Baked cod

• 4 piecescod loin · 6 oz each, at least 1 inch thick, thawed if frozen
• 1 tspkosher salt · for the 10 minute cure, plus more for the vegetables
• 2 tbspextra-virgin olive oil · divided
• 1 tbspunsalted butter · melted, for the crumb
• 1/3 cuppanko breadcrumbs · or almond flour for a gluten-free crust
• 2 clovesgarlic · finely grated
• 1 wholelemon · zest into the crumb, juice at the end
• 10 ozcherry tomatoes · halved
• 2 tbspcapers · rinsed and drained
• 1/4 tspchili flakes
• 1/4 tspblack pepper · coarsely ground
• 3 tbspflat-leaf parsley · chopped, half in the crumb and half to finish

Methode

1. 1

   Buy loin, not tail, and know why

   A cod fillet tapers from a thick loin end to a thin tail, and a whole fillet cooked as one piece gives you an overcooked tail and an underdone middle every time. Ask for loin portions, or cut a large fillet into pieces and fold the thin tail end under itself to double its thickness. One inch minimum. Cod is a lean, large-flaked fish with very little fat to protect it, which is precisely why even thickness matters more here than with salmon.

2. 2

   Frozen is fine, wet is not

   Most cod in a US supermarket was frozen at sea and is better than the fresh-labelled fish that has been in transit for five days. Thaw it overnight in the fridge on a rack over a plate, never in warm water, and then pat it genuinely dry on all sides with paper towel. Surface water is the enemy of both browning and the crumb topping, and a fillet that goes into the oven wet steams itself pale. If it is weeping liquid, it was thawed too fast.

3. 3

   The ten-minute salt cure firms the flesh

   Salt the fillets on all sides and leave them on a rack for ten minutes while the oven heats. Salt draws surface moisture out, then that brine gets reabsorbed, which seasons the fish past the surface and firms the protein so it holds together instead of collapsing into wet flakes. Pat off any beads of liquid before the fish goes in the pan. Ten minutes is the window: an hour and you are into a cure, which changes the texture in a way you do not want here.

4. 4

   400F, and roughly ten minutes per inch

   Lower ovens sound gentler and are worse for lean white fish, because a long slow bake gives the muscle time to squeeze out its water and go cottony. At 400F a one-inch loin takes twelve to fourteen minutes and a one-and-a-half-inch piece about eighteen. The heat sets the exterior quickly, the interior stays juicy, and the crumb gets a chance to brown. Start checking at ten minutes regardless of what the arithmetic says.

5. 5

   The tomatoes and capers go in first and make the sauce

   Toss the halved cherry tomatoes with a tablespoon of the olive oil, salt and the chili flakes and give them a five-minute head start in the hot oven, then nestle the fish among them. The tomatoes collapse and release their juice, the capers season it, and by the time the fish is done you have a pan sauce without making one. Rinse the capers, because unrinsed brine plus the salt cure plus the crumb pushes the dish over on sodium.

6. 6

   The crumb goes on dry, with the fat brushed over the top

   Mix the panko with the grated garlic, lemon zest, half the parsley and a pinch of salt, press it onto the top of each fillet, then brush or drizzle the melted butter over the crumb rather than mixing it in. Mixed in, the fat coats every crumb and you get a greasy paste. Brushed over, the top layer browns and the layer underneath stays crisp. Almond flour behaves the same way and browns slightly faster, so watch it at the end.

7. 7

   Pull it at 130F and let carryover do the rest

   An instant-read thermometer into the thickest part is the only reliable way. Take it out at 130 to 133F and it will coast to about 140F while it rests three minutes, which is where cod is juicy and just barely translucent at the very centre. FDA guidance for fish is 145F, so if you are cooking for someone pregnant, immunocompromised or elderly, take it there and accept a firmer flake. What you must not do is aim for 145F and then leave it in another two minutes.

8. 8

   How to judge it without a thermometer

   Press the top of the thickest part with a finger: raw cod is soft and slightly springy, done cod is firm and gives slightly with a hint of separation. Then slide a paring knife into the centre and open it a little. You want the flakes to separate cleanly but the very middle to still look faintly translucent, not opaque white throughout. Opaque all the way through means you are already past it. Lemon juice and the remaining parsley go on after it leaves the oven, not before.