When I fry fish, the skin never goes crisp, and instead either sticks, rips or goes limp. What am I doing wrong?
Emily, by email
“The secret to perfectly crisp fish skin is heat,” says Mitch Tonks, founder of Rockfish in south-west England. Well, heat plus a little bit of prep. Fish are, of course, moist things, and moisture is the enemy in the quest for that golden-brown crust, so the first thing Emily is going to need to do is dry that skin out. “If the fish has any moisture on it, it will create steam while it’s being cooked, which, in turn, will make the skin go soggy and inedible, rather than crisp and delicious,” says British fish guru Nathan Outlaw, whose latest book, On Fish: A Seafood Handbook, is published next month. And the best way to do that, Outlaw says, is to wipe and dab the skin with some kitchen paper or a clean tea towel.

Rick Toogood, head chef and co-founder of Prawn on the Lawn in London and Padstow, Cornwall, and Jack Stein, chef director of Rick Stein Restaurants, are simpatico, but Outlaw then goes that one step farther: “Take a second piece of kitchen paper [or another clean tea towel], wrap up the fish in it and leave for a couple of minutes,” he says. “This allows any remaining moisture to be absorbed.”

Tonks then gives his fillet(s) a good sprinkling of salt and grabs a pan. “A decent nonstick one is best,” Outlaw advises, though Stein also pops a square of “quality” greaseproof paper in the bottom, which is also Toogood’s preferred tactic: “It guarantees that the fish will not stick,” he says. Crank up the heat and, once the pan is hot, Tonks adds a couple of tablespoons of oil – “if you’re using a ribbed grill pan, rub the skin with oil and salt first instead”. Stein punts for sunflower oil, while Toogood suggests adding a little butter, too. Whatever you use, you want that fat to get nice and hot, Outlaw says, “otherwise the fish will stick, and you will end up with a horrible mess in the bottom and a very scrappy piece of fish”.

Once the oil is shimmering, carefully lay the fish skin-side down in the centre of the pan – it should crackle and hiss – then press down gently with a fish slice (or carefully with your fingers). “Do this for the first few seconds, to stop it curling,” Tonks says. “Super-fresh fish especially likes to curl!” Both Tonks and Stein then cook the fish like that until it’s about 80% done – that is, until it turns opaque around the edges – so don’t be tempted to prod, move or mess about with it in any way. Once the skin is crisp, the fish should easily release from the pan, and is now ready to be flipped over on to the flesh side just to finish off (if at that stage there’s any resistance, you’ve gone too early). “This should get you that glass-cracking texture on the skin,” Tonks says – and hopefully avoid any further sticky situations for Emily.