OF A CERTAIN AGE

► For a growing number of chefs, the term “aging fish” is becoming a new path for exploration.

They’re intrigued by the preparation, which creates a deeper flavor and a melting but still firm texture. It’s the same concept as dry-aging meat and a process that’s spreading thanks to advocates of whole fish butchers such as Australian Chef Josh Niland. A meaty bluefin tuna, he says, has the sturdiness to stand up to a ribeye, and when handled correctly, both benefit from a meticulously monitored rest. Experimenting at his Sydney restaurant Saint Peter, where he serves fish charcuterie (think yellowfin tuna and pistachio salami) and a 10-day, dry-aged greenback flounder chop, led to “The Whole Fish Cookbook,” which won two James Beard Awards in 2020, and the follow-up “Take One Fish: The New School of Scale-to-Tail Cooking and Eating.”

Liwei Liao of The Joint Eatery in Sherman Oaks, California, lives by the hashtag #Fresh is Boring, and his Instagram feed, @dry_aged_fish_guy, is an epic love poem to meaty slabs of turbot, tuna, cod, sea bass and just about every other variety of fish.

At Itamae in Miami, a dry-aging room holds fish for ceviche and tiradito, while Antico Nuovo in Los Angeles serves dry-aged branzino with olives, capers and lemon.

Lucky Robot Japanese Kitchen in Austin, Texas, whose menu features prime dry-aged maki with assertive support from yuzu kosho, Japanese long green onion and lemongrass soy, also took this dry-aged concept to salmon ceviche.

“People have an idea of what salmon should taste like. Fresh out of the water, the flavor is fresh and clean,” says Chef Jay Huang. “Dry-aging King salmon brings out the sweetness; there are hints of crème fraîche, and the texture is softer.”

Huang and his team experimented with up to 44 days of aging the salmon (“way too long! It tasted like blue cheese”) and discovered that a tender fish like flounder could benefit from an aging of just 24 hours. “It all depends on the balance of how much moisture and what type of fish you have, and time spent in the dryer.”

He laughed when asked about the choice to actually promote the term “dry-aged” on the menu. “It’s something we definitely discussed for a while but decided to go all in, and we so appreciate our customers’ support.” And dry aging, he added, “is so Texas.”

Still, the current exploration of this method most likely got its inspiration from Japan, with its respect for high-quality fish and a tradition of lightly curing fish for sashimi. Tokyo Chef Jiro Ono, who became famous through the documentary film “Jiro Dreams of Sushi,” ages fish for up to 10 days, but other chefs go far longer.

“I’m still studying this,” says Joji Nonaka, chef at the omakase restaurant Sushi Salon in Oakland, California, who isn’t aging fish yet but has aged yellowtail amberjack for up to 5 weeks and found that “aging fish makes it more like meat. It makes a stronger, deeper flavor; more umami.”

“Fresh,” agrees Huang, “is not always the tastiest.”