The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 458

flippingeasier.
PerfectFishTip2:DrierIsBetter
Nothingcoolsdownoilfasterthanwetstuffbeingaddedto
it. Rather than working toward searing your meat, the
energy from the hot oil ends up getting used to evaporate
excess moisture.The drier your meat before it goes in the
pan, the better. I press my fish fillets firmly between paper
towelsbeforeItransferthemtothepan(skinsidedown).
PerfectFishTip3:HoldOnTight—She’saFighter!

Fish skin shrinks as it cooks due to proteins tightening and
water and fat being driven off. What happens when this
occurs?Likeabimetalstrip,thefishfilletwillbegintocurl
uponitself.Thiscurvaturecancauseunevencooking—the
edges of the skin in tight contact with the pan will end up
overcooking and burning while the central regions that are


liftedoffthepanwillbarelycookatall.Thisisnotanideal
stateofaffairs.
Tocounteractthisproblem,Iuseathinflexiblemetalfish
spatula to hold the fillets firmly in place as their bottom
sides cook. This is of utmost importance during the first
minute or two of cooking.After that, the fillets’ shape will
besetandtheywillcontinuetocookevenly.
PerfectFishTip4:SlowandSteady
In order to get perfectly crisp skin, three things need to
happensimultaneously:fatneedstorenderout,waterneeds
to evaporate, and proteins need to set. Cook too hot, and
your water will evaporate too fast.The temperature rapidly
climbs, and the proteins set and start to burn before the fat

hashadachancetorenderoutproperly.You’llendupwith
fishskinthatisslightlycrispinspottypatchesonthesurface
while still gelatinous, greasy, and fatty underneath.
Preheating the oil over a relatively high heat to prevent the
sticking problems explained in Tip 1, then immediately
reducingtheheatoncethefishisaddedsolvestheproblem.
The result is shatteringly crisp, perfectly rendered, brown
crunchyskin,justlikethebestpan-searedchicken.
Andhere’sanotherbirdtokillwiththatsamestone:slow
and steady cooking also leads to a more evenly cooked
finishedresult.Saygood-byetocoagulatedalbumin!
PerfectFishTip5:Don’tFlipUntilIt’sReady!
If there’s one most important trick I’ve learned about panroasting foods in all my years cooking, it’s this one:never
force your food out of the pan . It’ll come on its own when