Cooking fish

Cooking fish

Three things to keep in mind when cooking fish are:

  • Fish has a short cooking time.
  • An overcooked fish can not be saved.
  • For best results when cooking fish - use a digital thermometer. If you do not have access to a thermometer, it probably works so well to check the fish meat with a fork to see if the fish is ready. If the fork goes easily into the fish meat, the fish is ready. If, on the other hand, there is resistance in the meat, it is not ready. When cooking whole fish, feel the backbone. The difficulty of feeling this way is to control at the right time. If you wait a few minutes too long, the fish risks being overcooked. Another way to check if the fish is ready is to look at the color / appearance of the fish meat. White and opaque meat indicates that the fish is ready. Salmon meat should be pale pink and opaque.

At what temperature is the fish ready?
The core temperature of the fish tells when the fish is ready. Different fish have different optimal temperatures. The core temperature is controlled by the character and structure of the fish meat. See below.

Fast or slow cooking
The result depends partly on the external temperature, and partly on what core temperature you want the finished fish to have.

  • Slow cooking In oven at about 100-125 degrees means that the fish gets a gentle cooking, which gives a smoother and juicier result. The outer edges and core get almost the same temperature and when you stop cooking, the temperature just keeps rising a few degrees.
  • Slow cooking at extremely low temperature in the oven, about 50-52 degrees, where the oven temperature is the same as the ready-cooked fish hardly noticeably changes the appearance of the fish meat. The finished fish can look more or less raw.
  • Quick cooking in the oven, 175-225 degrees, gives a more uneven result where the outer edges are cleared faster than the core. The method is best suited for overbaking fish or where a firmer surface is desired. In this method, the heat continues to creep into the meat after removing the fish from the oven or removing it from the plate. If you want to reach a core temperature of eg 50 degrees, cooking must be stopped earlier.