As we sit here this Friday awaiting the arrival over the weekend of Irene, of course my thoughts turn to food. If we think of Irene as a weekend guest (although she’s rather unwelcome), I’d be thinking about how to feed her. Of course, in general we want to spend time with our guests and not in the kitchen, so simpler is better and there is much that’s simpler to cook than fish. And because it’s so simple, it shows us a quick business lesson too.
Any time we serve something almost au natural, as one would serve most fish, there’s a premium placed on two things: the quality of the ingredient and the ability of the cook to execute very simple techniques perfectly. I’ve written a lot in this space about quality ingredients and how they’re akin to the quality of the staff you have around you. Today, let’s think for a minute about simple techniques and how hard they can be to execute correctly.
Here’s how to cook a skin-on portion of fish perfectly. Dry it, including going so far as to run the back of a knife over the skin to extract moisture. Season it with salt and pepper. Dust it with Wondra flour (trust me on this). Put it skin side down in hot hot oil and hold it down with a spatula so the skin doesn’t buckle. After a couple of minutes, flip it and put the pan in a 400 degree over for a few minutes. I like to insert a metal skewer in the fish to test texture and heat – if the skewer comes out warm, the fish is done. Simple, right?
It is, but to execute it perfectly requires attention to a number of details. The oil needs to be hot or the fish gets greasy. The fish needs to be dry or it steams and the skin isn’t crispy. You can’t over cook it or the fish is dry. This is the business point – we can fail even in simple tasks by not paying attention to the little things that turn those deceptively simple tasks into difficult projects. No one likes greasy, dry fish. No one likes, for example, simple reports of percent changes – a change from 25% to 50%, for example – to be reported as a 25% increase (it’s 100%, kids and a 25 percentage point change – they’re different). Simple, but because someone ignored a detail, it’s a failure.
I hope those of you who get a visit from Irene this weekend get through her visit in good shape. Maybe next weekend you can cook some guest you enjoy a nice piece of fish!
Consult Keith 