The Art and Skill of How to Broil Fish
Ever since the caveman first discovered that they could make fire by striking flint on a rock there has been some sort, form or fashion of broiling food - specifically meats and more to the point: fish.
How to broil fish was never much of a question that they asked of course - they were cavemen after all, not rocket scientists.
I suppose the need for broiling came about through cavemen getting sick by eating raw fish - or they just discovered fire and thought it would be fun to throw things on it to see what would happen as diving in to the flames themselves hurt too much.
I can further hypothesize that they found it, through trial and error, that the food (when not obviously charred ash) was done correctly (or, what they thought to be correct) that they it tasted mighty fine.
Broiling fish has come a long, long way since the days of the caveman.
Though when you get men around an open bit grilling and broiling there is a lot of grunting and walking around in odd patterns - but it has still come a long way, kids.
The methodology of how to broil fish has gone from a pit in the ground with wire racks and stacks of coal and burning wood to using electric ovens with top or bottom broilers that could sear the backside of a cow in seconds to restaurant broilers that move and cook at such a high temperature that the food is done in under a minute.
It is absolutely brilliant! Home chefs are always looking for a new and improved ways of broiling.
It matters not if they are broiling up a slab of top prime beef or a Chilean sea bass (tasty by the way) the end result is always the same - timing sucks.
Broiling is all about timing it out right.
Cooking at home is vastly different than if you were cooking in a high end restaurant or diner and cooking it outside on the fly is even more difficult but if you have ever had tailgate broiled fish you will know what I'm talking about - unbridled bliss, heaven if I dare say it.
If you wish to broil your seafood at home you need to note that broiling is cooking something at an extreme high heat and very close to the flame or heat source.
Some broilers are both top and bottom or either just the top or bottom.
That is your cross to bear unfortunately.
Fish should never, ever be broiled too close to the heat source.
A good rule of thumb is that if the piece is thicker than an inch you always go with six inches.
There is what I like to call the "How to Broil Fish Equation".
It resembles algebra, however it has no actual numerical outcome but it does have one stalwart outcome that can't be measured by numbers: perfect.
The equation is as such: 1 + 6 = 10/2 + 1 to 1 Now - the how to broil fish equation is not difficult to understand.
It seems like it is, I know - but once you know it you will live by it my faithful fish broilers.
The first number represents the thickness; the second number is the space between the fish and the actual broiler.
The third number represents the turning of the fish.
The finality of the equation is thickness even to time.
Basically it means if your fillet of fish is 1 inch thick you will broil it for 10 minutes and flipping it halfway through (if you want brown on both sides) and for each inch of thickness above the first you add a minute.
See - simple.
Thinner cuts will be cooked closer to the flame for less time so be careful - there is no real point in a piece of fish less than an inch thick in my opinion.
And there you have it: how to broil fish.
How to broil fish was never much of a question that they asked of course - they were cavemen after all, not rocket scientists.
I suppose the need for broiling came about through cavemen getting sick by eating raw fish - or they just discovered fire and thought it would be fun to throw things on it to see what would happen as diving in to the flames themselves hurt too much.
I can further hypothesize that they found it, through trial and error, that the food (when not obviously charred ash) was done correctly (or, what they thought to be correct) that they it tasted mighty fine.
Broiling fish has come a long, long way since the days of the caveman.
Though when you get men around an open bit grilling and broiling there is a lot of grunting and walking around in odd patterns - but it has still come a long way, kids.
The methodology of how to broil fish has gone from a pit in the ground with wire racks and stacks of coal and burning wood to using electric ovens with top or bottom broilers that could sear the backside of a cow in seconds to restaurant broilers that move and cook at such a high temperature that the food is done in under a minute.
It is absolutely brilliant! Home chefs are always looking for a new and improved ways of broiling.
It matters not if they are broiling up a slab of top prime beef or a Chilean sea bass (tasty by the way) the end result is always the same - timing sucks.
Broiling is all about timing it out right.
Cooking at home is vastly different than if you were cooking in a high end restaurant or diner and cooking it outside on the fly is even more difficult but if you have ever had tailgate broiled fish you will know what I'm talking about - unbridled bliss, heaven if I dare say it.
If you wish to broil your seafood at home you need to note that broiling is cooking something at an extreme high heat and very close to the flame or heat source.
Some broilers are both top and bottom or either just the top or bottom.
That is your cross to bear unfortunately.
Fish should never, ever be broiled too close to the heat source.
A good rule of thumb is that if the piece is thicker than an inch you always go with six inches.
There is what I like to call the "How to Broil Fish Equation".
It resembles algebra, however it has no actual numerical outcome but it does have one stalwart outcome that can't be measured by numbers: perfect.
The equation is as such: 1 + 6 = 10/2 + 1 to 1 Now - the how to broil fish equation is not difficult to understand.
It seems like it is, I know - but once you know it you will live by it my faithful fish broilers.
The first number represents the thickness; the second number is the space between the fish and the actual broiler.
The third number represents the turning of the fish.
The finality of the equation is thickness even to time.
Basically it means if your fillet of fish is 1 inch thick you will broil it for 10 minutes and flipping it halfway through (if you want brown on both sides) and for each inch of thickness above the first you add a minute.
See - simple.
Thinner cuts will be cooked closer to the flame for less time so be careful - there is no real point in a piece of fish less than an inch thick in my opinion.
And there you have it: how to broil fish.
