How To Cook Fish With Crisp Skin

This week I wanted to cook crisp skinned barramundi for some foodie friends who were coming for dinner. It’s not difficult if you follow a few tips, so I thought I would share them.

First up, it is crisp skinned fish, not crispy. (Sorry but I was once an English teacher and it’s either crisp or it’s not.)

1. Dry the skin

Much as you can dry with paper towel and then run the blunt side of a knife over the skin and dry again, the easy way is to put your fillets on a plate skin side up, dry with paper towel then leave them uncovered in the fridge for an hour to dry out. (This same drying process is useful for pork crackling.)

2. Score the skin then season

Cut thin parallel lines in the fish as this helps stop the fillet curl when searing the skin side. Season both sides with sea salt.

3. Heat your pan first

Pre-heat a pan large enough to fit all your fillets comfortably over high heat. Only then add a splash of extra virgin oil and knob of butter, swirl and when butter is foaming put in your fish, skin side down.

4. Keep your fish flat

Use a spatula to apply even pressure to the fish so that it lies flat. Cook until skin is crisp and fish is cooked half way through.

5. Finish the cooking but don’t overcook

Either pop the pan in a pre-heated 200*C oven for a few minutes, or flip each fillet over and cook for only a minute or so. Don’t overcook!