How to know if Dover Sole is fresh?
How do you know when Dover Sole is fresh?
According to this other question, about all fish, you have a few ways to know:
- the gills should be bright red
- the skin/scales should be bright and shiny like metal
- this fish shouldn't really smell of anything except 'watery'
- the flesh should rebound quickly when pressed
- the eyes should be bright and clear
- really fresh fish is also quite slimey to touch if it's straight out of the water. I remember being quite surprised at this from my first fishing trip a few years back.
And all of these ways don't work, because the fish bores under sand and lives there. Is there any way to tell with Dover Sole?
Best Answer
Umm.. I'm not sure what you're saying. I've seen and filleted whole Dover sole, and everything on the standard 'fresh fish' list applies.
Agreed, though, that smell is often a good indicator.
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Should Dover sole smell fishy?
Fresh fish should taste and smell that way: fresh, briny and sweet, not musty, yeasty, bitter or fishy. The texture should be resilient, firm and smooth. Older fish that has become mealy or mushy tastes bad and smells worse.How do I choose Dover sole?
Before describing the characteristics of Dover sole, it's worth looking at the general characteristics of flatfish, which are:Is Dover sole slimy?
< 2.5 ft. Dover sole are also known as \u201cslime\u201d or \u201cslippery\u201d sole because they excrete mucous that makes them difficult to hold. Dover sole is sold fresh and frozen whole, headed and gutted as well as dressed, and in fillets, however, it is nearly always filleted due to its slimy skin.How long do Dover sole live for?
Females grow faster and larger than males, up to 30 inches long, about 2 to 4 inches longer than males. Males can live up to 58 years, about 5 years longer than females. Dover sole spawn near the ocean floor in waters deeper than 1,440 feet.More answers regarding how to know if Dover Sole is fresh?
Answer 2
For Dover Sole and most flat fish in general they should ideally be past the rigor mortis stage (eg not rigid or stiff ). I've known some chefs keep Dover Sole up to a week in the fridge before cooking.
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