Fish Butchery: Mastering The Catch, Cut, And Craft

by Josh Niland

James Beard award-winning author and culinary game-changer Josh Niland returns with the ultimate guide to the art of Fish Butchery, with expert techniques and ground-breaking recipes that are an urgent call for action on culinary sustainability.   

Josh’s multi award-winning debut The Whole Fish Cookbook created a new blueprint for fish cookery, while its bestselling sequel Take One Fish unpacked 15 different species to reveal their true gastronomic potential. In this latest book, Josh continues to open our eyes to the potential of fish in the kitchen.  Presented in three stunning sections – Catch, Cut and Craft – and illustrated by legendary artist and musician Reg Mombassa, it’s both a challenge to the food industry to do things differently and a dazzling manual to the eye-popping potential in each and every fish. Featuring detailed instructions on how to prepare fish – from reverse butterfly to double saddle – as well as over 40 brilliant recipes for everything from fish sticks to pies, sausage and chorizo, Fish Butchery will disrupt, challenge and inspire the next generation.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Cuisine

272 pages, Hardcover

Published October 17, 2023

Reviews

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this one is like 4.3 out of ten really

It's just photographic artsy crapola

with some good recipes thrown into it

it's interesting to show what a butterflied fish looks like raw on the left
and cooked on the right

(sixty pages of that - just photographs)

(though some are obscured with the sauce, and you can't see the doneness on the surface with like a tuna fillet)

[I think they deserve a zero out of ten for obscuring the cooked fish with the sauces though]
[the point is to show the cooked surface, not fancy plating]

[... or maybe that's the point, food porn idiocy]

I think going a good job on gutting and trimming and preparing the fish for cooking is fine, but 40 recipes?

one of those book that makes 80% of chefs ill with overuse of 'intentionality' and 'sustainability'
and the macho posturing of their opinionated bloviating with

"Fish Butchery will disrupt, challenge and inspire the next generation"

oh please....
Just shut up and pack your next cookbook full of something truly challenging and inspiring, I believe it's called recipes.

most definately disrupted
40 recipes in 272 pages
for $31 or $64 Canadian

(the book should be about $43 Canadian with the exchange rate)

........

yeah they got a fish hot dog that they 'tried' to make non-disgusting
and well they did add the photo with a disgusting amount of mustard on it

does 4x the mustard look good for a photo shoot, or is that a recomended overkill?

frankfurts
40 sausages (it would take 2 people a whole week to eat this, every day)

4lb 6oz roe on scallop meat, cleaned
2 lb 3 oz prawn meat
1 lb 12 oz salmon belly
1lb 2oz rendered fish fat
2 oz salt
4 egg whites
red collagen sausage casings

simmered in cold water to 140 F
turn off heat
simmer for 5 minutes

add triple the amount of mustard, or enough to poison a baby elephant

[Marc Adamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who catches and cooks a fair amount of fish, I found it very informative & at times eye opening.

The approaches to getting unconventional cuts from a fish are fantastic, such as slicing into steaks but without any bones remaining- perhaps obvious to some but transformative for me.

The part about avoiding rinsing a fish saltwater fish with fresh water at any point in order to preserve the meat quality is also something that has challenged my approach.

Using as much of the fish as possible is great in theory & I often utilise roe in my cooking, however the liver (and other innards) which are often known to not only contain high amounts of microplastics but often more important concentrations of contaminants, isn’t something I’m keen on. I wish this point had been addressed.

I also fundamentally disagree with the author’s view that change should/needs to/will be led by industry. Industry will always cater to the shareholder & compromise for profits. If the Authors alternative offering that emphasises sustainability and quality has been met with success, this is because the consumer already had a need/desire that wasn’t met.

I believe real change will always come from small scale grass-root initiative led by the people.

Overall a very good read and visually beautiful book.

[Annette McIntyre · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full of information on how to butcher fish and then how to use every part of the fish, instead of wasting a third to a half of the creature. There are pictures and detailed instructions on processing different kinds of fish and recipes for all kinds of things such as a fish salami, among other unusual presentations and barely a scrap of the fish is wasted.

[Grant Kedge · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a great resource, well written with beautiful pictures. I gave it a 3 star because it didn’t feel special so but I persevered to finish due to personal interest.

It will make a lovely gift but I’m not sure it’ll be a book someone grabs again and again

[Nathan Brungart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great for advanced fish cuts and identification. I felt the best section to this book was the fish charcuterie selection, thw spices and blending steps are well thought out, crafted well.

[Shannon Darbyshire · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very inspirational read. The photography is beautiful and visually striking. A big encouragement to use all of the fish we catch not just the fillets. Highly recommend.

[My Anh · Rating 4 out of 5]

informative

[Luis Pineda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book teaches how to extend the use of fish by treating them correctly and consuming more than just the fillet.