Ok. I am want to start incorporating fish into my diet. I grew up eating catfish, crappie and blue gill that my father would catch. Of course we would eat it breaded and deep-fat fried.
Well, my question to all of you fish lovers out there is.. What are some good types of fish to eat? And how do you usually cook it? I am wanting to eat it atleast once or twice a week.
I can definitely help you with this, with at lease one type of fish. I LOVE salmon. In fact, I'm a little salmon-obsessed at the moment. For some reason I am craving it a lot lately. And it's also REALLY good for you. It's full of those Omega-3 thingies (I know, I know, please try not to be too terribly impressed by the technical nature of my language ).
I just made it for the first time last night with barbecue sauce. I had 9 ounces of salmon and basted it with 2 tablespoons of hickory and brown sugar KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce. Then, I baked it in a 450 deg oven for about 15 minutes. (They always say that you should allow 10 minutes for each inch thickness but I always find I need a few more minutes). It was soooo delicious cooked this way. Unbelievable. My husband loved it as well, even though if you asked him what his choice for dinner would be, fish other than sushi would be about 50th on the list. He said it tasted like barbecued steak cooked that way and was the best fish he'd ever had.
I also normally cook salmon with just salt, ground black pepper and thyme sprinkled liberally over the top, again at 450 for 15 minutes. I really like capers as well so I top this version of salmon with a bunch of capers.
My favorite way to eat salmon is BBQ Roasted Salmon. You marinate the salmon filets in pineapple and lemon juice, then you roll it in a mixture of brown sugar, chipotle pepper, and other seasonings, and bake it. It's really good and everyone I've served it to has loved it.
I also love tilapia fish. It has a very mild flavor and cooks quickly. I enjoy it seasoned with Calico Fish Rub, which I buy from World Merchants Spice. I also love to grill tilapia over a charcoal grill and serve with a fresh corn and tomato salsa.
I am not a fishy person, and I can't tolerate the taste of many fish, such as salmon, so this was a challenge for me too. I discovered that there is some fish that has a much milder taste, such as haddock and halibut. I roll a halibut steak in a LF parmesan and spice mixture (garlic, basil, parsley, peppers) and bake it about 15 min at 425. This is pretty low in calories, the piece I had last time was only about 130 calories for about a 6oz piece. Way lower in calories than steak or pork, even chicken!
I often bake fillets in foil. Put a fillet on a piece of aluminum foil, grate salt and pepper over it, put a lemon slice on top. Crimpt the foil over it so it is tightly sealed in a little square package. Bake until fish is done--it will be nice and moist because of the foil.
I now try to avoid farm-raised salmon and stick to wild only (can buy it in IFQ at Trader Joe's). I also love bluefish, snapper and canned sardines.
I do the same thing with the foil packets for salmon. My favorite is to put a little bit of horseradish and honey mustard dressing. But I also will throw in a little teryaki sauce or just salt and pepper. Good with just about anything you can think of or even by itself. If you're wanting to eat fish more often, my suggestion is to get the big bags of frozen from Costco or Sam's Club. Good price, they are frozen in individual portions.
My other favorite is Tuna steaks. A tiny one will actually feed both myself and my husband because it is so dense. I find it is best grilled or just cooked in a pan with some olive oil or cooking spray and season it the same you would a steak. So tasty. good as is or broken up over a salad - and nothing at all like the tuna from a can.
We found a great brand that does lightly breaded fishiers fishsticks, Trident is the name of the company. Very tasty for those days when you want something easy and can have a little bit of breading.
When I have a taste for "fried" fish, I put about a 1/4 cup Hellman's low fat mayo (the one that use to be Hellman's Just 2, with 2g of fat), and add just a little bit of milk - - or you can use diet ranch dressing). I dip the fish fillets in the mayo or ranch dressing, and then dip it into a bowl of seasoned cracker or bread crumbs, and then bake at 375 degrees, in a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for about 20 minutes (longer if the fish is really thick)
This is great for chicken and lean pork chops too (45 min to an hour cooking time though). You can season the mayo or the crumbs as you like as well (For example you can made chicken nuggets with salsa/ranch dressing and taco seasoning in the crumbs).
This is really healthy unless you forget about portion control
Colleen
I do salmon 1 - 2 times a week on my George Foreman grill . LOVE it! I have it with lemon. I also do swordfish occasionally, and eat tuna sandwiches ALL the time.
I like to cook just about any fileted fish like this:
1. Marinate in some lf Italian dressing, doesn't matter how long.
2. Chop up tomatoes, green onions, mushrooms, etc.
3. Put the fish in a baking pan, cover with the vegetables and bake 20 minutes.
With salmon, I like to marinate it in some olive oil, lime, and dill. Then just bake it or broil it and make a sauce out of lf yogurt and dill.
Mix some low sodium soy sauce, honey mustard grey poupon and sugar-free maple syrup together in a bowl to a basting consistency.
Then cover salmon fillets in the sauce and place on a broiler pan covered in aluminum foil (for easier clean-up) and broil for a few minutes on either side until fully cooked.
I am loving all these new ideas of how to cook fish. I do have to ask. I have never had salmon before or tuna filets. What exactly does salmon taste like? And I love tuna in the can. Does that mean I should like tuna filets. Just wondering. I want to broaden my choices when it comes to eating fish.
And thanks so much for sharing with me. I appreciate it.
I am addicted to salmon - I especially like the tail end of fillets. No bones and plenty of Omega3. My favorite way to cook it is on a Forman type grill sprayed with pam. I just sprinkle the fillet with dill weed and pepper. I serve it over a salad in the summer...it's also good over plain pasta with a little mizithra cheese and some fake butter spray.
As to what salmon tastes like - it's kinda like tuna but IMO richer. Try it fresh before you try the stuff in the packets. You are more likely to like the fresh stuff...I haven't ever tried the canned/packaged salmon...but I think fresh tuna is better than canned tuna.
Last edited by chick_in_the_hat; 11-06-2005 at 11:55 PM.
A Fishy Kind Of Question?
Oh, I can help!
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. LOVE it! I have it with lemon. I also do swordfish occasionally, and eat tuna sandwiches ALL the time.
I serve it over a salad in the summer...it's also good over plain pasta with a little mizithra cheese and some fake butter spray.