Susan,
I live in New York and grew up eating all kinds of fish; whiting, blue fish, porgies, snapper, flounder and king fish, just to name a few. To save money, my mother would have my sister’s and me clean them. Just imagine cleaning 10 lbs of fish and ending up with tons of fish scales and gills all over you. Yuck!!!
Now, I purchase my fresh fish straight from little fish shops in a marina not too far from where I live. All my frozen fish- swordfish, orange roughey or salmon-usually comes from BJ’s. IMO, freezing compromises the taste and texture of some fish, so fresh is always better for me.
There are a few simple rules my grandmother taught me to use when purchasing fresh fish:
1. The eyes should be clear not cloudy.
2. Fish should not smell fishy.
3. The skin should slippery, not slimy to the touch.
The presence of any of these things indicates a less than fresh fish. It’s a good idea to get to know the fish shop personnel. They can tell you when the fresh catch is usually brought in and you could plan your shopping accordingly. Here's a link to a site with info on how to purchase fresh fish and a fish glossary.
www.gortons.com/cookbook/pickfreshfish.php
IMO, whiting, flounder and orange roughy have very subtle flavors and take extremely well to any kind of seasonings. I have used Walker’s jerk seasoning on whiting and grilled it under the broiler. Works well with red beans and tomato salad (sliced tomato, sliced red onions seasoned with balsamic vinegar.).
For the orange roughy, I make a foil packet, place a bunch of arugula on the bottom of the foil, place the fish on top, slice a few pieces of garlic and place on the fish, sprinkle with about a ½ to 1teaspoon of balsamic vinegar depending on the size of the piece of fish and salt and pepper. Seal the packet and bake about maybe 20-25 minutes. It’s too die for.
Also, a great place to look for fish recipes is
www.epicurious.com
Sel
Buying and Cooking Fish
