in the NYT back in 2003 which includes ground seseame seeds. What are the rules for posting a recipe onto this site?

[rlibkind]

I'd either bake or broil. Keep the preparation simple, as suggested by I_Call_The_Duck. You don't want anything to get in the way of the luscious richness of this delectable, fatty fish. Gussy-ing it up too much will get in the way. Instead, concentrate on cooking it right and on some nice sides.

Wolfgang Puck reproduce's Nobus recipe at his website here.

[mtigges]

The great thing about it is that it is hard to overcook, but unlike salmon or tuna it really isn't very good undercooked. May favourite way of preparing it is to marinate it 24 hours (a local celebrity chef is known for 1/2 sake, 1/2 maple syrup, touch of soya. Then bake upside down on parchment.

The nice thing about baking upside down is that it makes very convienient to pull the skin off, and the fat tends to go with it. Despite the luscious flavour of the meat, imo, the fat is very much not tasty. Very fishy. So try to get the grayish fat off the bottom.

Then sauce it or don't. I actually like just a little bit of lemon - oo.

[CRUZMISL]

Any suggested temperature?

[wattacetti]

Any suggested temperature?

←

If it's the same celebrity chef MTigges refers to whose TV episode I'm looking at right now, it's a 350ºF oven for approximately 5 minutes.

He serves it on a bed of shimeji mushrooms, potato and leek.

[CRUZMISL]

Oops, I meant temp to remove the fish :-)

Thanks for the oven temp though.

[wattacetti]

Oops, I meant temp to remove the fish :-)

←

I'm being a little thick but temperature to remove the fish? From what, the marinade?

[CRUZMISL]

What temp to remove the fish in rergards to meat temperature during cooking? Or is it just until opaque?

[wattacetti]

It's going to be opaque and starting to flake, but it will depend on the size/thickness of the filet piece you're cooking. I've done Chilean sea bass under similar oven temps and that didn't take more than about 5-6 minutes either. Portion size was about 150 g, from a fairly thick filet.

[bottom-dragger]

is this a true cod or sable fish?

if sable fish (called black cod in alaska) the traditional method in this little norwegian fishing community of mine is to hard smoke it, then in a kettle boil potatoes and onions, and when they are just about done and the water level has dropped, lay the smoked cod fillet on top of the tators and let it steam.

a very popular winter time dinner here. but yes, it's going to need to be smoked. not a rachel ray 30 minute meal.

[CRUZMISL]

Funny you should ask. It did say "sable fish aka black cod" on the sign when I bought it.

I just pan seared it and finished it in the oven. It was very tasty indeed but keep the ideas coming because I'll buy more:)

[Tess]

Mitsuwa sells black cod ready-marinated in what they call "sake leek" sauce. I haven't tried to duplicate it because I just buy it there, but it's delicious. It tastes like it has miso in it as well as sake and leeks.

[slbunge]

Funny you should ask. It did say "sable fish aka black cod" on the sign when I bought it.

I just pan seared it and finished it in the oven. It was very tasty indeed but keep the ideas coming because I'll buy more:)

←

I was going to suggest similar. Salt the fish and sit in the refrigerator for maybe an hour while you are pre-heating (marinating my also be good but I haven't). Hot, well seasoned cast iron skillet with the oven preheated and waiting at temperature. A quick sear on the skillet and then into the oven.

I'm actually not put off by the fishy-ness of the fat so I cook this fish with the skin on and that subcutaneous layer of fat helping to prevent drying. After removal from the oven, I let it sit for two minutes or so in that hot pan and then peel the skin and any of the bloodline away (if near the backbone you may have substantial brownish bloody tissue to remove). Turn it over on the skin side for presentation to see the nice seared flesh.

It would be interesting to hear if you get an internal temperature for us. Rarely do fish prep instructions include internal temps. Perhaps because the flakiness of the flesh makes it hard to get an 'internal' temp.

I like the smoking idea as well.

[tsquare]

This might be published somewhere, but I found it hand written and stained.

6T white miso

1/3 C sugar

1/4 C Mirin

1/4 C Sake

(4) 6 oz. black cod fillets

Marinate 2 hours to overnight. Cover tightly in refrig.

Broil 3 minutes each side - or don't turn, but watch that it doesn't burn (lots of sugar in there.) You might want to roast it at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes, no turning required. (Standard cooking per inch of fish.)

Fabulous.