This is an excellent way to cook fish, because all the essential flavour and juices are retained inside a sealed parcel (which when opened will give off a beautiful, fragrant and appetising aroma). For fish like salmon and salmon trout, which are sometimes served cold, the parcels can be left unopened until just before serving. Various flavorings can be added:
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This way the fish is brushed with melted butter or with oil (maybe with a stuffing added) and then baked in the oven-sometimes open, sometimes lightly covered with a piece of buttered foil for protection. At other times a small quantity of poaching liquid is used, or extra butter for basting: methods of baking vary quite a lot, so see instructions in individual recipes.
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A useful method to know, which offers gentle cooking that safeguards the flavour and juices of the fish. Again foil is useful: just butter a piece of foil generously, lay the fish in it with some seasoning and a squeeze of lemon juice, then wrap it up into a parcel and place in a steamer over boiling water. Depending on thickness it will take 10-15 minutes to cook.
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For poaching you need some form of liquid, though not too much of it: a mixture of white wine (or dry cider) and water with a few herbs, a bayleaf, peppercorns, sliced onion, sliced carrot and a piece of lemon peel is a very suitable poaching liquid. Or for some white fish a mixture of milk and water with flavorings is used. The operative word here is gentle
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The first tip here is to line the grill pan or grid with foil before you start—this will prevent a fishy flavour lingering in the pan. Pre-heat the grill to high, before placing the fish under it. White fish need to be brushed generously with melted butter before grilling and basted with the buttery juices when you turn them.
Whole Dover sole and plaice: 4-6 minutes each side. (more…)
Olive oil or groundnut oil is to be preferred for this— both can be stored and used several times over, but be careful to label the jar ‘fish oil’. Ideally a cooking thermometer should be used to check the correct temperature of the oil (370°F, 187.5°C for fillets, goujons and fish in batter; 375°F, 190.5°C for whitebait, croquettes and fishcakes),
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To shallow-fry a whole, or part of a fish to the best degree of crispness, use olive oil. If on the other hand you’d like to get a buttery flavour, then use half oil and half butter (on its own butter burns too easily and can spoil the flavour). Solid fat is not very good for fish—except perhaps bacon fat or pure lard for frying herrings. Have enough oil or fat in the pan to give a depth of 1/8 inch (3 mm)
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