catch your cod and cook it
Some people don't like red cod.
Some people don't mind it, but don't like catching it. Towards the end of winter when everything is hungry they start to put up a fight, but mostly it's a single nibble followed by a dead weight coming in. Sock of porridge.
They can be gross. That just indicates whether a fish is worth keeping. Early season healthy fish seem to have no parasites, are slick to handle rather than slimy, and don't smell much when you open them. Later you'll get them lice-hagged and worm-ridden, reeking of sludge in the gut.
This one is beautiful. It died perfectly with a knife in the head, without puking up anything gross. The sheen is sharply metallic.
Fillet after a night in the fridge. Some say freeze. I'd say leave it another night to firm up. Filleting red cod is a bit like opening a gel wrist rest, the sort that you find in front of the keyboard in your new office cubicle inherited from someone else, and it flops around when you try to move it.
Spread wholemeal flour on a plate, sprinkle a sheen of turmeric, salt, pepper, roll in this and leave for a bit.
In a hot cast-iron pan quick-crisp just each side, then turn off and let it cool with a lid on to steam cook the insides. Here you can see the white cooked flesh and the gelatinous uncooked inner meat.
After a couple minutes lift the lid. See the ghostly white flesh with the metallic pink highlights, visible as a pearlescent sheen in the flesh flakes.
Serve with a selection of winter vegetables.
Some people don't mind it, but don't like catching it. Towards the end of winter when everything is hungry they start to put up a fight, but mostly it's a single nibble followed by a dead weight coming in. Sock of porridge.
They can be gross. That just indicates whether a fish is worth keeping. Early season healthy fish seem to have no parasites, are slick to handle rather than slimy, and don't smell much when you open them. Later you'll get them lice-hagged and worm-ridden, reeking of sludge in the gut.
This one is beautiful. It died perfectly with a knife in the head, without puking up anything gross. The sheen is sharply metallic.
Fillet after a night in the fridge. Some say freeze. I'd say leave it another night to firm up. Filleting red cod is a bit like opening a gel wrist rest, the sort that you find in front of the keyboard in your new office cubicle inherited from someone else, and it flops around when you try to move it.
Spread wholemeal flour on a plate, sprinkle a sheen of turmeric, salt, pepper, roll in this and leave for a bit.
In a hot cast-iron pan quick-crisp just each side, then turn off and let it cool with a lid on to steam cook the insides. Here you can see the white cooked flesh and the gelatinous uncooked inner meat.
After a couple minutes lift the lid. See the ghostly white flesh with the metallic pink highlights, visible as a pearlescent sheen in the flesh flakes.
Serve with a selection of winter vegetables.