Pan-Frying

Appears in

Published 2012

About

Pan-frying is one of the quickest and simplest ways to prepare seafood and one of the tastiest. The moist flesh and crisp skin provides textural contrast, while the butter or oil used to fry, plus simple seasonings such as salt, pepper and lemon juice, add great flavour.

Tips for Successful Pan-Frying

Be prepared before cooking. Remove seafood from the fridge 15-30 minutes before cooking to allow it to come to room temperature. Make sure there aren’t any remaining scales on the fish and pat seafood dry on a paper towel before cooking. Have garnishes, sauces and other accompaniments ready before you start cooking, so the seafood can be served as soon as it’s cooked.
Arrange fillets in a single layer. Make sure there is enough room to use a long thin fish slice (egg lifter); never use tongs as they may break delicate fillets.
Cook fillets with the skin on. This helps to hold the flesh together and protect it from the heat of the pan. You can always peel the skin off before serving if you don’t like to eat it. Cook skin-side down first for about 70 per cent of the cooking time (until the sides are opaque), then turn and cook the other side briefly to finish. Thin fillets with the skin on will sometimes curl as they begin to cook; to prevent this, press down gently using a fish slice or flat spatula until the skin starts to cook.
Remove the seafood from the heat just before it’s fully cooked. The flesh is so delicate that it will continue cooking in the residual heat.
You can finish cooking the seafood in the oven. Chefs often pan-fry fish to brown one side, then turn it and place the pan in a 200°C (fan-forced) oven for a few minutes to finish cooking; if doing this, ensure the pan has a heatproof handle and remember that the handle will stay hot for some time after it’s removed from the oven.