Fish and Seafood Fabrication and Cookery
Fish and Seafood Fabrication and Cookery tests freshness, filleting, pin-boning, gentle cooking and shellfish safety. Expect questions on round versus flat fish, parasite controls and doneness.
Fabrication and freshness
Round fish have a central spine and two fillets per side; flat fish have four fillets. Remove scales, guts and gills, then fillet along the backbone. Use tweezers for pin bones. Fresh fish smells of the sea, has clear eyes, bright red gills, firm flesh and no belly discolouration. Shellfish must be alive and undamaged before cooking; discard mussels that remain closed after cooking.
Cooking
Fish collagen is low, so flesh separates quickly. Use gentle heat: poaching, steaming, shallow-frying, baking or grilling. Fish is done at about 63°C, when flesh turns opaque and flakes but remains moist. Avoid vigorous boiling, which breaks the flesh.
Parasite control
For raw or rare fish, freezing is a control step. Common guidance is −4°F (−20°C) for 7 days or −31°F (−35°C) for 15 hours. Sushi-grade fish still requires sourcing and freezing controls.
Worked example
A round fish is filleted: make a cut behind the head, run the knife along the backbone, lift the fillet, then repeat. Run a finger over the flesh to find pin bones and remove them with tweezers. Trim dark belly fat and bloodline for cleaner flavour. Keep the frame for stock.
Traps that cost marks
Overcooking until wateriness appears; failing to remove pin bones; using dead shellfish; thawing fish on the bench; and ignoring freezing requirements for raw fish.
Key points
- Round fish yield two fillets per side; flat fish yield four.
- Fresh fish: clear eyes, red gills, firm flesh, sea smell.
- Fish is done near 63°C and should flake moistly.
- Raw fish needs documented parasite freezing.
- Discard shellfish that stay closed after cooking.