Australia has some of the best eating fish in the world. Barramundi, snapper, kingfish, flathead, salmon, caught fresh, cooked simply, with that shatteringly crisp skin that makes you close your eyes when you take the first bite.
Getting there consistently is the hard part. Each fish has its own skin thickness, fillet shape, and ideal cooking time. A fish weight takes care of the hardest variable: keeping the skin flat against the pan and lets you focus on everything else.
Here's our guide to the five fish we think every Australian home cook should try with a fish weight, and exactly how to cook each one.
1. Barramundi
Barramundi is arguably Australia's favourite eating fish, and with good reason. The skin is thick and robust, which makes it ideal for fish weight cooking. It can handle high heat and produces a deeply golden, slightly blistered crust that tastes extraordinary.
Pan temperature: Medium-high. Barramundi skin can handle heat.
Oil: Clarified butter or macadamia oil.
Cook time: 4–5 minutes skin-side down with the fish weight, depending on fillet thickness.
How to tell it's done: The opaque cooked colour will have crept about three-quarters of the way up the side of the fillet. Remove the weight, give it 30 more seconds, then rest skin-side up.
Serving suggestion: Barramundi pairs beautifully with a simple beurre blanc, lemon butter, or just good olive oil and herbs.
Barramundi skin is thick enough that you can cook it in a slightly hotter pan than other fish. Don't be afraid of a little smoke. That's flavour!
2. Snapper
Red snapper and similar varieties have thinner, more delicate skin than barramundi, which means it crisps faster and more dramatically. This is a fish where the fish weight really earns its keep. The fillet wants to curl immediately, and keeping it flat is the difference between good and exceptional.
Pan temperature: High. Get the pan properly hot before the fish goes in.
Oil: Clarified butter.
Cook time: 3–4 minutes skin-side down. Snapper is typically thinner, so watch it carefully.
How to tell it's done: The flesh will be almost entirely opaque when viewed from the side. Snapper is best slightly underdone in the centre. It keeps cooking after you plate it.
Serving suggestion: Snapper is exceptional with Asian-inspired sauces: ginger, soy, sesame. Or keep it simple with brown butter and capers.
3. Atlantic salmon
Salmon is the fish most Australians cook at home, and it's also the one most people get wrong. Soft, pale, grey skin, cooked quickly on both sides, overcooked in the middle. The fish weight method transforms salmon completely.
Pan temperature: Medium. Salmon has a high fat content, which means it can burn quickly at high heat.
Oil: A small amount of neutral oil, or cook it in the salmon's own fat. Add no oil at all and let it render.
Cook time: 5–6 minutes skin-side down. Salmon is thicker than most fillets and benefits from longer, slower cooking.
How to tell it's done: The opaque colour should reach about halfway up the fillet for medium (the ideal for salmon). Don't wait for it to go all the way. That's overcooked.
Serving suggestion: Miso glaze, lemon and dill, or with a simple salad of fennel and orange.
The key with salmon is patience. Let the fat render slowly and the skin will bubble, blister, and set into something remarkable.
4. Kingfish (yellowtail)
Kingfish is one of the great eating fish of southern Australia, and criminally undercooked at home compared to how often it appears on restaurant menus. The skin is thin and slightly oily, which means it crisps almost instantly, and the fish weight keeps it from buckling.
Pan temperature: High.
Oil: Clarified butter.
Cook time: 3–4 minutes skin-side down. Kingfish fillets are often cut thick on the cross. They need time.
How to tell it's done: Opaque about two-thirds of the way through the fillet. Kingfish is best slightly pink in the centre.
Serving suggestion: Kingfish responds well to bold flavours: ponzu, yuzu, a light citrus vinaigrette. Don't undersell it with a heavy sauce.
5. Sand flathead
Flathead is the quintessential Australian summer fish. Light, sweet, slightly flaky flesh with skin that becomes almost translucent and shatteringly crisp when cooked correctly. Because flathead fillets are thin, the fish weight technique is both more important and less forgiving. Timing matters.
Pan temperature: Medium-high.
Oil: Clarified butter.
Cook time: 3–4 minutes skin-side down. Flathead is thin, so check early.
How to tell it's done: The flesh will be nearly opaque all the way through after 3 minutes. Remove the weight and let it finish for 30 seconds more.
Serving suggestion: Flathead with tartare sauce and lemon is a classic for a reason. Don't overthink it.
Quick reference
|
Fish |
Pan temp |
Cook time |
Notes |
|
Barramundi |
Medium-high |
4–5 min |
Skin crisps beautifully |
|
Snapper |
High |
3–4 min |
One of the best |
|
Salmon |
Medium |
5–6 min |
Don't overcook |
|
Kingfish |
High |
3–4 min |
Excellent skin |
|
Flathead |
Medium-high |
3–4 min |
Delicate, go steady |
One more thing
Whatever fish you're cooking, the single most important thing you can do before it goes in the pan is dry the skin properly. Pat it with a paper towel. Pat it again. Then let it air-dry on a rack in the fridge for 20–30 minutes if you have time. Moisture is the enemy of crispy skin, and no fish weight in the world can overcome a wet surface.
All The Cook’s Edge fish weights are 1.6kg of solid 316 stainless steel. Works on cast iron, stainless, induction, and BBQ. Available in multiple finishes. Ships same day across Australia.
