The document discusses different types of fish and how they are categorized and prepared. It describes fish as being either round or flat, and lean or oily. It also outlines various market forms fish can be sold in, such as whole, filleted, or steaked. Proper handling and storage of fish at temperatures between 30-34 degrees Fahrenheit is also covered.

1. Fin Fish
Chef Michael Scott
Lead Chef Instructor AESCA
Boulder

2. Categorizing Fin Fish
• Round or Flat
• Two filets surround the body cavity and are smaller
• Two filets encompass the entire length and are larger
The butchering technique is based on the shape of the fish.
Other shapes
• Large fish are usually cut into steaks or sectioned into loins
• There are usually 4 loins
• Tuna, sword fish, shark
• Exceptions
• Eels
• monkfish
Chef Michael Scott
Lead Chef Instructor AESCA
Boulder
• Round fish have two identical sides that produce two identical
filets when butchered
• Flat fish have a top and bottom that are identical and produce
four filets.

3. Chef Michael Scott
Lead Chef Instructor AESCA
Boulder
Round Fish
Flat Fish

4. Lean or Oily fish
• More delicate
• Moist cooking
• Low gentle heat
• Fatty fish
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Dry heat
Grilling
Firm flesh will hold up to higher temperatures
Better for cooking rare or slightly under done
Chef Michael Scott
Lead Chef Instructor AESCA
Boulder
The amount of fat in a fish will help determine the best cooking
methods
• Lean fish

5. • Whole or round – as caught, intact
• Drawn – viscera (internal organs) removed, the most common
way to purchase fish
• Dressed – viscera, gills, fins and scales removed (scale on or
off) – pan dressed – tail, fins trimmed, head removed
• Butterflied – pan dressed fish, boned and opened like a book
both sides remain attached by the back skin or belly skin
• Fillet – the side of a fish removed intact, boneless or semiboneless, with or without skin
• Steak – a cross-section slice, with a small section of the
backbone (darne), sually prepared from large round fish.
• Wheel or center cut – used for swordfish and shark, contains 4
quadrants surrounding the backbone.
Chef Michael Scott
Lead Chef Instructor AESCA
Boulder
Market Forms of Fish

6. Handling Fish
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Between 30 ̊F – 34 ̊F
Stored on ice
Use a drainage pan w/a catch pan underneath
Store the way they swim
Change ice regularly
• Storing fillet
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Between 30 ̊F – 34 ̊F
Wrap in butcher paper
Layer on ice
Use a drainage pan w/ a catch pan underneath
Change ice regularly
Chef Michael Scott
Lead Chef Instructor AESCA
Boulder
• Storing whole fish

7. Fresh vs Frozen
• Fresh – the item is not and has never been frozen
• Flash-frozen – quickly frozen on usually on board the ship or at
the processing plant within hours of being caught
• Fresh-frozen – not as quick as flash frozen
• Frozen – stored at 0 ̊F or below
• Glazed – the frozen product is dipped in water to form a glaze
of ice that protects the flesh from freezer burn
• Fancy – code word for previously frozen
Chef Michael Scott
Lead Chef Instructor AESCA
Boulder
• Chilled – used instead to “fresh” to indicate storage at proper
refrigeration temperatures Between 30 ̊F – 34 ̊F

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Smell – like the ocean
Eyes – clear not sunken or dried
Gills – bright red
Texture – moist, firm, slime
Fins & scales – moist, not dry of falling off
Appearance – moist, glistening, firm
Chef Michael Scott
Lead Chef Instructor AESCA
Boulder
Purchasing Fish