Cooking Fish

I worked for years at a grocery store with a fresh fish department. The advice that I would give anyone is that fish should not smell fishy. Ever. It should have NO smell. If any type fish has any odor at all it is not fresh. The stronger the odor the fishier it will taste, but is still OK to eat. Once it starts to smell like ammonia it is bad and will probably make you sick if you eat it. Also Toni V is absolutely correct. Stay away from the prepackaged stuff. In many cases it gets packaged because it's not of a high enough quality to sell fresh.

I hate fish, with one exception.... I LOVE Tilapia. I buy it fresh and then I just season it and put it in the oven for like 15 minutes on 400.
I have breaded it myself and fried it, which is also very good, but takes more effort.

Cooking a great filet of fish is so easy. They key is how you start. First, start with fresh fish. Go a good store, that carries a quality product. I recommend something very common like Tilapia. You can get it wild caught at an affordable price. Wild caught is important if you want all the health benefits of fish. So, then, you pick a fillet in the case. Ask to smell it. You may think this is strange, but my parents grew up in Oregon and lived on fresh seafood. There advise to me when buying fish is to always ask to smell it. Does it smell like stinky fish? It shouldn't! Also, does it look for feel mushy? It shouldn't! If so, that's a sign that it's been frozen poorly. Most fish coming into land locked areas are frozen to some degree for transporting. OK, now that you have some quality filets, just heat up a skillet on med heat with some butter. Salt and pepper your fish. Add some seasonings if you want, like a little dill, herb blend or the like. Saute your fish on each side until a light golden brown. Test for doneness by pushing on the center of each filet. It should feel firm with just a little give. If it's soft like the fatty part of your palm, it's not done yet. Fish cooks very quickly, so watch it. You can also just take the pan off the heat and cover with a lid to finish cooking from the residual heat in the pan. Then, serve with a little mayo that has a squeeze of lemon and a pressed garlic clove. Simple and delicious. Again, the key to start cooking seafood is to know how to buy it. Good luck!
K. at www.thepracticalcook.com

ONLY ONLY ONLY - Fresh Fish,not pre-packaged - you will be looking at the fish on ICE at your market. If they don't have fresh fish, go to another market.

I recommend red snapper to start with (especially for children), I love salmon but it is rich. What I do is suqeeze fresh lemon juice on both sides season with salt and pepper, smear with mayo (one side) broil for about 3-4 mins - turn smear other side with mayo - 3 mins. (Mayo will be kind of borwn and bubbling) Its pretty good. I serve with or without tarter suace, some lemon wedges, rice or potato and cold slaw.

Good luck...doesn't take long to cook fish...the worst thing you can do is to introduce packaged fish to anyone...that's how folks start thinking they HATE fish.

Blessings......

I like salmon because it doesn't have that 'fishy' taste, it's pretty mild fish. :)
I like to buy it at the fish counter at the store, mostly because that's how I get exactly as much as I need.
As for a recipe... well, I place it on a foil covered cookie sheet, brush both sides with melted butter & sprinkle with salt and pepper. Turn skin side up and put into the oven at 350 for about ten minutes or so. Flip & continue cooking until the fish is opaque looking down inside.
Turn on the broiler. Sprinkle feta cheese (garlic & herb, or plain with your choice of herb mixes) on the fish. Broil until browned & yummy! :)
Good luck!

I LOVE fish. Especially Scallops. I bake them in the oven. Brush them with Olive Oil and sprinkle with Garlic powder. Bake in the oven 15 min at 350. Serve with Pasta and veggies. So wonderful.

NOT frozen. We only eat freshly caught fish (caught by my husband or FIL). Since that's not avail to you, make sure it's fresh and I agree that fish should not have a smell at ALL. If it smells fishy, then it's likely to taste fishy. That being said, if you get fresh fish and there is marroon/brown smudges on it, cut those off. The fish is good, but the brown parts taste fishy.

We like halibut. I have also had tilapia and liked it. Our local grocery store sells catfish pre-seasoned and it's yummy too, so maybe I just like all fish.

As for seasoning, the way we like it best is "blackened." We put a lot of seasoning on both sides of the fish (garlic powder, chili powder, salt, black pepper) and sautee in our cast iron skillet with butter. It takes perhaps 4 or 5 minutes on each side. I always have to cut it open to make sure. If it's clear and not white in the middle, then it's not done.

If you ever decide to fry fish, the best batter we've found is to dip in egg whites, then in potato flakes (instant potatoes) with seasoning mixed in.

Good luck. Try allrecipes.com for other fish recipes after you decide what kind of fish you will get. There was a recipe on the website for cilantro butter that tasted really good on the halibut we sauteed.

I don't like fish myself. I won't make myself eat it, nor do I order it at restaurants no matter how it is cooked. I am just not a fish eater.
I don't care how many times I am 'exposed' to it... I do.not.like.fish.
No one can 'make me' like fish.

BUT... I do make it, because my family likes fish.
I cook Salmon.
You can bake it, fry it, or poach it.
Real easy.
Fish has to be bought fresh... look on the packaging and they will have the "sell by" date on it.

It can be fresh or frozen.
Fresh is best.

Ask the person in the seafood section of your grocery store... on HOW to buy fish... and the different types and tastes.
Some have a stronger 'fishy' taste... and some don't. Salmon, is good... it is not strong tasting.

Stay away from Swordfish... because it has a mercury in it.

good luck,
Susan

Hello,
After reading your story about fish it reminded me of when my family felt the same way. I swore i would never eat fish. I found one my family loves (me included)! It is talipa & it does not taste fishey! We buy it at albertsons frozen (almost always has a buy 1 pack get 2 free) we crumble up ritz crackers and bake it in the oven. The only thing tou do is coat it in egg, then put it in a bag with crushed ritz crackers. Put it in a pan a bke it. It tastes sooo good!

We love Halibut! Even my boys, who are 5 and 6. The fresher it is the better it taste, that is true with all seafood, so although it may cost more at the fresh seafood counter, it will be worth it (we live in Alaska, so we just catch ours). Put the fish on to a piece of tin foil, and cover it with a mixture of mayo, lemon pepper, season all, garlic powder (or crushed garlic), salt and pepper. You can replace the mayo with olive oil for a less fatty option. Wrap and bake at 375 until the fish is while and flaky in the middle, about 35 minutes or so. It is so good.

I like tilapia, and I get the kikkoman's japanese panko bread crumbs and coat them in that then either bake or pan fry.

Here is a really good recipe from food.com: http://www.food.com/recipe/panko-crusted-tilapia-219784

I had made a great recipe & my son swore it was chicken! I got a couple great tuna steaks, marinate them in teriyaki sauce for a couple hours to overnite, cook in either a pan or broil, then flake apart & make them into wraps! Get your favorite tortilla or other wraps, add a citris mayo & shredded cabbage, maybe salsa, whatever you like on tacos... they're delicious! Also, teriyaki marinated tuna steaks are fabulous on the grill! Seriously, I've had a couple friends & my brother who aren't really fans of fish be surprized & impressed that they loved it!

You got some great ideas on cooking that I will have to try. I have been learning to like fish very slowly. I hate fishy fish. The best ones I like is Halibit, and Mihi-mihi. I have slowly started to like tilapia as well. The key as the others have said it the fresher the better. Most of the time I just put a sprinkled seasoning mix on and blacken. Though there are some health benifits from them unfortunately fishes like Salmon are the best for you with the Omega 3. Good luck.

I personally love Tilapia. It isn't very fishy at all. I love seafood but I don't like any of it that tastes fishy. Ick. I've never made Tilapia myself, unfortunately, but I agree with the bread crumbs as a recipe idea, and add some lemon juice to taste. I also like Dover Sole Fillets, which are sometimes available at the butcher counter, however they tend to fall apart easily while cooking which can be frustrating. They are also a white fish that does not taste fishy to me. Salmon can be good depending on how it's prepared. It seems like most seafood eaters love it, however I am not much of a fan.

My family loves salmon. This is a recipe that has been a crowd pleaser with adults & kids alike - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Salmon-II/Detail.aspx . I have had good luck with fresh fish from the meat counter and also the frozen fillets from Costco. Each fillet comes shrink wrapped and have always been very fresh when I've cooked them. My kids also love mahi-mahi, tilapia and trout. I often get a trout fillet from the store, put it in a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil, skin side down and cook it with the lid on until it is cooked & flakes easily with a fork. Then I'll flip it for a minute or two, take it out of the pan & then season it with a little salt & lemon juice. Big hit in my house. Oh - and one last recipe for mahi-mahi: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Ginger-Glazed-Mahi-Mahi/Deta... .

One of my family's favorite meals is Broiled Parmesan Tilapia. The kids (11 & 9) used to only eat salmon with a maple teriyaki sauce but once we tried the Paremsan tilapia recipe that one of their teachers shared in our school cookbook, they were hooked. The part I love is that it is so quick and easy. It takes less time to cook the fish than to make rice and steam the edamame that we always eat with it. The same recipe is available on Allrecipes.com here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Broiled-Tilapia-Parmesan/Det....

I hope you find something that you & your family enjoy.

The fish counter is a great place to start. They usually have good reccomendations and the fish is fresher. Fish tastes more fishy when it's not fresh. Most restraunts serve Tilapia. It's a cheap easy fish to cook. It's like the chicken of fish - it takes on whatever flavors you give it and you can cook it a lot of differant ways. Lemon Pepper is a great 1st choice for fish. Can't go wrong with that. Just make an aluminum foil envelope and sprinkle your fish with olive oil and lemon pepper seasoning. If you want to be super fancy, put in a little white wine and some thinly sliced vegetables like julianned carrots, onions, and zuchini. You can just as easily use salt and pepper and garlic. You can bake fish, or panfry it. If you like cajun and are feeling adventurous you could put catfish filet in a hot skillet with cajun seasining and butter and voila - blackened catfish.