My Most Frequently Asked Questions

	Sometimes when I shallow fry the fish sticks to the frying pan or breaks up?
	To stop the fish sticking to the pan, dust the fish lightly in flour before cooking. If the skin is left on, it will hold the flakes together when cooking.

	What is the best way to deep fry fish?
	You can either coat it in breadcrumbs or batter before deep frying.
	To coat in breadcrumbs - cut some slices of old bread into small pieces and place on a baking tray in a warmed oven overnight. Remove from the oven, place in a food processor and mill to a fine crumb. Coat the fish in seasoned flour, dip into beaten egg, and then coat in the breadcrumbs. Deep fry the fish in oil at 350°C for approximately one minute for small pieces of fish, or 6-10 minutes for larger pieces. Sprinkle with salt and serve with lemon wedges.
	Batter Recipe 175g self-raising flour teaspoon salt 200ml lager 1 egg
	Method Sieve flour and salt into a bowl, add the beaten egg and lager, and whisk to a smooth batter.

	How do I cook a live lobster?
	Cooking live shellfish can be very off-putting. The RSPCA suggest the following method for lobster:
	A lobster will hibernate if cold, therefore place the live lobster in a freezer, -18°C for 2 hours, after which it will go sleepy and hibernate, then die. Now you can place the dead lobster in boiling court bouillon.
	Crabs can be first killed by piercing the main nerve behind the eyes, and on the underside with a sharp knife. It can now be boiled like the lobster.
	A crab will take about 15 minutes to cook, and a lobster will take about 10 minutes. These timings depend on the size of the crab or lobster.
	Court Bouillon 1 litre water 100ml white wine 1 carrot, sliced 1 onion, sliced 1 stick celery, diced 12 black peppercorns 1 bay leaf 1 teaspoon sea salt
	Place all the ingredients into a saucepan, bring to the boil, and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain, and use to cook all fish and shellfish in. Any unused court bouillon can be stored in the fridge for a few days.

	What are the tell tale characteristics of a good quality fresh/chilled fish?
	A fresh fish has clear bulging eyes and has elastic firm flesh to the touch. The fish will give off a pleasant sea smell and you should see red gills, with shining skin and close-fitting scales. Good quality fish, should look fresh, with moist flesh, firm texture and the bones should be firmly attached to the flesh.

	What is the best way to store chilled seafood?
	In an air-tight container or foil (plastic bags should be avoided as they can cause the seafood to sweat and spoil).

	Should I wash fish in cold water?
	Try to avoid this, as the fish will absorb some of the water, and it may come out whilst cooking. It is preferable to clean the fish with damp kitchen paper.

	Should you use oil or butter to shallow fry fish?
	It is preferable to use a mixture of both oil and butter, or clarified butter.
	To make clarified butter, place a roasting tray of water on the hob, and bring to the boil. Put some butter in a separate pan and place it in the roasting tray. The butter will melt and the butter oil will float, leaving the butter solids at the bottom of the pan. Carefully pour off the butter oil.

	What is the best wine to cook with?
	I have one rule with cooking wine – if I wouldn’t drink it, then I wouldn’t cook with it. Although some people keep a bottle of ‘cooking wine’, it is normally one that has been left out for a month or more, and this means that the wine will have oxidised and lost all its flavour. Therefore, always use a good quality wine for cooking. After all, if you’ve spent a lot of time preparing a meal, you wouldn’t want to ruin it by using old wine, would you?

	Can I, and should I, freeze fresh fish?
	Be careful to package it properly before freezing. It is essential to extract all the air from the packaging, because if you don’t, it will lose valuable moisture, and will dry out and lead to freezer burns. Ideally you can wrap the fish in clingfilm or foil, place it in a strong box or plastic container, and put it in the freezer, making sure you label it with the date of freezing. Always defrost the fish in a fridge to ensure that it doesn’t lose any of its flavour.
	If you buy fresh fish and you want to freeze it, it will only keep for a short period. Always make sure that you buy fish that has not been previously frozen, as you should not refreeze fish once it has been frozen. If you are going to freeze fish, then you must buy it as fresh as possible. Whole fish should be gutted and cleaned (you can ask your fishmonger to do it for you).

	What is Scampi?
	Scampi is made from the finest Dublin Bay Prawn, or what the French call Langoustine. The idea was invented by Young's in 1946 when other fish and seafood were scarce after the war.

	Is Scampi still as popular as it used to be?
	On average a bag of Young's Scampi is sold every 5.2 seconds. The UK eats over 9000 tonnes of Scampi per year - the equivalent weight of 1134 double decker buses.

	How will I be able to tell if the fish is of poor quality?
	Fish that is bad will have sunken, cloudy eyes and grey gills. The fillets and cutlets will show signs of discolouration or dryness.

	How long can shellfish be stored in the refrigerator?
	Generally, shellfish keeps 2-3 days in the refrigerator and can be frozen for up to three months.