Fish pastes were prepared from comminuted fish muscles after washing with water to remove water‐soluble proteins. The pastes were made with 2% salt and adjusted to a 78% moisture content. Shear moduli and energy damping were monitored continuously during heating of the raw paste from 5 to 90°C using a special temperature‐controlled shear fixture (TSRM) in a universal testing machine. The shear modulus‐temperature relationship had peaks at approximately 13 and 37°C and began a permanent increase at about 47°C. Rigidity was also heating rate dependent. Apparent energy loss, (hysteresis area)/(work of deformation), increased slightly from 10 to 25°C reaching about 38% after which the loss decreased rapidly to 50°C and then more slowly to 70°C reaching approximately 8%. Structural failure of the cooked product (gel) was evaluated using torsion and uniaxial compression tests. True shear stresses and true shear strains at failure were not significantly different comparing torsion and uniaxial compression although the gels failed in shear when uniaxially compressed and in a tension‐shear combination when tested in torsion. The methodology developed is useful in studying thermal processing effects on heat‐induced protein gels and in studying basic structural failure characteristics related to food texture.