Unit 11: Fish and Shellfish

Identification and Fabrication

A chef must be able to purchase, store,
prepare, and serve this very expensive
and highly perishable commodity that
guests will pay a premium for

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American Culinary Federation: Culinary 07458. All Rights Reserved.
 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ
American Culinary Federation: Culinary 07458. All Rights Reserved.
 Market Forms
How Fish is Purchased
Fresh, salted, smoked, pickled, dried
Whole, filleted, steaked, shucked,
butterflied, wheels, dressed, headed and
gutted, sticks, individually quick frozen,
block frozen, shatter pack, individual
portions, sides
Shell on, shell off, cooked meat, and
almost any way or specification that a
foodservice establishment requires
2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ
American Culinary Federation: Culinary 07458. All Rights Reserved.
 Checking for Freshness
Received at 41F (5C) or less
Should have a clean, sweet smell
Good overall appearance, without
sticky slime, cuts, or bruises
Tight scales
Flesh responds to light pressure
Clear and bulging eyes
Bright-colored gills
No belly burn

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 Storage
Held several days
Ideally purchased and used immediately
Why store it if you can get it daily?
Stored in self-draining pans in crushed or shaved ice,
wrapped to prevent flavor loss from water
Hold at 2932F (10C)
Pack cavity of whole fish with ice
Re-ice daily
Fillets should be stored in food-safe plastic (preferably
stainless steel as it chills better), set into ice
Frozen fish should be kept frozen until ready for use
Frozen fish can be thawed overnight in the cooler on
sheet pans or slacked out under cold running water

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 Matching Cooking Methods to Fish
Flavor, color, and texture are determined by the water
the fish lives in
Fat content is the single most important factor in
determining cooking method
Activity level determines flavor
High activity level, darker flesh, more pronounced flavor,
good for grilling and broiling
Low activity level, lighter flesh, more delicate flavor, good
for en papillote and shallow poaching
Medium activity level suitable for most cooking
techniques

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American Culinary Federation: Culinary 07458. All Rights Reserved.
 Types of Fish
Flat fish usually low activity level, have four fillets, two
on top, two on the bottom, very delicate flavor (sole,
turbot, halibut, flounder)
Round fish, two fillets, one on each side (salmon,
trout, bass, cod, haddock)
Nonbony fish have cartilage rather than bones (shark,
skate, ray, monkfish)
Freshwater fish have a tendency to be medium activity
and can be cooked using any technique
Freshwater fish should not be used for any raw
application

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American Culinary Federation: Culinary 07458. All Rights Reserved.
 Shellfish
Market forms include, live,
shucked, fresh, frozen bulk
or IQF, cooked, portioned, value
added, breaded, ready to cook
There are four distinct categories:
Univalves, single-shelled mollusks
Bivalves, two shells joined by a hinge
Crustaceans, jointed exterior shells
Cephalopods, mollusks with tentacles

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American Culinary Federation: Culinary 07458. All Rights Reserved.
 Receiving and Storing
All shellfish received between 35 and 40F (1 and 4C)
Crustaceans received live should come packed in
seaweed or paper; they should be active, not sleepy
Store immediately in a proper tank or in their shipping
containers in perforated pans
No ice as this will kill them
Mollusks should be received packed the same way and
left in their delivery packages in self-draining trays; ice
will kill them also
Buy close to service, especially when you can get
deliveries often

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 Shrimp
The most popular shellfish
Sized by count per pound
Colossal, 10 or less per pound
Jumbo, 11 to 15 per pound
Extra-large, 16 to 20 per pound
Large, 21 to 30 per pound
Medium, 31 to 35 per pound
Small, 36 to 45 per pound
Most commonly purchased previously frozen, frozen
bulk, or frozen individually quick frozen
In the southern coastal areas of the U.S., fresh shrimp
are very common and very delicious

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 Mollusks:
Clams, Mussels, Oysters
Upon delivery, look for tightly
closed shells
No fractures or crushing (discard)
Delivered in bag or sack
Should be accompanied with
shellfish tag
To store, leave in the containers
they arrive in, in self-draining pans
Do not ice directly, unless shucked

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 Fabrication
Practice is the operative word for this application
Flat fish will produce four fillets
Round fish will produce two fillets
Either way, you must choose a very sharp,
flexible boning or filleting knife, and stay close to
the bone
Slice laterally from gill plates along the backbone
to tail in as few strokes as possible
Use very smooth strokes

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 Fabrication (continued)
Once this is accomplished and the filet is
removed, repeat the action on the other side
Remove the belly fat and any pin bones
After both fillets are removed and skin is taken
off if desired, slicing laterally across on the bias
will produce nice portion cuts
Have a portion scale ready to weigh each piece
accurately
Steaks are easierjust scale the fish and cut
directly across the fish in 1-inch pieces

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 Filleting a Flat Fish
As just described, except there will be four fillets: two on
top, two on bottom; both sets will be long and thin
The trim from flat fish is exceptionally good for fumet or
fish stock
Skinning any fillet is done carefully with a long, flexible
knife
Lay the fillet flat, laterally in front of you, cut into the tail
between the skin and flesh very carefully
Grasp the end piece between thumb and fingers using a
towel to help pinch and grip
Slice in delicate but fast motions the length of the fish,
quickly and deftly in one shot
With very little practice, this is easily accomplished

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 Cuts from the Fillets
Paupiettes, sliced thinly and rolled, usually with
a stuffing
These are best with shallow poaching
techniques
Fillets from larger fish can be sliced into
goujonette or a larger, tranche cut
These are strips, cut on the bias, across the fillet
Goujonette are excellent thinly sliced, cooked
quickly, and placed on salads, while the bigger
tranche cuts are one-portion items served on a
dinner plate

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 Lobster
Usually live when purchased
Do not accept dead lobsters from the delivery
person
Can be killed by plunging it in boiling water for 2
minutes before any preparation, then cooled
There are many ways to disjoint or split a lobster
Place the lobster stomach side down on a board
with a sheet pan under the board

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 Lobster (continued)
Split the carapace (body) with a chefs knife first, then the
tail by turning the lobster and cutting in the same
direction, unless you want the tail intact
When split, remove the sand vein from the body and tail,
and the stone sack or stomach, which is just behind the
head
Remove the tomalley (liver) and reserve, and the coral
(eggs), which will turn bright red if cooked in a sauce or
stuffing
Reserve the lobster for any application, or remove the
meat and save the shells for lobster stock. Knuckle meat
is best removed with shears
Note and caution: If you are splitting the lobster live,
leave the bands on until the lobster is dead
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American Culinary Federation: Culinary 07458. All Rights Reserved.
 Shrimp
Clean by removing the shell
With a paring knife, make a small slit down the back of the
shrimp, remove the vein under running water
Shrimp is ready for saut
If stuffing, remove the vein from the belly, being careful
not to split the shrimp
For poaching, poached with the shell produces a more
tender shrimp
Vein is removed after shelling and cooking
Store in ice water
Reserve the shells for bisque

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

American Culinary Federation: Culinary 07458. All Rights Reserved.
 2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ
American Culinary Federation: Culinary 07458. All Rights Reserved.
 Cleaning Soft-Shelled Crabs
Peel the shell back and peel
away the gill filament
Cut the head off behind the
eyes, using shears
Force out the green bubble
Bend the tail flap back and the
vein will come out automatically

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American Culinary Federation: Culinary 07458. All Rights Reserved.
 Cleaning Mollusks
For oysters, insert the blade tip near the hinge,
push and turn gently but steadily
Run the blade against the top shell to free the
aductor mussel
For hard-shell clams the knife has one edge,
place the hinge against the heel of you hand,
place the edge of the knife on the seam of the
clam and pull firmly but gently toward your hand;
this should open the clam; move the knife to cut
the aductor muscle

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

American Culinary Federation: Culinary 07458. All Rights Reserved.