How do I cook fish without drying it out?

Fish has very little connective tissue, so there's no slow-cooking window where it becomes more tender. It simply goes from raw to done to dry, and the door is narrow. Everything below is about noticing the moment and taking it off slightly early.

What you'll need

• Non-stick or well-seasoned pan
• Fish slice
• Kitchen paper
• Meat thermometer (optional)

Step by step

1. Pat the fish completely dry, particularly the skin.Wet skin sticks and steams. Dry skin releases from the pan and crisps.
2. Season just before cooking, not in advance.Salt draws moisture out of fish quickly, and it starts to cure if left.
3. Get the pan properly hot before the fish goes in.A hot pan is what stops fish sticking. Adding fish to a warm pan is the main cause of it tearing.
4. Place skin-side down and press gently for 10 seconds.Fish skin contracts and curls. Pressing briefly keeps it flat so the whole skin contacts the pan.
5. Cook most of the way on the skin side — roughly 70% of the total time.The skin protects the flesh from direct heat while it crisps, and it's the more forgiving side.
6. Don't move it while the skin crisps.It will release from the pan when it's ready. Trying to lift it early is what tears the fillet.
7. Flip and cook briefly on the flesh side — often less than a minute.Sometimes just turning the heat off and leaving it in the residual heat is enough.
8. Take it off when it's just turning opaque and flakes under gentle pressure.It keeps cooking off the heat. If it looks perfectly done in the pan, it will be overdone on the plate.

Tips

• Poaching and baking en papillote (in a paper parcel) are the most forgiving methods — the moist environment makes overcooking much harder.
• Thicker fillets are far easier to get right than thin ones, which go from raw to dry in seconds.
• For salmon, many people prefer it slightly translucent in the centre. It's a matter of taste, and it's noticeably moister.
• Fish continues cooking after leaving the heat, more noticeably than meat because it's thin. Always pull it early.

Common mistakes

• Cooking fish until it looks done in the pan — Carryover cooking takes it past done on the plate. Pull it slightly early.
• Adding fish to a pan that isn't hot enough — It sticks and tears when you try to move it.
• Moving it too early — Fish releases from the pan when the crust has formed. Forcing it before then destroys the fillet.
• Salting well in advance — It draws out moisture and starts to cure the surface.

Questions people ask