As I write this primer for beginner cooks, an excellent memory fortunately enables me to bring back into sharp focus the years when 1 myself was a fumbling novice. Thus I feel better able to anticipate the questions beginners might ask, to understand their difficulties, and to suggest the simplest way of resolving their problems. What's more, I find in my memories many good teachers whose example I can follow. I have numerous choices, ranging from my energetic little grand-mère and gentle maman to those great turn-of-the-century chefs under whom I studied and worked.
But memory plays strange tricks sometimes. As I write, long-forgotten faces and incidents suddenly come to mind, as if an early impression that for one reason or another has been buried deep for many, many years was only waiting for some pertinent cue to bring it back into my conscious memory. Fish cookery, the subject of this month's article, is an example of such it cue.
A top-ranking chef must be able to prepare all kinds of fish in all kinds of ways, and no one knew this better than I did, when at sixteen I started my first job in Paris at the Hôtel du Rhin. The idea frightened me a little, since I knew so little about fish cookery. Coming as I did from an inland section of France, I was familiar only with the fresh-water fish that inhabited our local ponds and streams. Salt-water varieties had to be transported in barrels of ice from the sea coast, and were too expensive for us. We were on terms of everyday familiarity with leek-and-potato soup and pot-au-feu, but salt-water fish were anything but commonplace in our kitchen. What I know about fish cookery I learned, for the most part, in the kitchens of the hotels in Paris where I served as commis-cbef.
Of the many experienced chefs who taught me the basic rules—and the flourishes—of fish cookery, the one whom I remember most vividly was actually far from my ideal. Bur he was so colorful, so unusual, and above all, so good at his work, that I learned a great deal from him and enjoyed knowing him in spite of his deplorably Undisciplined habits,
Père Auguste was chef grillardin at the Hôtel du Rhin, and the best grill chef in Paris. To my young eyes he seemed like an old man, but I suppose that he could not have been much more than forty years old. He was. very tall and corpulent, and never quite sober. He had a special wineglass that held nearly a quart of wine, and he refilled it, whenever it was empty, by wheedling or intimidating his juniors and by bribing the waiters to bring him whatever wine the guests left in their bottles. Père Auguste was always in a state of euphoria. He never actually walked to and from his range; he weaved his way, swaying so that his toque slipped dangerously at rakish angles. His eyes were blurred, his voice thick, and his plump hands shaky. Hut none of this affected the quality of his work. When Père Auguste was at the grill, the fish was beautifully browned, always cooked to perfection. Even shad, the most delicate and difficult of all fish to broil, never stuck to his grill and broke. Although I had no desire to emulate Père Auguste's unfortunate habits, I knew that there was a great deal to be learned from him.
At the other extreme, there was the man who was my professional ideal, Monsieur Malley, saucier at the Paris Ritz and later chef del cuisines at the London Ritz. Monsieur was a gentleman to his fingertips, always immaculate, always perfectly groomed, whether he was in the kitchen in working clothes or dressed to leave the hotel in Street attire, complete with cane and top hat. You can see why a sixteen-year-old boy from the country would admire and respect such a fine gentleman! Monsieur Malley's talents as a chef were great and he was especially expert in poaching and saucing fish. He taught me the importance of changing basic formulas to achieve variety and the tactical value of naming such newly created dishes in honor of special guests or occasions. Malley had a fertile mind, and many of the fish sauces served in good restaurants today were originated by him.
Filet de sole Véronique, for instance, was a Malley invention. A special party was planned, and Malley decided to add tiny white grapes to the white-wine sauce for the fish course. He gave instructions to that effect to a trusted under-chef, and went out, as usual, for the afternoon. When he returned to the kitchen, he found the young man who had been commissioned to prepare the new dish so excited that he could hardly work. Monsieur Malley discovered, upon inquiring as to the cause of his agitation, that the young man's wife had just presented him with a baby girl, their first child. Monsieur Malley asked what they would name the child. “Véronique,” was the reply. “Alors,” said the chef des cuisines, “we'll call the new dish filet de sole Véronique.” And so it is called to this day, in every restaurant that serves it,
Most people consider coastal cities, in France as elsewhere, natural centers of fish eating, and this is generally true. But I cannot imagine that any of these can possibly boast a greater profusion of fish of all kinds than one sees in Parisian markets and eats m Parisian restaurants. Parisians love fish, all kinds of fish, prepared in every possible way. Almost every dinner includes a fish course and fish is a very popular main dish at luncheon. The French are extremely particular about the freshness of fish. They insist that it be iced as soon as it is caught, brought directly to market, and cooked within twenty-four hours. No French chef willingly cooks a fish that has been held overnight in the hotel refrigerator.
In the early 1900s, in the exclusive hotels that had no public dining rooms and, in which every menu was specially planned and prepared, the commis-cbefs were not sent off to market to buy the day's fish until the maitre d' had arranged the day's menus. To this clay my brother, who is the executive chef at the Hotel Plaza-Athénée in Paris, goes himself to early market— and that means five thirty in the morning—to select the fish for the day.
Of course, there is no better way to learn about fish than to market for it yourself, so that you learn by seeing as well as by asking the dealer pertinent questions. It is interesting to be able to recognize the various kinds of fish, and most important to know that fresh fish have bright eyes, pink gills, and firm flesh. Modern packaging of frozen fish, which makes it possible to have any fish at any time, is of course a genuine convenience after one discovers by trial and error which brands and varieties to use.
There is not much value in listing here the many kinds of fish you might find in your fish market, and naming the methods that apply especially to them. For our purposes, we can simply classify fish as lean or fat, and then relate the method of cooking to the size of the fish.
Large, whole fish, lean or fat, are either baked, braised, or poached. Small whole fish may be sautéed or broiled, or if they are lean and very small, fried in deep fat. Fish filets, from medium-sized fish that have been skinned, split, and boned, are poached, broiled, sauteed, or deep fried—lean fish profit from the extra fat required in deep frying. Fish steaks, which arc thick slices cut from large fish, are boiled, sautéed, broiled, baked, or braised. One warning applies to all methods of preparing fish. Fish needs very little cooking and one should avoid overcooking. Fish is done as soon as the flesh has lost its translucence and Hakes readily from the bone.
Boiling
When a fish is boiled, it is completely immersed in the liquid. A whole fish must be boiled in a fish kettle, a large rectangular or oval kettle equipped with a rack. The fish is tied to a thin board to keep it fiat and wrapped in cheesecloth so that it can be lowered into the kettle and lifted out without danger of breaking. Fish steaks can be boiled in an ordinary shallow pan of the sort found in every kitchen. Of course, the world “boil” is a misnomer; the liquid — always a court-bouillon made with vinegar or another acid and seasoning vegetables, rather than plain water—is kept at a gentle simmer and never allowed to reach a hard boil which might break the fish.
Boiled Fisb Steaks
Arrange haddock, salmon, cod, or halibut steaks, cut about 1 inch thick, side by side in a large shallow saucepan. Add white wine court-bouillon (June, 1957) to cover well, bring the liquid to a boil, cover the pan, and simmer gently for 10 to 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the fish stand in the stock for a minute or two. With a broad spatula (or two, if the steaks are large) remove the fish to a serving dish, draining off all the liquid. Serve the steaks with cream sauce to which a little lemon juice has been added, caper cream sauce, or mustard sauce (all January, 1958).
Poaching
The essential difference between poaching and boiling is in the amount of liquid used. In boiling, the fish is completely immersed in the liquid, and in poaching it is barely covered with a mixture of water, white wine, or lemon juice, butter, and shallots or onion. These basic ingredients may be varied by the addition of carrots, mushrooms. tomatoes, celery, and seasonings, in endless combination. When the fish is cooked, the liquid is reduced and thick ened to make the sauce.
For successful poaching, choose a fine-grained, firm type of fish. Coarse-grained fish is apt to break apart when it is lifted from the pan. Smaller pieces of fish are easier to handle than larger pieces; if necessary, each filet may be cut into two or even three portions before cooking.
For poaching, use a large, very shallow pan. like a large skillet. The filets should be arranged side by side. A piece of wax paper, or buttered white paper, cut to fit the pan, is laid on the fish. A tiny hole in the paper permits the steam to escape and prevents the paper from jumping away from the fish. The pan is then covered and the steam cooks the top of the filets.
As in other fish cookery, it is important in poaching not to overcook the fish. The liquid in which the fish is placed to be poached should be cool; when fish is plunged into boiling liquid the seasonings in the liquid cannot penetrate the flesh. Small whole fish, weighing about 1/2 pound, should cook in 15 minutes or less; 12 to 15 minutes is enough for fish steaks of the usual 1-inch thickness. Flat filets rake even less time, 10 to 12 minutes. Large whole fish such as salmon take about 8 minutes to the pound; fish weighing under 1 pounds require about 10 minutes to the pound. Always count the cooking time from the moment the court-bouillon reaches the simmering point. The same time schedule applies in boiling. If the fish is to be served cold it should be allowed to cool in the cooking stock; this makes it more flavorful and also easier to handle.
Filets de Sole Bonne Femme (Pouched Pilots of Sole)
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large shallow pan and spread over it 2 shallots or 1 small onion, finely chopped, and 6 mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced. Season 6 filets of sole, or of other fish, with salt and pepper and arrange them side by side on the vegetables. Spread 6 more sliced mushrooms over the fish and sprinkle with a little parsley. Add ¾ cup dry white wine. Cover the fish with a piece of wax paper the size of the pan. Make a small hole in the center of the paper. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover the pan, and cook 10 to 12 minutes. Using a large broad spatula, remove the fish and the vegetables to a warm serving platter.
Make the sauce in either of the following ways: For a simple sauce, cook the liquid in the pan until it is reduced to about 1 cup and swirl in manié butter, made by creaming together 1 tablespoon butter with 1 teaspoon flour. Correct the seasoning with salt, remove the sauce immediately from the heat, and pour it over the fish. For a rich sauce, cook the liquid in the pan until it is reduced to about 1/2 cup and thicken it by stirring in 1/2 cup cream sauce (January, 1958) and 1 egg yolk beaten lightly with ¼ cup cream. Bring the sauce just to the boiling point but do not allow it to boil. Correct the seasoning with salt and pour the sauce over the fish.
To make filets de sole paysanne, substitute 2 carrots and 2 onions, both thinly sliced, for the shallots and mushrooms in filets lie sole bonne femme.
To make filets de sole Dugléré, substitute A tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, for the mushrooms and add 1/2 cup tomato juice and 1 clove of garlic. Thicken the sauce with manié butter. Stir to blend the sauce and swirl in 1 tablespoon butter to finish.
To make filets de sole portugaise, follow the recipe for filets de sole Dugléré, adding 1/2 pound cleaned and sliced mushrooms with the tomatoes; instead of thickening the sauce with manié butter, add 1/2 cup cream sauce.
Broiling
Broiling is a quick and easy way of cooking fish, particularly successful with fatty fish like bluefish, mackerel, salmon, and shad, but it takes more skill than is generally supposed. The broiling oven and the broiling rack should be very, very hot. Since overlong cooking can easily dry broiled fish, the fish should be carefully watched. You will discover that a fairly thin fish will cook through by the time the first side is browned, and that it is then unnecessary to turn it and brown the other side. It will be less difficult to turn the fish, when that is necessary, if the grids have been rubbed with butter or oil. Some cooks like to dust less fatfleshed fish with flour before brushing it with oil or butter; they say that the flour helps to achieve a uniformly brown crust and keeps the fish from breaking when it is turned or lifted from the grill for serving. Salmon, mackerel, and the like need only be seasoned with salt and pepper and brushed with butter or oil.
Broiled Small Fish
Clean the fish but leave them whole. Cut a few diagonal slashes about 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart in the skin on each side to prevent them from curling when the skin shrinks during the cooking. Season the fish with salt and pepper and roll them in flour and then in salad oil. Heat a large flat pan under the broiler, spread it with butter, and arrange the fish in it side by side. Broil under medium heat about 8 to 10 minutes, or until the fish are gulden brown. Turn the fish and broil them on the other side 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are golden brown and the flesh is white and flakes when pierced.
To broil smelts, buy smelts that are large enough to split and bone. Split each fish, lift out the backbone, reshape the fish, and cook as for broiled small fish. To make smelts broiled à l'anglaise, roll the boned smelts in flour, then in a mixture of 1 egg beaten with. ¼ cup milk and 1 tablespoon salad oil, and finally, in fine fresh bread crumbs. Cook as for broiled small fish and sprinkle the smelts with a few drops of lemon juice and a little chopped parsley. Serve with maître d'hôtel butter.
To broil fish filets, dry them thoroughly, brush them with oil or butter, and cook like broiled small fish, allowing 4 to 5 minutes to brown the first side. If the pan is very hot, it will not be necessary to turn the filets.
Maitre d'Hôtel Butter
Cream 1/2 cup butter and add 1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley, the juice of 1/2 lemon, and salt and pepper to taste.
Sautéing
Any good fat or oil—enough generously to cover the bottom of the pan— may be used for sautéing, but if you use any fat but butter, discard it before making a pan sauce. The fat should be very hot, or the fish will stick. Small fish are cooked and served with their heads and tails intact. Slash the fish diagonally every 2 inches or so on the sides, so that when the fish shrinks in cooking it will not curl up. The skillet should be large enough to hold all the fish without crowding. Fish for sautéing may be dipped in milk and in flour; this makes for a crisp, attractively brown surface. The simplest sauce for sautéed fish is made in the saute pan. The cooking fat is discarded and the pan is deglazed with butter; that is, [ tablespoon butter for each serving is melted and browned in the pan, while the brown bits that cling to the pan arc scraped and stirred into it. A few drops of lemon juice may be added to the browned butter, which is then poured over the fish.
Sautéed Fish Meunière
Clean whole small fish, leaving the heads on if desired, dry them thoroughly, and make diagonal slashes through the skin at the sides about 1 1/2 or 2 inches apart. If filets or the steaks cut from large fish are being sautéed. wipe them with cheesecloth to dry the surfaces thoroughly. Dip the fish in milk, then in flour seasoned with salt. Heat ¼ inch salad oil in a skillet until it just begins to smoke, reduce the heat, and place the fish side by side in the pan without crowding them. Cook the fish 5 to 8 minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown. The time depends upon the thickness of the fish. Test for doneness With a fork; if the flesh has become firm and white and Hakes easily, it is done. Remove the fish to a serving dish and sprinkle it with a little salt and freshly ground pepper, lemon juice, and chopped] parsley.
Discard the oil from the pan. Return the pan, unwashed, to the heat, and add 1 tablespoon butter for each serving. Cook the butter until it is lightly browned and pour it over the fish.
To sauté 2- to 3-pound fish, reduce the heat and increase the cooking time to 15 to 20 minutes on each side.
Deep Frying
Deep-fat frying of fish is most popular in restaurants, where the kettle of frying far is always ready on the stove, and small fish may be quickly prepared for the hot fat by dipping them in milk and in flour. Filets are usually prepared by coating à l'anglaise—in flour, in beaten egg mixed with a little milk, and in fine bread crumbs. For the average-sized piece of fish, the fat should be heated to 370° F., the temperature at which a 1-inch cube of bread will brown in 1 minute. Larger pieces of fish require a slightly lower temperature so that the heat can penetrate to the center of the fish before the surface browns, and smaller pieces a correspondingly higher temperature. Deep-fried fish is done when it is brown. Drain the surplus fat from the fish on paper toweling and serve the fish with lemon and with tartar sauce. Now that thermostatically controlled deep-fat frying kettles are becoming a standard piece of electrical equipment in home kitchens, this method may find as much favor with home cooks as with professionals.
Baking and Braising
Baking and braising arc ordinarily reserved for large whole fish. The head and sometimes the tail arc left on for baking, but are usually removed when the fish is to be braised. Braising is especially good for lean fish, since it involves moist cooking in a closed baking dish. When whole fish are baked, the cooking dishes should be handsome enough to bring to the table, thus eliminating the necessity of removing the fish to a serving platter without breaking it, a very difficult feat for the nonprofessional cook.
Baked Fish
Rub a cleaned, carefully-scaled fish with flour seasoned with a little salt. Cut diagonal slashes through the skin at the sides about 2 inches apart. Heat about ¼ inch of salad oil or freshly rendered pork fat in a shallow baking dish in a very hot oven (450° F.). Lay the fish on the dish and bake it for 10 to 30 minutes, depending upon its size and thickness. Baste the fish frequently with the fat as it bakes. Pour off the fat and serve the fish with mustard sauce (February, 1958) or maître d'hôtel butter.
Braised Fish
In a large pan or baking dish put 1 onion and 1 carrot, both sliced, some mushroom stems and peelings, if they are available, a sprig of parsley, a bay leaf, a pinch of thyme, 1 cup fish stock or water, and 1/2 cup red or white-wine. Season a cleaned, carefully scaled fish with salt and pepper and lay it on the vegetables. Cover the pan and bake the fish in a moderately hot oven (375° F.) for 30 to 60 minutes, depending on its size. Transfer the fish to a heated serving platter and remove and discard the skin. Cook the liquid in the baking dish until it is reduced to one third the original quantity. If white wine was used, thicken the sauce with I cup cream sauce (January, 1958); if red wine was used, thicken the sauce with beurre manié made by creaming 2 tablespoons butter with 1 tablespoon flour. Strain the sauce over the fish.