We have mortal fear of fish bones in Ireland, so my suggestion that we should buy more ray wing may fall on deaf ears.
Around 1681, a man called Denis Papin invented the pressure cooker, though it was to be another 300 years before the device would become available to the public.
One of the benefits of this device for Papin was that it made the fish bones ‘so soft, as not to felt eating’. The fish also retained moisture and its residual cooking juices could be used for a sauce (as opposed to the standard practice of boiling the fish).
Combining a fish such as mackerel with gooseberries seems to me extremely exciting and forward thinking, but for Papin it was just another day’s work of innovation and experimentation: ‘June 15. I took a macquerel and put it in a glass pot with green gooseberries’. It sounds like something that would leave fine dining restaurants nowadays, to meet diners’ oohs and aahs.
Mackerel is another bony fish that we shy away from. Instead of worrying about pin-boning the fish, I usually cut the bones out of the fillet, dividing each fillet into two.
Mackerel is a beautiful fish eaten raw, with a dash of nice oil, vinegar and sea salt. Or you could take a flame thrower to the skin side until it is crispy. Try it with cucumber and seaweed for a nice clean starter.
Ray wing cannot be deboned easily, but it is a beautiful fish served on the bone. It goes well with many autumnal vegetables such as pumpkin or Jerusalem artichokes.
To cook the ray wing, pan fry it on both sides until nicely browned and then pop it in the oven for three to five minutes, or until the flesh starts to come away from the bone. If the fish is properly cooked, the fillet should come away from the bone easily.
You’ll need a few crisp greens with a good acidic dressing to cut through the meatiness of this fish, so I suggest some nice turnip tops dressed with a cider vinegar dressing.
