Buying and Cooking Fish
 

This might seem like a dumb question and I'm not sure where else to post it so I thought I'd try here.

I try to buy fish (some kind of white fish...cod, halibut, haddock, flounder type fish) but I never know how to buy it and how to cook it or even what type to get. I'm not even sure what kind of white fish is available on the west coast (some of the names just confuse me, a native east coaster).

I don't like salmon or any type of reddish fish. The only shellfish I like is shrimp. I really want to eat more fish and would like to not have to go to restaurants to do it. Any suggestions on what to buy, how to buy and how to cook?

Thanks!
Susan

I would just buy the fillets and then egg and breadcrumb them and bake them in the oven. Alaskan Pollock and cod really dont taste that fishy (whew!) and if the fillets arent too thick then they dont take long to bake at all. gotta appriciate that!

im a fish stick girl myself. As long as you bake them they are pretty OK (read the label and watch the carbs/fat tho!)

Also, check out recipie sites online www.allrecipies.com is a good one, but do a google search for "how to cook fish" or something and you should get loads of ideas.

Tidey

Hey susanje!
Glad to see you're up and about again(presumably).

I'm practically living on fish now. Perch, roughy, cod, ling, hake... I have to confess that I'm such a gourmand, such an un-culinarian that I don't even really bother marinating them. I just dump 'em in a microwave container to nuke, and they come out fine. I eat them with a little salt or soy sauce. It still tastes good to me. ;)

Then of course, there's sashimi....

Jeez, Susan - ya got me there - because shrimp is *my* favorite too... :)

Here's what I've bought in the past other than salmon...since I'm in the Bay Area too you should be able to find them - try Trader Joe's - they have AWESOME prices on fish.

Catfish filets
Mahi-Mahi (Jim LOVES this!!!)
Crab (What - you live close to SF and don't like CRAB?!? Shame...)
Red Snapper - which has a taste and texture similar to whitefish.

How I cook 'em - I usually just make a pouch from foil, throw in the fish with some lemon juice, seasonings (Old Bay or Herbes Au Poisson - Herbs for Fish that is), veggies like baby spinach and mushrooms, and maybe some baby red taters, and throw it all in the oven for about a 1/2 hour or so. mmm.

i have never been able to cook fish, but i LOVE to eat it. i usually get those grilled fish fillets - pre-seasoned - and either nuke em at the office or bake them when i am home. i put them in the foreman grill once (wasn't pretty to clean up but it tasted fine)

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

Personally, I like Tilapia :) I like shrimp, scallops and crab too!!

I cook the fixh on my George Foreman grill with old bay seasoning. I like it baked too. I love smoked salmon!! But, I know I need to eat more fish. Just have to find some I like!

Robin :strong:

I buy my whitefish (like orange roughy) in bulk, frozen in individual pieces. I thaw the amount I want, wrap them in foil with lemon juice and onions and cook them for about 20 minutes in the oven, over a grill or in a broiler.

They turn out awesome each and every time and there is no fishy mess to clean off my broiler pan.... I'm ALL about laziness. :)

i love fish.
i know oil is bad....but sauteed in a wee bit of olive oil...so yummy.
salmon is good because its soo yummy its hard to ruin, you can broil it or...my favorite, sauteed in a little olive oil until the skin is crisp.
i ate that tonight, had some left over for lunch tomorrow....mmmmmmmmm!
mango salsa to go with it......man! its so good

also.....THE best fish is pompano....i'm pretty sure thats what its called.
the flavor is very.....meaty, i don't know how to describe it, but its not fishy at all. Its a good fish to be broiled with some old bay seasoning or.....whatever kind of seasoning you prefer. Its a really good fish.
the thing about buying fish is just trusting the market you buy it from...personally i like to eat everything rare but who knows about the freshness sometimes.

ebe - I don't think there is anything wrong at all with adding more than a "wee bit" of olive oil to just about anything, if the rest of your meal planning is clean...

you're right, i don't really like going nuts about fat...