James Beard's New Fish Cookery

COPYRIGHT 1954, © 1976 BY THE ESTATE OF JAMES A. BEARD ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS BOOK MAY BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY ELECTRONIC OR MECHANICAL MEANS INCLUDING INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEMS WITHOUT PERMISSION IN WRITING FROM THE PUBLISHER, EXCEPT BY A REVIEWER WHO MAY QUOTE BRIEF PASSAGES IN A REVIEW.

The author is grateful to E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., for permission to quote the recipe for roasting a pike from
The Compleat Angler
by Izaak Walton, Everyman’s Library Edition; and to Charles Scribner’s Sons for permission to reprint “Minorca Gopher Stew” from
Cross Creek Cookery
by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Copyright 1942 by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.

Hachette Book Group

237 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10017

Visit our Web site at
www.HachetteBookGroup.com
.

Little Brown and Company and the logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group

First eBook Edition: February 2009

ISBN: 978-0-316-06980-9

Contents

Copyright Page

Foreword

Introduction

General Information About Fish

Saltwater Fish

Freshwater Fish

Shellfish

Terrestrial Animals Prepared like Fish

JAMES BEARD’S NEW FISH COOKERY

“The most authoritative fish book on the market.”

—House Beautiful

MORE CULINARY COUPS IN THE JAMES BEARD TRADITION OF COOKING EXCELLENCE

• More than 500 recipes for 85 different kinds of shellfish, saltwater, and freshwater fish.

• How to create a taste-tempting variety of fish stews and chowders.

• How to whip up 48 flavor-enhancing sauces and savory stuffings.

• How to prepare some lesser-known, highly flavored varieties of fish.

• How to find the best fresh or frozen fish on the market.

“A must for any good cook’s collection.”

—Dallas Times Herald

“Unsurpassed for practicality and quality recipes. His updated information on cooking methods for fresh and frozen fish and seafood and his advice about wine are particularly good.”

—Milwaukee Journal

“This excellent cookbook not only contains a multitude of wonderful recipes for cooking fish, but the directions are so clear that even a neophyte can follow them easily.”

—King Features Syndicate

“A definitive cookbook … tested with unqualified success in Mr. Beard’s own kitchens and cooking classes.”

—Christian Science Monitor

“Beard on fish should be on every cookbook shelf. Old hands will want the new edition, novices will find it explains what they need to know about salt and freshwater fish, shellfish, even frogs’ legs and terrapin.”

—Publishers Weekly

“In this are all the answers most of us will ever need for any kitchen fish confrontation.”

—Cincinnati Post

Books by James Beard

Hors d’Oeuvres and Canapés

Cook It Outdoors

Fowl and Game Cookery

The Fireside Cookbook

Paris Cuisine (with Alexander Watt)

Jim Beard’s New Barbecue Cookbook

The Complete Book of Outdoor Cookery

(with Helen Evans Brown)

How to Eat Better for Less Money

(with Sam Aaron)

The James Beard Cookbook

James Beard’s Treasury of Outdoor Cooking

Delights and Prejudices

Menus for Entertaining

How to Eat (and Drink) Your Way Through a French

(or Italian) Menu

James Beard’s American Cookery

Beard on Bread

Beard on Food

James Beard’s New Fish Cookery

Foreword

This rich land of ours is richer still because of the living things that swim or crawl in its waters. In the seas and gulfs along our shores, in our innumerable lakes and ponds, and in our rivers and lesser streams are hundreds of different sorts of edible fish and shellfish. Yet I suppose that of this great variety the average American has cooked no more than three or four kinds. Few people have tasted all the species that are sold in our markets. Many Americans eat fish regularly without really knowing what fish they are eating.

For centuries the French, Italians, Russians, and Chinese have been great fish cooks. It is regrettable that skill in cookery is not an inherited trait among human beings, and that the art of preparing fish could not have been transmitted effortlessly from Old World generations to those of the New. But then, of course, there would have been no need for this book, the purposes of which are to encourage Americans to eat more fish and to help them enjoy it more through the expedient of cooking it well.

All my life I have been fond of fish, and I have been fortunate in having lived where fish were plentiful. I was brought up in the Pacific Northwest, a region that is remarkable in its range of both salt- and freshwater fish. Later, in California, New York, and Europe, I managed to eat every form of seafood I could catch or buy.

Nearly all the recipes I offer were tested at one time or another in my own kitchen. Through the years I have had much expected pleasure and many exciting surprises in cooking varieties of fish that were new to me, in trying new recipes, and in refining traditional ones. I urge you to be adventurous, as I have tried to be, in your approach to fish cookery. And I suggest only one general rule: Don’t overcook fish.

– J
AMES
A. B
EARD

Introduction

Since I first wrote this fish book, there have been great ecological changes, and there have been great shortages of some of our favorite fish. There will continue to be, I am afraid, until many of the problems that have to do with raising, caring for, and harvesting fish are settled. Some of our shellfish are almost extinct. Some of our favorite fish are in short supply. On the other hand, there are fish being used and publicized which we never dreamed of using before that have rather distinct and varied flavors that we have not experienced. It is wise to acquaint yourself with those fish in your markets that are permanently in short supply nowadays and those that are in fairly plentiful supply, because one can then judge what will be your mainstays in fish for the future.

In New England there is still haddock, cod, scrod, lemon sole, and small sole. Around New York, we have the same fish, plus a great plenitude of striped bass, and we also get red snapper, pompano, trout, salmon, and halibut. Along the Atlantic Coast, you will find very much the same things. There are shortages of crab and of lobster, but so far no shortages of shrimp and scallops, especially bay scallops, which seem more or less at a premium.

On the West Coast, I think you will still find the dabs, the rex sole, and the petrale sole; in the Northwest, the ling cod, true cod, sablefish, to some extent the sturgeon and the sea trout, and what is known on the West Coast as red snapper, which differs from that on the East Coast. In the rivers and lakes there are no tremendous shortages, though I don’t think fish are quite as plentiful as they once were. Yet the variety seems to continue in its satisfying way. We are using many fish now that were not in common usage before, such as squid and octopus, and various other smaller fish. As the science of aquaculture develops, we can look forward to increased varieties and to new flavors from the sea that are totally alien to us now.

It is with a certain sense of excitement, and a certain sense of loss, that I look to the future in fish cookery. I hope the revisions in this book will assist you in adapting to the new tastes we will all have in the coming years.

We wish to thank the Canadian Fisheries Council for their revolutionary discovery in fish cookery. And thanks to Carl Jerome for retesting a major portion of the recipes. Also, I will grant kudos to Emily Gilder and Marilyn Mangas for their assistance with the manuscript of this book. Our thanks to Marc Parson for his suggestion that inspired the addition of a section to the book.

General Information About Fish

Buying and Preparing Fish

FRESH FISH

Like other kinds of food, most varieties of fish have their seasons – the particular times when they are in most abundant supply, at their best, and cheapest. These seasons vary greatly from coast to coast and from fish to fish. Everything considered, the best authority on when to buy fresh fish is your own fish dealer. In a number of respects, however, you must supplement his advice with your own judgment.

When you buy whole fish, make sure you are getting the freshest by checking these points:

1. The eyes must be bright, clear, and bulging.

2. The gills should be reddish or pink, clean, and fresh-smelling.

3. The scales should be bright, shiny, and tight to the skin.

4. The flesh should be firm and should spring back when pressed.

5. There should be no strong or unpleasant odor.

Fish spoils easily. As soon as it comes from the market, wrap it in moistureproof paper or place it in a covered dish and store it in the refrigerator.

FROZEN FISH

The frozen-food companies now produce a wide variety of frozen fish, and their selections are excellent buys. If you live far from the fresh supply, or if you have your heart set on a fish that is not at the height of its season, the frozen product can solve your problem with little or no sacrifice in flavor or texture. The amount per person is the same as for fresh fish: 1/3 to 1/2 pound of edible fish per person. Keep frozen fish, packaged in its original container, in the freezing unit or the frozen-food compartment of your refrigerator until you intend to use it. Thawed fish must be used at once.

To thaw:
Fillets, steaks and dressed fish may be cooked without thawing, but you must allow additional time in the cooking process (see page 8). If you wish to bread or stuff the fish, take it out of the package and place it in the refrigerator (not the freezing compartment), allowing it to thaw slowly at 37° to 40°. Thaw it just enough to make it easy to handle. Thawing is always necessary for whole fish in order to clean it. Whole fish may be thawed more quickly by placing it under cold running water. Thawing at room temperature is unwise, as the fish is apt to become shapeless and soggy.

HOW MUCH TO BUY

You will need about 1/3 to 1/2 pound of fish for each person, but this means edible fish. Do not count the bones, head, tail, and so on. As a general rule, figure on buying about 1 pound of whole fish per person.

Cleaning and Dressing Fish

Much of the fish sold today in the markets is already cleaned and dressed, filleted, or steaked. If you are a fisherman and catch your own, or if you are fortunate enough to have sportsmen friends who give you some of their catches, then you need to know just how to clean and prepare fish for cooking. Here is the process (for further directions for blowfish, see pages 73–74).

1.
Scaling:
Place the fish on a table, holding it firmly by the head with one hand. In the other hand hold a sharp knife, and starting at the tail, scrape toward the head, taking off the scales. Be sure to remove all scales around the fins and the base of the head. Wet fish can be scaled more easily than dry, so you can simplify this job by soaking the fish in cold water for a few minutes before you begin work.

2.
Cleaning:
With a sharp knife slit the belly of the fish the full length from the vent (anal opening) to the head. Remove the intestines. Next, cut around the pelvic fins (those on the underside toward the head) and pull them off, being careful not to tear the fish.

Take off the head by cutting above the collarbone; also remove the pectoral fins (on either side just back of the gills). If the backbone is large, just cut through to it on each side of the fish; then place the fish on the edge of the table so the head hangs over and snap the backbone by bending the head down. Then cut any remaining flesh that holds the head to the body.

Cut off the tail. Next remove the dorsal fin (the large one on the back of the fish). Cut along each side of it and give a quick pull forward toward the head to remove the fin and its root bones. Take out the ventral fins (at the back on the underside) in the same way. Do not take fins off with shears, for simply trimming them will not remove the little bones at the base.

Now wash the fish in cold running water, being sure it is free of any membranes, blood, and viscera. It is now dressed and ready for cooking. Large fish may, of course, be cut crosswise into steaks.

3.
Filleting:
With a sharp, supple knife cut along the back of the fish from the tail to the head. Next, cut down to the backbone just back of the head on one side of the fish. Then, laying the knife flat, cut the flesh down one whole side, slicing it away from the ribs and backbone. Lift the whole side off in one piece. Turn the fish over and repeat on the other side.

4.
Skinning:
Many people like their fillets skinned. Place the fillets skin side down on the table. Hold the tail tightly and with the knife cut down through the flesh to the skin about 1/2 inch from your fingers. Flatten the knife against the skin and cut the flesh away by sliding it forward while you hold the tail end of the skin firmly.