Fish Night – Culinary Class Night 13

Within the first 30 minutes of this class, I realized how little I know about fish! I used to go fishing with my dad when I was a kid and I eat it once a week now but beyond chatting with the fish guy at Whole Foods, I was blown away by all of the fun facts and cooking techniques I learned last week.

The first mind blowing discovery is that flounder is a flat fish! This also brings me to an important point, there are two types of fish, flat and round. Flat fish, like flounder, lay flat on the seabed and the fillets run on either side of them. Halibut and turbot are other examples of flat fish. On the other hand, round fish swim in a squiggly pattern and have two fillets that run the length of the fish. Things like salmon, rock fish, tuna, and sea bass are round fish. Makes sense right?

Another tip when boning fish is to make sure your boning knife is super sharp. Fish is delicate and a sharp knife prevents tearing and ensures precise cutting. As you can see boning a fish is a daunting task, I think my eyes almost popped out of my head when I set out to break down that rock fish below!

Here are some helpful tips to follow when purchasing fish:

Fish should smell clean and fresh like the ocean

The flesh should be firm

The blood should be very fresh and pink, gray blood equals bad fish

The eyeballs should be clear and bulging, not sunken in

Shell fish is up this week in class and I’m as excited as a kid in a candy store! Subscribe here to check out my next culinary adventure!

Rock Fish with Beurre Blanc Sauce