By “round fish” we don’t mean a fish that’s actually round, but rather a fish that swims in a “normal” way, with belly down and dorsal back fins up. This is in contrast to a “flatfish,” which is relatively flat (duh) and nestles in the sand on the bottom of the sea. Sole and flounder are examples.

A daurade is a round fish that swims on the European side of the Atlantic. They are closely related to our porgies, but are meatier and come in a number of very desirable varieties. Daurade is now farmed, but wild daurade can still be found at exorbitant prices.

Here we show how to prepare the daurade by trimming and cleaning. We then roast it with the skin and scales left on and then simply peel off the skin and scales when the fish is done roasting. This is a great trick when you’re grilling and don’t want the fish to stick to the grill.