Even if you don’t follow the religious traditions of Easter, chances are you’ll be eating seafood on Good Friday.

While the practice originally stemmed from Catholics forgoing meat on Good Friday because it was the day Christ was crucified, today it isn’t that much of a sacrifice given we’re blessed with such an abundance of great seafood.

When it comes to buying your seafood, Flying Fish executive chef Adam Hall says fresh is (mostly) best.

“If you can get it that day, it’s ideal. If you need to buy it the day before, store it correctly to preserve freshness,” he says.

“Surprisingly, moisture is the enemy of fish. You want to keep it nice and dry. Definitely don’t leave it in the plastic bag given to you, it’s the worst thing to do because it sweats.”

When you get home, wipe down whole fish with paper towel and place it in a tray in the fridge, either on an insert to keep it off the bottom or a clean Chux cloth to absorb moisture. If you’re planning on shallow frying or barbecuing it and want crispy skin, you can leave it uncovered for a day to dry out the skin.

Fillets should be packed in a container with a lid and kept in the coolest part of your fridge.

When shopping for fresh fish, Hall says to look for clear eyes, vibrant skin and plump flesh. The exception to the freshness rule is crustaceans, such as prawns and Moreton Bay bugs.

“Generally, they’re snap frozen on the boat to preserve freshness,” he says. “Unless you can get prawns super, super fresh – off the boast that day or the day before – the snap frozen ones will be higher quality because shellfish deteriorate really quickly.”

He recommends steering clear of frozen fish.

“It denatures the proteins. If you cook a frozen piece and a fresh one, look at how much moisture content gets released, because freezing breaks down the cell walls and releases natural juices. The skin never gets as crispy and it will always taste somewhat flattened,” he says.

While most seafood is available year-round, some are at their peak right now.

“Mussels and oysters are really good at the moment. So is rock flathead, whole flounder, John Dory, plate-sized flathead and blue mackerel,” Hall says.

“I tend to go for the smaller fish, they’re more seasonal and it’s also more sustainable. You can get amazing South Australian sardines at the moment, not a lot of people go for them but when cooked in a nice Spanish-style tomato salsa on crusty sourdough, they’re absolutely amazing.”

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Whether you buy your seafood from the markets or a fishmonger, Hall recommends keeping sustainability in mind.

“Make sure you know where your seafood is coming from and cook as locally as you can. Ask how it’s caught and how it’s raised. A good fishmonger will be happy to tell you and you can trust where you’re getting your food from,” he says.
Hall understands why home cooks tend to be scared of seafood, but he believes it’s much easier to cook than meat.

“The worry is overcooking it, but compared to a steak where you have to get to a specific doneness, fish is somewhat forgiving unless you really overcook it,” he says.

“Generally, cook it skin side down for 3-4 minutes and flip it over last minute to cook the flesh. It’s super-easy to cook, you should have a crispy skin fish fillet in 4-5 minutes.

“At home, I like to keep it very simple. I’ll either pan fry or do a whole fish on the barbecue, either a bonito or Spanish mackerel skin side down and keep the flesh nice and delicate. I’ll pair it with whatever’s in season. Heirloom tomatoes are great at moment, mix them with chargrill zucchini and eggplant to make a little caponata as an accompaniment.”

Related story: 80 amazing ways with seafood for Easter