# Recommend me a nice fish recipe **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 18, 2010, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-nice-fish-recipe/529415 "2010-02-18T01:01:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-nice-fish-recipe/529415/1 "2010-02-18T01:01:10Z")
I’m getting cravings for fish. Does anyone have some recipes they’d like to share? Or maybe recommend me some species that’s nice? A simple favorite of mine: **mackerel / fennel salad** : For 3 to 4 people as a side dish. 1 smoked mackerel 1 or 2 fennels 1 (red) onion 1 or 2 oranges or grapefruit or apple black olives olive oil Remove the skin and bones from the fish and pull the meat apart using your hands or a fork. Finely chop the fennel and onion. Peel and chop the fruit. Combine everything. Also good as a light main/lunch dish with bread and hummus. When cooking alone I usually cut the whole mackerel in half width-wise and stick it in a freezer bag. A half mackerel will keep for at least 4 days in the fridge. As for a warm dish with a fish you may want to try: **Fried [Tub Gurnard](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tub_Gurnard)** just get 1 fish per person in whatever size you prefer. Get them cleaned (skin removed) or do it yourself. No fillets; whole fish - the bones are big and usually easy to remove after cooking. Pat the fish with a fair amount of pepper and some salt. Heat up some butter in a skillet. Fry for a few minutes per side until done. Should be firm and slightly flaky with a yellow/brown crust. A light, creamy/buttery sauce works well with it. Go easy on the lemon. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-nice-fish-recipe/529415/2 "2010-02-18T01:44:44Z")
I like the recipe where you just buy a crapload of o-toro grade tuna sushi and you just lie in bed slowly eating bits of it, with it melting away in your mouth like butter. ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-nice-fish-recipe/529415/3 "2010-02-18T05:08:33Z")
One of our favorites is grilled grouper. You take some nice grouper fillets, splash them generously with Worchestershire sauce, put them on the grill, sprinkle the up side with Italian dressing mix (the powder), and when you turn them over, sprinkle the other side. Delicious and simple. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-nice-fish-recipe/529415/4 "2010-02-18T05:27:19Z")
I posted this in another thread: > [@Cooking for one](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-for-one/524604/7): > > This is simple, but it does take some attention. > > First, get a wild salmon filet. ‘Caught that day’ is best, but frozen filets are perfectly good. Just make sure it’s wild salmon and not farmed (Atlantic) salmon. Around here, wild salmon is $7 or $8 per pound. How big depends on how hungry you are. I usually like a half-pound one for dinner, which is really two servings but that’s what I like. I cook a pound and have the other half the next day. > > Make a little tray out of aluminum foil. (Why dirty a pan?) Put the salmon skin-side down on the foil. Sprinkle it with a little kosher salt and some freshly-chopped dill. Bake it in a 325º oven for 20 minutes or so, until it flakes. (Cooking time depends on thickness.) > > While the fish is cooking, melt some butter (say, 2 tablespoons) in a small pan. You can finely-chop onions and put a little in with the butter and a pinch of kosher salt. Onion is not necessary, but I like to use up the leftovers I tend to have. If you’re not using onion with the pinch of salt, just melt the butter. Add the same amount of flour as you did butter. Mix it up. This is called a roux. You want to toast it a bit, but since this is a white sauce you don’t want to toast it dark. Just toast it for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently. > > Add some cream and stir until smooth. Add a couple of tablespoons of freshly-chopped dill, and a bit of kosher salt to taste. (You don’t want it very salty.) Keep stirring as the sauce thickens. Once it’s the desired consistency, add some lemon juice. I was experimenting, and I was afraid the cream would curdle when the lemon juice was put in. It didn’t. I’m guessing that’s because it was hot and thick and the butter had been incorporated and all that. Or maybe it was because I was using lemon juice out of one of those plastic containers instead of a fresh lemon. I don’t know. Anyway, it worked. > > Take the fish out of the oven, put it on your plate, and put some of the white sauce on it. Maybe you have some boiled red potatoes and steamed asparagus to go with it. The sauce is good with those, too. > > Simple recipe, few ingredients, not too expensive; but if you ‘smoke up the house boiling water’ you’ll need to make a leap of faith. Just watch the temperature while you’re making the sauce, and remember to stir. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-nice-fish-recipe/529415/5 "2010-02-18T06:06:17Z")
> [@Apos](#): > > I like the recipe where you just buy a crapload of o-toro grade tuna sushi and you just lie in bed slowly eating bits of it, with it melting away in your mouth like butter. I’ll be in my bunk. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-nice-fish-recipe/529415/6 "2010-02-18T06:15:53Z")
> [@Apos](#): > > I like the recipe where you just buy a crapload of o-toro grade tuna sushi and you just lie in bed slowly eating bits of it, with it melting away in your mouth like butter. This. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-nice-fish-recipe/529415/7 "2010-02-18T09:18:08Z")
> [@Apos](#): > > I like the recipe where you just buy a crapload of o-toro grade tuna sushi and you just lie in bed slowly eating bits of it, with it melting away in your mouth like butter. It’s been a loooong time since I had tuna sushi. This idea has some merit 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-nice-fish-recipe/529415/8 "2010-02-18T13:25:28Z")
Simple is best. My own favourite is black or gilthead bream, really cheap but probably the nicest (an easiest ) to eat of the bone. The recipe in our house is to get a couple, just cleaned and scaled (heads still on) score them on the side and dry inside and out with kitchen roll. then heat a frying pan with an inch of oil in, nice and hot (just under smoking) and pop them in. 3 minutes each side…no more (for a 1lb fish), remove and drain then drizzle over sweet plum or chilli sauce. Serve with Thai steamed rice, or veg or whatever. Wonderful crispy skin, the kids love it. We all just tuck in on a central plate and try our best to reduce it to a cartoon-style fish skeleton that top-cat would be proud of. ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-nice-fish-recipe/529415/9 "2010-02-18T13:27:08Z")
This is a recipe that one of the ladies at Publix was making as a demo when I was in there a few months ago. She handed me the recipe on a little card, but I grabbed it from their website. I’ve made it for friends and family, and it’s always a hit: Ingredients 1 1/2 lb tilapia (orange roughy or flounder) fillets (thawed, if needed) 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided 1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided 1 lime (for zest and juice, rinsed) 1 shallot (rinsed) Steps 1. Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Season both sides of fish with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper (wash hands). 2. Place 1 tablespoon of the butter into pan; swirl to coat. Add fish (wash hands); cook 3–4 minutes on each side or until internal temperature reaches 145°F (or flesh is opaque and separates easily with a fork). Cook time may vary depending on the thickness of the fish. 3. Meanwhile, cut remaining 4 tablespoons of the butter into small pieces; place in small bowl to soften. Peel several strips of lime peel, without any white pith, with zester (or vegetable peeler). Chop finely for zest (1 tablespoon); add to butter. Remove ends and peel from shallot; chop shallot finely and add to butter. 4. Stir remaining 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper into softened butter mixture until well blended; chill until ready to serve. 5. Squeeze juice of lime (1 tablespoon) over fish; remove fish from pan. Top fish with lime butter mixture and serve. CALORIES (per 1/4 recipe) 300kcal; FAT 18g; CHOL 110mg; SODIUM 280mg; CARB 2g; FIBER 0g; PROTEIN 34g; VIT A 10%; VIT C 10%; CALC 2%; IRON 6%