What practical requirement must a cook ensure if leaving the skin on a fillet before cooking?
Answer
The scales must be meticulously removed beforehand.
A fundamental, practical barrier to edibility, regardless of how well the skin is intended to be cooked (crisp or soft), involves the scales. If the skin is left on for consumption, the cook has the non-negotiable responsibility to ensure that all scales are meticulously scraped off against the grain before any heat is applied. Failure to execute this thorough descaling results in a mouthful that is definitively gritty and unpleasant, rendering the skin culinarily inedible due to the presence of hard scale remnants.

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