Have A Piece Of Uneven Fish? Here's A Trick So That It Cooks Perfectly
Ever baked a tray full of salmon filets, only to find that the tail-end parts are a bit drier than you'd like? Not only does this occur with salmon, but many other types of fish as well. This is due to the difference in thickness throughout the cut of fish. Uneven cooking boils down to one of two things: where you place the baking sheet, as there are hot spots within many ovens, and the evenness of your pieces of fish.
Because most fish have thinner sections that get completely cooked before their thick centers even start heating up, this is an ongoing struggle that may seem impossible to solve without butchering your delicate piece of halibut. However, there is one trick in particular that yields beautiful results. Instead of trimming your fish to be the same size all over, causing delicate parts of the fish to go to waste, scoring and folding your fish will allow the entire cut to be fully utilized and cooked to perfection all around.
How to fold your fish for an even cook throughout
This trick is simple yet effective for evenly cooked fish every time. Taking a sharp paring knife, score your piece of fish with one incision cutting horizontally near the thinner part of the flesh, careful not to cut all the way through. From there, simply fold the tail end of the fish under the thicker part so that the entire filet is one size with the same amount of thickness all around. All that's left to do is cook it until it's done and voila! You've got a perfectly cooked filet of fish.
While this method is versatile with just about any type of fish, the skin should be removed beforehand. With the skin, the fish is less flexible and unable to fold easily. Furthermore, if you keep the skin on and the fish is folded, it will collect steam while cooking that creates a slimy texture with unpleasant effects. This technique works great with most types of fish, but varieties like snapper and salmon tend to work best, as they have thinner ends that are easier to fold.