Serving fish skin side up!

Can someone explain why some fish is served skin side up..salmon fillet etc.
I saw a well-known cooking person do this on her show recently and I was shocked .

Generally fish is served skin side up if it is golden and crispy to keep it crispy and therefore yummy.

If the fish is being broiled on a pre-heated broiler pan, and is cooked skin side down, the skin can stick to the broiler pan, making it difficult to remove and ruin the presentation.

If the fish is being broiled on a pre-heated broiler pan, and is cooked skin side down, the skin can stick to the broiler pan, making it difficult to remove and ruin the presentation.

Not if you lightly flour beforehand.

Did the well known person flour the fish before hand? Two cookbooks that I checked agree with Bob, skin down, but don't call for flour. I think I tried skin side down many years ago and it stuck to the broiler pan, so I've done it skin side up ever since. If it ends up served with the skin up and a bit sticks, it won't be seen.

I'm just perplexed why someone would be shocked at skin side up presentation. Done properly, fish skin can be both tasty and beautiful- why wouldn't you serve it skin side up?

Thomas Keller
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/apr/30 ... ned-salmon
Eric Ripert
http://www.aveceric.com/crispy-chinese- ... reduction/

We do everything possible to get rid of fish skin. It detracts from the taste of the fish which is the primary for buying/catching it. Some fish skin, e.g. stripped bass, can stink up the whole neighborhood. Bluefish skin is only slightly less stinky.

I've been obsessed lately with ocean perch. At the local market it is $4.99/lb. Very much like the panfish I pulled out of the creek when I was a kid.

A light coating of flour and pan fried in butter for just a few minutes a side. Great, crispy, tasty skin.

Perfect summer fare with salad, fresh tomatoes, etc. Unfortunately, summer's all gone here now.

BTW. Tomorrow is my annual homage to Jenise's lamb and cabbage and tomato casserole. But that should be another thread.

So we seem to be divided which is good.
In the early 70s I worked at the Connaught Hotel in London as well as the George V in Paris. If I had served the fish skin up, I would be out of the door.
OK, so times change but I am not convinced that this type of presentation is very eye-pleasing.

So what do you do when you have a tail piece with skin on both sides? Or whole sand dabs, for instance, which are delicious!

It depends, for me, on what I'm doing with the fish, and often as not, what I fix would never meet the "standard standards of standard appearance" which seems to be one of those things that "everybody knows" but nobody can articulate.

Most restaurant fish, BTW and IMH(aughty)O, is way overcooked. Especially salmon.

For grilling, I leave the skin on, and when it's just for me, I put the skin side (assuming there's just one) down and eat it off the skin.
For "pan grilling" or "pan broiling" it depends on what's going to go with or over the piece. Sometimes I leave the skin on and peel it before serving,sometimes I skin it ahead of time. Anything that's cooked in what will become the sauce or topping gets skinned.

So there!

Love crisp fish skin! With the addition of a little salt and a lot of heat I can make salmon skin taste like bacon. Of course, the skin side goes up, or, more likely, given the chunks of salmon I get, on the side.

I think part of the trick is not just to sear the skin -- in fact, that goes last. I begin by searing the sesame-crusted top, then rotate to three of the four sides. The heat coming from all directions starts melting the fat that is next to the skin. So when I finally put the skin side down, the heat cooks the skin and is not transferred through to the wet/fatty layer behind it.

[Jenise]

If the fish is being broiled on a pre-heated broiler pan, and is cooked skin side down, the skin can stick to the broiler pan, making it difficult to remove and ruin the presentation.

Yes, but you're describing a home-cooking problem. In good restaurant kitchens these days, any fish with a good-eating skin will usually be prepared in a skillet and served skin side up for the reason Barb described.

If the fish is being broiled on a pre-heated broiler pan, and is cooked skin side down, the skin can stick to the broiler pan, making it difficult to remove and ruin the presentation.

Yes, but you're describing a home-cooking problem. In good restaurant kitchens these days, any fish with a good-eating skin will usually be prepared in a skillet and served skin side up for the reason Barb described.

Guess we continue to disagree.

[Jenise]

I've been obsessed lately with ocean perch. At the local market it is $4.99/lb. Very much like the panfish I pulled out of the creek when I was a kid.

A light coating of flour and pan fried in butter for just a few minutes a side. Great, crispy, tasty skin.

Perfect summer fare with salad, fresh tomatoes, etc. Unfortunately, summer's all gone here now.

BTW. Tomorrow is my annual homage to Jenise's lamb and cabbage and tomato casserole. But that should be another thread.

Ooh, that casserole sounds good to me, too! Perfect autumn food, isn't it?

[Jenise]

Guess we continue to disagree.

About what? This is definitely true on the west coast. Personally, I don't care for skin so would just as soon not have it on my plate, but that doesn't change what I see in restaurants.