How to use the online timer
Twenty minutes suits a whole fish in a hot oven or a couple of thick fillets, which covers most of what comes off the counter at a fish market here — hammour, sherry, kingfish, safi. Fish is unusual in that the risk runs almost entirely one way: undercooked is a minor inconvenience and easily fixed, while five minutes too long turns a good piece into something dry and stringy.
Start counting when the tray goes into a preheated oven. Whole fish take longer than fillets of the same weight because the heat has to travel through the bone, and a fish stuffed with lemon and herbs takes longer still. The count runs in this tab, so keep the page loaded — closing it ends the countdown wherever it happens to have got to.
The test is a fork or the tip of a knife at the thickest part. Fish is done when the flesh has turned from translucent to opaque and separates into flakes with almost no pressure. It also carries on cooking off the heat, so pulling it out a shade early and letting it sit for two minutes is more reliable than leaving it in for one more.
Common questions
How can I tell when fish is done?
The flesh turns from translucent to opaque and separates into flakes with almost no pressure from a fork. It also carries on cooking off the heat, so taking it out slightly early is safer than leaving it in.
Does a whole fish take longer than fillets?
Yes, because the heat has to travel through the bone, and a stuffed one takes longer still. Two fillets of the same total weight will be done well before a whole fish of that weight.
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