Cod with Tomato and Herb Butter (5 Star Recipe) - Little Broken (2024)

FAQs

How do you cook cod without it breaking? ›

Make sure to thoroughly dry and season your cod fillets before you begin the recipe. Don't Move the Fish. Once you've placed your fish in the skillet, avoid the temptation to move it around. Let it cook undisturbed until it's time to flip it over.

Season the cod with sea salt and black pepper, place on an oiled baking tray and lay two slices of pancetta over the top of each fillet. Halve the lemons and place the four lemon halves, cut side down, on the tray next to the fish. Roast in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily.

Try a gentle cooking method: Instead of adding fat, you can also try a gentle cooking method like steaming or cooking en papillote. Both of these methods help to preserve Pacific cod's high moisture content and produce incredibly tender results.

If you're in a pinch you can thaw it in the sink by running cool, not warm or hot, water over the fish until totally thawed. Be sure to leave the fish in its plastic wrapping for this method. If you place the fish directly in the water to thaw, it will become waterlogged and fall apart when baked.

No need to rinse frozen cod.

Some recipes may tell you to rinse your frozen cod before cooking it to get rid of ice crystals, but this step is unnecessary. If anything, it might leave your fish a bit waterlogged.

Before cooking, soak the fish in milk for 20 minutes

In this scenario, the protein in the milk binds with the compounds that cause that fishy odor, in essence extracting if from the fish. What's left behind is sweet-smelling, brighter flesh with clean flavor. (Just make sure you pour that milk down the drain.

Soaking is the most important step in preparing salt cod. Most recipes say to soak for 24 hours. However, this is risky and may leave the fish too salty. About 48 hours is a better bet.

But more importantly, pan frying yields that deliciously browned exterior on both sides of the fish. Baking or steaming won't accomplish that same golden “crust.” Pro Tips for pan frying cod: Let fish sit at room temp in a colander to drain any excess water, particularly if your fish was previously frozen.

How do you cook cod so it's not rubbery? ›

Senior food editor Andy Baraghani says that milk opens up a whole new world of flavor when poaching fish. Think intensely herbaceous, creamy, chowder-like flavor.

Overcooked fish loses its natural moisture, which can result in a dry and chewy texture. The proteins in the fish also begin to tighten, which can make the fish tough and rubbery. In addition, overcooked fish can have a severe lack of flavor, as the heat causes the natural oils in the fish to evaporate.

As fish cooks, proteins in the muscle fibers coagulate and the flesh changes from translucent to opaque in appearance. When the collagen softens in heat, it loses its structure and turns to gelatin; the muscle fibers have little to hold them together and the fish separates easily into flakes.

Fish proteins break apart pretty easily at warmer temperatures, so keep it refrigerated until ready to use. Dry off the fillets/nuggets/tenders before battering to ensure better adhesion, which helps support the fish such that it falls apart less easily. Cook at the right temperature for the right amount of time.

You Didn't Cook Skin Side Down

When you pan cook fish, typically it cooks longer on one side than it does the other, and the idea is that the thick, fatty skin helps protect the fillet from drying out or flaking apart.