Why It's A Major No-No To Order Fish Well Done

When you're out at a seafood restaurant, you may be tempted to make a common error while ordering fish. Aside from Anthony Bourdain's rule to never order fish on a Monday (which he later said was no longer an issue as times had changed), it's also not a great idea to request that your fish be overcooked.

Fish can be cooked in a variety of ways, all meant to enhance its texture and taste. Depending on the type of fish and whether it's whole or filets, the chef will have decided if it's to be grilled, poached, steamed, deep-fried, or baked. But it can get dry quickly when not properly cooked, and what was a delectable meal becomes noticeably overdone with no hopes of salvation. 

You should be able to presume that the chef at your restaurant of choice has selected the type of fish and the preparation method to create a culinary masterpiece. Changing the way it is cooked will also change the end result, which, ultimately, can alter your perception of their creation.

Certain flavors, marinades, herbs, and seasonings are meant to meld during the cooking process to give the diner the experience the chef intended. But when you alter the cooking process, you're also changing their recipe. Worse, most overcooked fish is dried out, flavorless, and rubbery. What chef would knowingly serve a dish that was potentially ruined, even if it was at the customer's request?

While it may just be a matter of preference — salmon can be cooked to anywhere between rare (110 degrees Fahrenheit) and well-done (over 140 degrees Fahrenheit), for example — some want their fish overcooked out of concern that raw fish could expose them to foodborne illnesses like food poisoning. However, if the person making the dish wants to appease you but doesn't adjust the temperature appropriately, overcooking can cause more harm than good. By having the wrong heat or cooking method, just the exterior of the fish can get overcooked, so the fish is removed out of fear of ruining the meal, but the center is undercooked. If the fish doesn't reach a safe internal temperature, the pathogens in the raw fish can survive and cause someone to get sick — which probably defeats the whole point of ordering it overcooked to begin with.