What I Learned at Culinary School Today

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by iammatt

Freshwater fish shouldn't smell fishy in the same way as saltwater. They don't have the chemicals that cause that fishy smell in their bodies.

I'm a bit like manton in that I didn't like fish growing up. We are both from the same area, and were I to guess, I would say that the fish we got wasn't all that fresh 20-30 years ago. I started to like fish when I spent a month in Ste Maxime when I was 15. The fish there was super fresh, and I loved it.

This is surprising to me because I distinctly remember it smelling and it was definitely fresh because it would be eaten the same day it was caught. I guess like manton i'll be forced to cook fish in cooking school so maybe my opinions will change. we'll see.

 

[gdl203]

That risotto looks way too soupy. I hate when I'm served a risotto I can swim in. I hate when it's too compact as well btw. I'm a picky risotto eater I guess

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

This is surprising to me because I distinctly remember it smelling and it was definitely fresh because it would be eaten the same day it was caught. I guess like manton i'll be forced to cook fish in cooking school so maybe my opinions will change. we'll see.
Basically, the compound which smells like "old fish" is the decomposition of the chemical fish produce in order to keep their bodies from being overly salty. Since freshwater fish doesn't have to deal with being overly salty, it doesn't produce the chemicals and doesn't get the "old fish" smell. That doesn't mean it always smells good... I am 99% sure this is right, but somebody correct me...

 

[GQgeek]

Oh unlike manton I can't say I consider fish to be handsome... When I was a kid we were travelling through Spain and we stopped at a restaurant to eat one day. My sister ordered fish, and they served it with the head still attached. I was naturally disgusted, and she made it even worse for me when she started digging out the eyes to fling at me.

Traumatized for life y0.

 

[gomestar]

I am a huge fish fan/eater, and I never felt the aversion that apparently many here have.

it doesn't help that outside of big cities, the white fish I see the vast majority of time in stores is the muddy tasting tilapia (it must be soaked in buttermilk for a bit to get rid of that off taste). Perhaps people assume that because it's everywhere, it's a popular fish. And becasue it's popular, it must be good, but tilapia (IMO) really isn't a great tasting fish.

 

[kwilkinson]

Tilapia can be good if you get fresh stuff. It just sucks that the vast majority of tilapia you'll find anywhere is ****.

 

[gomestar]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

and she made it even worse for me when she started digging out the eyes to fling at me.

the eyes are interesting to eat. I have only plucked them out of snapper that I've made. I've been meaning to try others, but in due time.

 

[foodguy]

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

Tilapia can be good if you get fresh stuff. It just sucks that the vast majority of tilapia you'll find anywhere is ****.

i've always had an almost allergic aversion to tilapia after the first half-dozen tries tasted like the bottom of some slow-moving southern river. but last week i was served some without alternative and to my astonishment, it was really good. i hate it when i have to revise prejudices.

 

[Thomas]

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

Tilapia can be good if you get fresh stuff. It just sucks that the vast majority of tilapia you'll find anywhere is ****.

So, you mean that the stuff I buy from Sam's that's frozen in each individual pouch isn't goor-met?

 

[EL72]

Tilapia is alright but I only buy it because my wife hates fishy fish. Freshwater trout isn't that fishy either - and even milder than salmon. I buy them fresh at Costco and they're pretty good.

 

[retronotmetro]

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

It just sucks that the vast majority of tilapia you'll find anywhere is ****.

Appropriate word choice, given how tilapia are farmed and fed in many places.

 

[Manton]

I was not that thrilled about this week so there will hardly any pics and not much commentary. We did not do any of the recipes in the book. The Chef and the rest of the class last week decided that they didn't want to, and he came up with this Thai buffet idea. I was well outnumbered so I saw no point in objecting.

Pretty much all I did that day was process fish. I filleted and skinned a huge cod then cut it into macedoine or something like that (it's hard to cut fish in anything like a uniform way). Then it was seasoned with a curry paste that someone else had made, plus some small cut haricote vert, and pressed into fish pancakes. Really, they were more like flattish balls. These were deep fried. They were not bad.

The other thing I did was clean and cut squid. Sort of icky. They are very slimy little bastards.

The squid went into the fried rice (which Chef made).

That was pretty much it. Took forever. Here is the spread:

Lower left are shitakes and some mushroom with a Japanese name that starts with an "m" (but not matsutaki) tossed in oil, S&P and then roasted. Really very delicious. There was also a beef dish in a soy+citrus+cinamon marinade. It smelled great before cooking but then was cooked in the liquid and did not taste so good. Too salty. Probably should have been extracted from the liquid first then cooked some way other than boiled.

 

[Cary Grant]

^^Maitake

Squid's too much work for how much I dislike it

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by Manton

The other thing I did was clean and cut squid. Sort of icky. They are very slimy little bastards.

I would probably wear latex gloves for this work.

 

[foodguy]

real cooks don't say "icky". i've cleaned tons of squid (well, not literaly, but LOTS) and like any other chore, with repetition, it gets less bad. real "icky" for me is cleaning fresh sardines -- notch behind the head, twist to break the spine and then pull carefully ... if you do it right, you pull almost all the guts out at the same time. that's icky.