John Susman - Australian Fish and Seafood Cookbook

The definitive guide to cooking great fish

Written by the most respected authorities on seafood in the country, this landmark publication contains all you need to know about selecting and preparing over 60 types of fish and seafood, including catching methods, notes on sustainability, flavour profiles and cooking guidelines.

More than 130 recipes showcase the delicious potential of the vast array of seafood available, and clear step-by-step photography illustrating the key techniques takes all the guesswork out of cooking seafood at home.

Accompanied throughout by striking imagery, this important
book is as beautiful as it is informative, and will become
the benchmark reference for anyone interested in cooking
and eating fish and seafood.

Ive been waiting for a book like this for some time. For anyone who enjoys seafood, this is an essential tool. Packed full of clear, beautiful shots with relevant, concise and really useful information. It excites and inspires ... an absolute game-changer.

Darren Robertson

A book Australia not only wants, but needs, written by the only people in the country truly equipped to tackle the task. Essential.

John Lethlean

John Susman is a hero of mine. He has so much knowledge to share, which he does with such enthusiasm and generosity with cooks and fishermen alike. I just love his never-ending quest for the best seafood in the most perfect condition possible from the sea to the table. This tome is the next best thing to having him expand on his fascinating subject in person.

Maggie Beer AM

I first met John Susman in the early eighties and our professional and personal lives have been entwined ever since. First as an employee, then as a supplier, always as a friend. Apart from sport, fish is the usual topic of conversation with us you learn a lot as that much time passes. I couldnt imagine a more qualified person to speak on the subject. John has gathered a stellar troupe of seafood aficionados, making this a must-have for everyone from restaurant chef to home cook. Its the bible for seafood. The only book youll ever need on the topic.

Neil Perry AM

When it comes to Aussie fish, Susman and Hodges are the absolute OG seafood slayers! This is the only book I need when it comes to knowing how to handle,
look for, research, prepare and cook Australian seafood.

Dan Hong

I thought I had some grounded seafood knowledge after being in the game for 20 years until I met John Susman, undoubtedly one of the world authorities on seafood from every aspect, including taste, cooking, catching and, of course, sustainability. His enthusiasm and knowledge are highly infectious. Combined
with Chef Hodgie, this book is a once in a lifetime opportunity of knowledge.

Mitch Tonks

For more than 30 years, John Susman has been introducing me to some of the best and most interesting fish and seafood in the country to enliven my menus, and they always come out tops. Now its all in the book. Good on you, Susman.

Cheong Liew OAM

contents

PREFACE

Seafood has become my life. After 30 years of plumbing the depths in the fish caper, spanning everything in the supply chain from catcher to cook, Im surprised I havent grown scales and a dorsal fin.

Whether youre on the end of a line, working in a processing factory, delivering fish to a chef, or cooking and serving seafood in a restaurant, theres something about seafood that sets it apart from terrestrial foods.

Ive seen massive change over the years in a business that is arguably one of the toughest in the food game. Constantly wet, cold, smelly and slimy, and surrounded at times by various lying, cheating, thieving pirates the seafood business is not for the faint-hearted. But the bounty beneath the ripples of deep blue is worth every effort.

My life changed forever when, as a young hotel-school graduate with a background working in some terrific restaurants in Adelaide, I found myself in awe of a piece of chargrilled kingfish. It was the early 1980s, and a young Neil Perry was on the pans at Barrenjoey House in Palm Beach, north of Sydney. Suddenly it all made sense a simple piece of perfect fish, handled with care and cooked with respect, delivered an amazing meal.

Inspired by this experience, my professional career in seafood commenced. Through a serendipitous confluence of good luck and good fortune, I found myself working with some of the best catchers and cooks of seafood in the world. Ive gone from working at the Rungis fish markets in Paris and the tuna halls of the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo to running fish catching, processing and distribution businesses in Australia and Asia. Ive been hooked on seafood and especially how its handled and cooked my entire life.

Seafood is without doubt the most distinctive, special and downright deliciously addictive of all foods. It also engenders great memories. I can still taste a spectacular dish I first enjoyed at a long-closed restaurant on Sydneys lower north shore, Pulignys: a mousse of Jervis Bay scallop, wrapped in a light puff pastry and served on a creamy lobster bisque. The chef who cooked that dish, Steve Hodges, remains not only a great mate but one of the worlds greatest seafood cooks. Throughout his time at the iconic Pier Restaurant in Sydneys Rose Bay and his quirky Darlinghurst diner, Fish Face, Hodgie has retained almost a savants approach to seafood cookery.

I first met restaurant critic and writer Anthony Huck Huckstep more than fifteen years ago when we were both in disguise as restaurant critics (he as a professional, I as a stand-in). We were peering over menus at each other, smirking at the concept of a dish where the principal ingredient was the chefs ego. Huck has always had a no bullshit approach to food reviewing, and hes been a constant source of inspiration to me.

In an industry renowned for ego and attitude over objectivity, Huck is a rare voice of reason in the food media. With a palate that has as much in common with those of ordinary folk as of gourmets, Huck understands the intimate and symbiotic relationship between great produce, great cooking and great food. Hes also a dab hand at penning interesting food pieces that are lessons in brevity, precision and clarity.

Huck and I have been talking about writing a book like this for years, but it wasnt until we filed the very first species flathead that we realised why no one had undertaken such a task before. Its been the albatross around our necks for two years, but the end result is worth it.

While Huck agreed to ride shotgun on this project with me, as well as capture Hodgies piscatorial genius, the job of interpreting Hodgies restaurant-kitchen approach and rendering the recipes home-kitchen ready has been that of chef Sarah Swan. Ive known Swannie for a quarter of a century, since her emergence as a young chef at Sydneys Bayswater Brasserie, through her time on the line at seafood temple Rockpool, which culminated in her assisting Neil Perry in the development of concepts, dishes and recipes. Shes now chef patron of 100 Mile Table, one of the New South Wales Northern Rivers finest food operations. Swannies style, understanding and technical cooking ability are unmatched.