Nostril to Caudal: Fish Eye Chips

I can count exactly zero times when I’ve thought, “You know what sounds good right now? A meal of eyeballs!” My lack of enthusiasm for these slimy snacks isn’t unique. Eating eyeballs puts many meateaters on the fence. For some adventurous chefs, it’s a comforting reminder that they’re using the whole fish, while others simply can’t get past the eyeball’s gelatinous texture and chilling gaze.   Despite our modern squeamishness, people have been...

Nostril to Caudal: Grilled Fish Liver Skewers

As someone who regularly eats offal, I’m embarrassed to admit that I had a really difficult time determining which part of the fish was its liver. My husband and I debated this while comparing a mound of indistinguishable guts against the photos of neatly laid-out organs in chef Josh Niland’s “The Whole Fish Cookbook.” I removed the organ that most resembled mammal liver, then shooed my husband out of the kitchen so that I could get to cooking it...

Nostril to Caudal: Fish Skin Crisps

For the last two months, we’ve talked about ways to eat every part of a fish—except the fillets. We’ve been through cheeks, collars, brains, whole heads, eyes, throats and tongues; hearts, intestines, stomachs, esophagi, air bladders, visceral fat, and livers; eggs, milt, spinal cords, spleens, and kidneys; and fins, scales, and slime. But, after all those somewhat complicated (and borderline gross) recipes, I thought I’d round out this series...