Is The Skin Of Rockfish Good To Eat

"I've never heard of people eating fish skin. I'one thousand a bit scared to try it."

This is how Linda responded to my postal service about how to cook crispy-skinned salmon on our Epi Facebook wall the other week.

I love eating some kinds of fish skin—especially salmon—when it's seared to a squeamish crisp. I can't get enough of information technology. Plus, fish skin is packed with all the good-for-you omega oils you could spend big bucks to buy at the health food shop. But when I saw Linda'south comment followed past, "My thoughts exactly. I only didn't know. Is it non scaly or weird?" from Brea, I realized it was high time we talked about fish skin.

The thing is, I used to exist scared of fish peel too. And so, Linda and Brea and anyone else who might be freaked out past fish skin—I get it. Here are some of the things I learned on my journey to becoming a fish-skin believer:

Fish Skin is Only Really Skillful If Information technology's Crispy

Chef Mark Usewicz, co-founder of Mermaid'due south Garden, a sustainable seafood market in my neighborhood, is a fan of eating fish pare. Merely only when it's prepared in sure means. "I'd rather eat crispy fish skin," he says. "If I'm steaming or poaching I'g most likely going to take the pare off."

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You have to think of fish skin like chicken peel, so it'll all make sense. You wouldn't want to swallow soggy chicken skin, right? Ditto for fish. Fish pare is slimy and weird, just like Brea and Linda imagine...unless information technology'due south cooked to a well-baked.

To get a nice crisp skin on your fish, pan-searing is the manner to go. Searing a fillet of fish is dissimilar than cooking a steak, which you would sear on both sides equally. With fish, you lot accept to focus on the skin side. Usewicz says a good rule of thumb is to cook a fish fillet with the peel side downwardly for at least 75 percent of the total cooking fourth dimension. He notes that a skin-on fish fillet will curl upwards while information technology'due south cooking, every bit the peel shrinks, but if yous utilize a spatula to press the fillet into the hot skillet as presently as you lot put it in the pan, yous tin keep information technology flat.

You Don't Desire to Eat All Kinds of Fish Peel

Salmon, branzino, sea bass, snapper, flounder, and mackerel skin are all delicious when cooked until well-baked. Only Usewicz says y'all should forget about ever trying to consume tuna skin (it'due south way likewise tough) or skate pare, which has thorn-like barbs in information technology (fortunately well-nigh skate is sold already cleaned). Swordfish pare is edible, simply non that tasty. Same goes for monkfish.

Usewicz especially loves to eat flounder with the peel on, describing it equally "crispy and crackly and delicious." Just he isn't into eating any kind of fish peel that's been grilled, since it "spends a lot of time in contact with the grill and gets that charred burnt flavour." I have to agree.

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The Scales Are Ordinarily a Non-Issue

But what about Brea's question? Is fish skin "scaly or weird"? Non afterward information technology's been cleaned, and most fish is cleaned and scaled before information technology'due south sold. It's always a good idea to double-check, however, by running your hand over the skin to encounter if you feel any scales. Or, every bit Usewicz explains, "Yous can flip your knife over and scrape the back side along the fish from the tail towards the caput. If there are whatsoever errant fish scales it'll choice them upward." You can scale a whole fish this fashion too if you need to in a pinch—information technology'south a bit messy, only kind of fun. (Practise information technology in your sink or outside so you don't end up with scales all over the kitchen. I learned this lesson the hard fashion.)

Some other mode to ensure crisp-peel success: brand sure the fish is nice and dry before you cook it. "The drier your fish is," says Usewicz, "the crisper information technology's gonna get."

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