Get hooked on grilled cod

Fish specialist John Bil, who died recently in Toronto, has left his mark on his industry with his handsome cookbook, Ship To Shore: Straight Talk from the Seafood Counter (House of Anansi, $34.95).

His goal was to “demystify” fish and its cooking, and he succeeds with his combination of careful information about all the popular species, including a clean bill of health he gives to most farmraised varieties.

His simple grilled recipe, which starts with simmering up a quick seasoning glaze, demonstrates what he considered the fastest, easiest way to cook fish — with grill, barbecue or broiler. Clean the grill, oil the fish, and sprinkle it generously with salt and freshly ground pepper — that was his method.

Bil, who once opened oysters at Montreal’s Joe Beef restaurant and learned to cook from its chefs, worked at every aspect of the fish and seafood industry and, until his death at age 49 from a melanoma, ran the Toronto fish shop and restaurant Honest Weight.

One of his most useful chapters is called How Old Is That Fish Anyway? Bil calculated inland fish counters sell filets that, on average, are six to 10 days old, and, he wrote, “That’s totally fine.”

How the fish has been treated before it reaches the fish store is key. If it’s been kept cold, it stays fresh, in his opinion. Whole fish deteriorate much more slowly than filets. Cleaned fish stay fresh better than ungutted.

So give fish the sniff test, check if the eyes are bright on whole fish and let your tastebuds be your guide.

His book is a Canadian publishing landmark.