Gordon Ramsay's Guide To Fish

My shopping guide to getting the finest fish. When I buy my fish, I only want the freshest and the best. And if anyone knows how to get the best, it's Roger Kent Barton. He's been buying and selling fish at the world famous Billingsgate Market in London for over 50 years. I love fish. I think it's the greatest food of all time. I sell literally every variety there is. I could feed you a different fish 365 days a year. This guy really knows how to sniff out the good from the bad. All fish smell different. The longer it's around, the more fishy it will smell. When it's lovely and fresh, it doesn't smell. Whenever you're going to buy fish, don't be frightened. Get your nose right into it. Don't go like that. Get it into it. Smell it. It smells delightful. It smells what I call salmon-y, and it's lovely. Barramundi, it's a lovely fish. The way to tell good fish is look at it closely. It's shining. It's still got the bloom on it. His eyes are as bright as yours. Look in the gill, lovely and red. Put it in a bag for the gentleman, please. People should always be asking about their fish. What kind of fish is it? Where does it come from? A nice salmon, 19 pound. It's a bargain at 20 pound. Roger's right. Salmon's brilliant value and a great all-rounder, really healthy and super delicious. Here's a quick look at the different cuts and how to use them. Whole salmon always impresses. It's fantastic stuffed and steamed, either in a fish kettle or in the oven wrapped in foil. Steaks are great value and brilliant baked. A cider salmon is perfect for poaching, home curing, or baking in pastry. The fillet is so versatile, easy, fast to cook, and great for pan frying. Smoked salmon, delicious cooked or raw. I love it with scrambled eggs. Broadly, there's white fish and there's oily fish. They come under two different sections. Here we have white fish. It's lovely. It's cod. It's the best cod in the world. It comes from a place called Peterhead. It's nice and white. The whiter, the better. One of the most oily fish you'll find, mackerel. There it is, lovely color with most fish. The fresher they are, the harder they are. If you're not well and you're ill, have a mackerel. Sprats, otherwise known as top hats. Here we have flatfish, and these are known as place. As you can see, they've got spots. The redder they are, the fresher they are. It really is a lovely fish to eat. King George couldn't have better. For fish fresh enough for royalty, follow your fishmonger's advice, and you'll never, ever have another dodgy Dover sole again. Mussels with celery and chili. First, prep the veg. Chop spring onions, shallots, a clove of garlic, and chili to taste. Then thinly slice celery. Add a bay leaf and thyme. Veg ready. Add oil to a pan and fry. Season, then add mussels and stir. Mussels, one of my favorite shellfish, cheap, healthy, and delicious. Cover and steam for a couple of minutes. As the mussels open, add vermouth and aromatic fortified wine, and 150 mil of dry white wine. On a high heat, reduce the liquid to create a sauce. Discard any mussels that are still shut. Then finish with creme fraiche and chopped parsley. Minimal prep, and cooked in less than 10 minutes. My mussels with celery and chili. Impressive, affordable, and super speedy. I've got some stunning, and I mean stunning, lobsters. And I'll be cooking them very simply with chili and garlic butter, serving them with Bloody Mary linguine. I'm going to start with the pasta sauce. I love the indulgence in this dish. If I was doing this for the kids, I'd scrap the vodka and just do like a Virgin Mary. But it's a bit of a grown-up's dish. Now, pan nice and hot. Splash of olive oil. Onions in. Seasoning, a touch of salt and pepper. Garlic. Be nice and generous with your garlic. It's not just your average tomato sauce. It's a royal, stunning tomato sauce. And you're in for a big treat. Season your onions and garlic with your Tabasco. That will give that really nice lift. A little pinch of celery salt. Spice that up with Worcester sauce. It instantly colors the tomatoes. Goes brilliantly well with the celery salt, Tabasco, and that nice caramelized garlic. A little light sprinkling of sugar. All the Worcester sauce has reduced down. We've got this nice, sweet, spicy, sticky, garlicky, onion base. Glaze with a couple of spoons of vodka in. Lovely. Woo. Chopped tomatoes in. A little touch of water. Look at the color of that sauce. Check the seasoning. That's delicious. Bring that up to a boil and cook it out, six to eight minutes. Reduce it down slowly. Turn down the gas and let that simmer. With my sauce simmering, I can move onto a delicious breadcrumb topping to dress my linguine. I'm going to fry off my breadcrumbs. Get them nice and crispy, but don't put too much oil in there. Otherwise, the bread will just absorb it and become greasy. Beautifully season them. And they go really nice and golden brown. 30 seconds before they come out, flat leaf parsley. Roll that through your breadcrumbs. And that is going to finish the linguine on top. You can hear how crisp they are. Before I cook the linguine, I'm going to make the chili butter that will flavor my lobster. Get your chili and slice it. I want to take advantage of all those seeds. Chili in. Touch of salt. A nice clove of garlic. And get some parsley. Start breaking that down. I'm looking for a lovely garlic chili paste, exactly like that. Now, don't overdo it with the butter. Herb butters are a great way to flavor fish and meat. They can be used as a stuffing in dishes like chicken Kiev or added towards the end of a dish as a delicious glaze. Lobsters, they're already cooked. So firmly place the lobster flat on your board. There's a little crisscross here, line there, and a line going across. Put the point of the knife in and just push through the head. Turn the lobster around. Cut through the lobster. Snap the legs off. Snap the claws off. Just get the back of your knife. Crack them. Spread that beautiful butter on. Go into the heads as well. And then the claws. Take off bits of the shell and get little bits of butter in there. This can be done way in advance. For me, the longer that chili butter sits on top of that lobster, the better the flavor, especially when they hit the grill. While my lobster firms up in the fridge, I can finish cooking my linguine. Water brought up to the boil, seasoned nicely, and a little touch of olive oil. Now, linguine in first. That's going to take the longest, 8 to 10 minutes. In, and as the linguine starts softening at the bottom, just gently turn that around. Always wait till the linguine is nice and soft. That way, you don't break those nice strands. Give that a good mix. Get your lid back on, and bring that to the boil rapidly. After 8 to 10 minutes, my linguine should be perfect. You want it al dente, slightly firm, not too chewy, absolutely spot on. Drain that into a colander. Shake a little bit of water from the pasta into my sauce. Start twisting the linguine around. I want that Bloody Mary spicing up the linguine. Always hold up the center of the pan first, and place it onto the plate. Let go of that nice, big lump. By doing this, you'll get a mountainous pile of spaghetti with more body. Then generously cover that with your crispy breadcrumbs. Absolutely beautiful. Last but not least, I need to cook my chilled, herb-buttered lobsters on a smoking hot griddle. That butter's gotten really nice and firm. So the idea is slapping that down and grilling. The smell of that chili and garlic butter is extraordinary. Because the lobster's cooked, all you're doing is grilling that delicious, spicy chili butter. You just want that mark of the char quickly on the lobster. Turn that over. Smell is incredible. Now, get that on. You can understand why it is proper special occasion food, because that is mind-blowing. Griddled lobster with chili and garlic butter, served with a boozy Bloody Mary linguine. A sensational special occasion lunch.