I’m a fairly competent chef, but fish is my greatest weakness. So please teach me SIMPLE, yummy ways to cook a few kids of fish.
Let’s start with a mild white fish like tilapia or swai. I usually marinate it to add some flavor and then… it all goes downhill. Guide me.
Now, what is the best way to cook salmon? I love this fish when it’s well cooked, but I always manage to mess it up. Guide me.
I’m not a big fish cook as I live in an area where it’s hard to get much fresh fish (well, other than lake trout and whitefish…), but I do know how to make a mean salmon. I’ve been doing it like the recipe below for years, and it’s delicious. I do it in a cast iron pan, and make sure to let it heat up well.
From Cook’s Illustrated:
Fry in 2-3tsp oil stovetop MEDIUM for five minutes per side per inch thickness.
(At high temp it definitely gets tough)
I think that formula applies to most if not all fish.
I do not know if marinating changes the numbers; I suspect it does not.
in pan-frying scaled and soft-flesh fish like tilapia, you have to crisp the skin a little. otherwise, the whole thing will break up when you try to turn it. heat your pan and oil really hot. test by throwing a few drops of water. oil drops should dance up 2 inches from the surface in an angry manner. put the tilapia in and you have an angry growl. after 5 minutes, the sputtering subsides. that means it’s no longer sticking to your pan and you can turn.
easiest way to cook fish for me is to open it from the back, remove the innards, stuff with onions, tomatoes, celery and a little bacon. wrap in foil and put on the grill.
Salmon should be simple. Athena’s recipe is good. Just pan-fry it, keep it juuuust this side of “done” and you should be golden.
Mac’s suggestion for wrapping the fish (you might see it referred to as en papillote, which just means “in paper”) is also good if you’ve got a whole fish, but can work with fillets as well. A tiny splash of liquid (some oil, a drop of white wine, some lemon juice), some aromatics (onions, herbs like dill or tarragon depending on what type of fish you’re using) and toss it into the oven or on a grill and let it bake away until the bag’s all puffy. The fish steams, the juices come out and meld with the other ingredients and you’ve got a lovely saucy piece of fish.
Also when you’re marinading fish, don’t marinade it too long, especially if there’s acid in your marinade. Acid denatures the proteins and “cooks” the fish. It’s how ceviche is made. But if you then try to cook the fish after that it goes wooly and falls apart and is nasty.
I find personally that I don’t like to marinade fish as much as I like to toss it with my flavourings, cook it off and then cook down the oil/herbs/vegetables to make a sauce to go over it.
Wow, this is a whole field of it’s own.
Assume we’re talking fins and gills type of fish and leaving aside shellfish and other marine life, fish usually comes in one of these forms:
Whole. With skin on, usually cleaned. Usually baked. Small fish may be battered and fried. The inside of the fish can be stuffed, the outside can be covered with a sauce. For small fish like brook trout, stuff the insides with savory and/or spicy herbs, wrap the fish with bacon slices, bake until bacon is done.
Steaks. Cuts across the body of a firm fish. The skin may or may not be left on. The spine and ribs may or may not be removed. This would be a section of a whole fish for something like salmon, or a section of a half loin for a large tuna or swordfish. Bake,broil, or steam. The cuts may be too thick to pan fry properly if the fish is not very firm like tuna.
Loins, filets, sides, other names. Half of a fish split along the spine. Almost always spine and ribs are removed. Sometimes with skin, sometimes without. Bake, broil, pan fry, or deep fry. When baking, the fish may be stuffed, which is a layer of stuffing on top of the filet, between two filets, or the filet may be rolled up with a layer of stuffing. The stuffing is usally breadcrumb, herbs, butter, and may contain other meats or shell fish like shrimp or scallops. For broiling, anything on top of the fish may burn, so just smear some butter or oil over the fish, with minimal seasonings. Pan fry in hot oil, breaded, lightly floured, or plain. Fry the top first, then finish on the bottom or skin side. To deep fry, cut into serving size pieces, batter or dry bread and fry in hot oil.
I’m not a fan of marinades on fish, it’s easy to kill the flavor, but citrus marinades are popular.
People will groan, but you can make excellent fish in a microwave. Use firm white fish like cod, cut into small thin pieces and arrange in a layer on a heavy plate. Throw on some parmesan or mozzeralla cheese if you like, top with bread crumbs, herbs, and some butter. Microwave uncovered for 5-7 minutes. The fish will be tender and delicious. This is good for scraps left over from trimming fish.
Most fish will benefit from salt and butter. I like to use dill with seafood. I’ll follow up later on with some specific recipes.
The only trick to cooking fish, in my opinion, is don’t overcook it. Fish is pretty straight forward. Fish cooks fast, about 2-6 minutes a side max if you’re pan frying or grilling. Tuna and salmon I like on the rare side, so I just sear those on the hottest pan I have for about 2-3 minutes per side and serve. Pretty much everything else I cook until it just turns completely flaky on the inside.
I also agree with going easy on the marinades. Fish is generally delicately flavored and is, in my opinion, best served with a bit of salt, pepper, and squirt of citrus. The fatty fish like tuna and salmon are better suited to marination, but I still think they’re best prepared simply if they’re top quality. Just fry them in a bit of olive oil and you’re golden.
Another simple preparation is to dredge filets (tilapia is good for this) in flour, salt, and any seasonings you like (Old Bay, cajun, or just pepper, etc.) and pan fry these for about 3 minutes a side, until brown and cooked through.
If you want simple recipes, that’s about as simple as you can get. As long as you have decent fish, your results should be great.
If you have a grill, this is so simple it’s almost impossible to go wrong
And delicious to boot
It’s earned a place in our usual meal rotation
Note: Works on a gas grill as well
Cajun Salmon
Salmon fillet(s) with skin on.
Your favourite Cajun rub.
Olive oil
NB: Don’t use a commercial Cajun rub. Too much salt. Make your own. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cut the salmon fillet into 2" squares. Or don’t. Press the meat into the rub, then the skin side. Heat olive oil in a cast-iron skillet to just under the smoking point. Put the salmon meat-side down in the skillet and fry for two to four minutes. Don’t overcook. Flip them over and fry for two more minutes to get the skin a little crispy. Transfer to the hot oven for seven minutes. Do not overcook. Serve with mac’n’cheese and steamed broccoli.
Ah, one tip I forgot. When cooking fish that is skin-on, it is helpful to score the fish at regular intervals to keep it from curling up and to promote even cooking. I find this is not necessary for small fish like, say, smelt but for a whole skin-on salmon filet, I’d score diagonally across the fish about 2 inches apart.
boullabaise is probably one of the easiest french delicacies to cook. you can’t go wrong with a soup that you can season at any stage.
Salmon steaks:
Best cooked on the BBQ from frozen, throw the frozen steak on the grill, turn once, when it’s thawed all the way through, it’s done.
Salmon filets:
My favorite is baked or BBQ on aluminum foil, I use a mixture of fresh ginger, soy sauce and brown sugar. Salmon is always good with sweet.
White fish filets:
I usually use halibut so the skin is removed I also almost always cook in a cast iron skillet.
Heat skillet with a small amount of oil, lay in filets of fish and move to preheated broiler, when almost cooked through cover in gruyere cheese and sprinkle on a small amount of sharp cheddar, return to broiler until cheese is melted and halibut in cooked.
Or
Dredge fish in flour, egg, flour
Fry in skillet with enough oil to reach halfway up filets, flip and cook to completion.
Remove fish and set aside, pour out majority of remaining oil, deglaze pan with white wine and lemon juice, whisk in lemon zest and heavy cream. Return fish to sauce and coat to cover.
Heat some olive oil in a skillet. Toss in some minced garlic and cook for about a minutes. Toss in Roma tomatoes, sliced, and the slices cut in half. Cook for a minute or two. Add fresh basil and stir in. Add two tilapia fillets, sprinkled with a bit of salt. Turn once. Serve with angel hair pasta.
Like this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbZoHQchiPw
Calling purplehorseshoe!
You should PM her, though. She has some great fish recipes.
I have a hard time with fish as well because I just don’t cook it very often. I’m afraid of ending up with undercooked fish most of the time. However, it’s really not that hard to make a decent piece of fish.
Take 3 lemons and zest them. Put the zest in about 1/2 cup of olive oil for a day or two. Strain zest out of olive oil.
Set the oven to 500. Brush some lemon olive oil on a flat baking sheet. Take one or two fillets of tilapia and brush them with the lemon olive oil.* Apply salt and pepper to the fish to your taste. Bake for about 10 minutes per inch of fillet thickness. I happen to like my fish slightly overdone. This produced a pretty tasty fish.
*: Don’t put the brush you use on the raw fish into the container of olive oil if you intend to save the oil for later.
According to Lao Tzu, the first step is getting elected President.
Swordfish with sweet and citrus fruit:
Peel and chop sweet fruit, pears, pineapple, mango, apple, etc., to make 1 cup. Peel and chop citrus fruit, lemon, lime, orange, etc., to make 1/2 cup. Add 1 tbsp of chopped parsley, 1 tbsp of chopped basil. Mix with 2 tbsps Rum or Tequila.
Take swordfish steaks. Smear with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and paprika or cayenne. Place in a very hot pan to sear on one side, flip and reduce heat. Add the fruit mix in around the sides of the fish. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Spoon fruit mix over steaks to serve.
Pan-fried catfish:
Put catfish filets in pan and fill with Italian salad dressing to cover filets. Slice a sweet onion into rings and brown the onions in 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp light oil. Dredge filets in fine bread crumbs seasoned with salt and pepper. Remove onions from pan, raise the temperature. Lay breaded filets in pan and fry 2 - 3 minutes per side depending on thickness. Serve with or with onions. Hushpuppies would be good to have with it.
Portuguese Sardines:
Get fresh cleaned sardines or small mackeral. These should be larger than the canned variety, 6-8 inches long. Coat with coarse salt inside and out and refrigerate for an hour. To cook, brush off and shake off excess salt. Sprinkle interior with black pepper and paprika or cayenne. Rub skin with olive oil. Cook on medium hot grill or 4-6 inches from broiler, on one side for 6 minutes, then flip and cook another 6 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges and sweet pepper strips.
I make a really easy baked teriyaki salmon. Marinate your salmon in teriyaki sauce (I use Soy Vey Very Teriyaki) for as long as you like, or not (you can also just pour it over right before serving). Preheat the oven to 400. Bake the salmon skin-side up in a shallow rimmed baking pan for 8-12 minutes, or until the salmon just flakes. Serve with steamed broccoli.
Like Athena, I can’t get really fresh fish in my area. (Well, I probably can, I just haven’t really looked.) So I’m not that well-versed with cooking fish, either. The frozen, vacuum-packed salmon fillets available at any old grocery store work well in this recipe.
I need a tutorial for scallops but I do think fish, especially salmon, is fairly easy. I got this recipe from this board (sorry, can’t remember who!) and it’s no-fail and excellent for the grill or campfire.
4 salmon filets (about 6 oz portions)
1 Zesty Italian dressing packet
Soy Sauce
Marinate the salmon in soy sauce briefly - I usually go ten minutes in a zip lock with all the air pressed out ofit. Rub the Zesty Itallian dressing over both sides of the filets. Grill (or you can pan-fry in a small amount of olive oil) for about 6 min per side. Easy, unbelievably good flavor. Impress your friends! The trick on the grill or in the pan is to not move the fish until your 6 minutes is up so that the fish will release from the grill or pan.