Questions about eating fish (serious post)

[spoonitnow]

I've never been much of a seafood guy at all. Most of the fish I've eaten I've caught and cooked myself and was mostly catfish. I'm looking at getting away from the massive amount of red meat I eat a bit but still want to eat something that was breathing, so other than chicken and deer and rabbit I'm interested in fish or seafood or whatever you want to call it.

But I don't know shit about cooking this shit, so holla at me.

[flomo]

do you have a good fish market, grocery store or place to buy fish?

[Lukie]

1. go to nearest japanese/sushi joint
2. order lots of sushi and see what you like. if cost is an issue, play more poker.

[d0zer]

trout/salmon/steelhead is f'n great on the BBQ or broiled in the oven. Atlantic farmed salmon is known to have some heavy metals, but local trout & wild pacific salmon are supposed to be OK

They all take random sauces pretty well as seasoning, but are great on their own as well. I massage in some hot sauce & olive oil before throwing it on the grill.

On the BBQ i grill in on super high for 2 mins flesh down, then drop the heat to low-med for 8-10 mins on the skin. You can also do it just on the skin on low-med for 12 mins or so with lemon slices on top and that's f'n delicious.

Or I broil it on high in the oven for 5 mins, then turn it off and just let it bake for another 5.

Times are all approximate, variable on thickness. Stick a fork in and flake a peice up so you can see if it's still clear in the middle. I like to err slightly on the side of underdone.

Tilapia's also a decent farmed fish that takes sauces well (needs sauces IMO, cause it's not the most flavorful on its own).

The salmon-family fishes like trout & steelhead are be highest in them omega-x oils which are like supposed to be like good fer you and stuff

[spoonitnow]

1. go to nearest japanese/sushi joint
2. order lots of sushi and see what you like. if cost is an issue, play more poker.

This is why I love you. I'm 100% serious, but not in a gay way.

[Warpe]

Catfish is usually cooked longer than most other fish 'cause it has to firm up so if you try cooking anything else follow a recipe re cooking times/temps.

[ProZachNation]

Pretty much the standard rule for cooking fish any way is 10 minutes per inch of thickness of fish. Baking is usually longer depending on how high the heat is but grilling and broiling follow pretty close to this rule.

Fish is easy to cook because when it is done it looks done.

Tilapia is one of the cheaper fish you can find anywhere. It has a mild flavor and hold together pretty well so you can do a lot it, grill bake or broil. Simple healthy recipe like some lemon butter sauce and some herbs and broil it and your good to go.

Salmon is amazing and sometimes a good deal. Salmon can hold up to sauces and flavors very well. You can marinade and grill it or bake it. Farm raised usually means they live in a netted in region that is connected to open water (not a inland closed water system) and there diet is controlled. Wild salomn can be pricey, and I would recommend only buying fresh salmon.
Salmon can usually be purchased as steaks or fillets both are good for grilling. If you do plan to grill fish frequently invest in a grilling basket it can make grilling easier.

IMO the best thing to do is talk to the person you are buying from and buy what is fresh and they just got in this is what will taste the best. No fish is really too hard to cook and you can find recipes for anything online. At least were I work we have sales on different fish every week and that tends to be our best stuff since we sell so much and get more every day. SO best thing is just to talk to the guy selling the fish.

[d0zer]

The quality of a fish meal depends most on the quality of the fish.

crap in, crap out. Slimy fish that's been sitting at the grocery store for half a week sucks. I always ask em' when they got it in.

[Ragnar4]

Eating fish:

Try this method for any small fish you find Rainbow Trout are amazing like this:

Take a layer of foil and put it down, put the fish directly on the foil... make sure the foil is longer than the fish by about 5 inches on either side. Put onions, carrots and celery, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme on top, inside, and around the fish, go easy on the herbs... On top of that, drop 1 tbls of butter

Take a 2nd piece of foil and lay it on top of the first piece of foil, crimp the edges to create a pouch.

Bake for 15-20 minutes in a 350 oven.

There's also poaching. The whiter and more tender the meat, the more likely you should be to poach the fish. The tricks are A) Never boil the poaching liquid while the food is being cooked in the liquid and B) Get the liquid to the temperature you want the food at, and keep it there. You could literally leave food in a poaching bath for a week at its finished temperature and it wouldn't dry out, or go bad. (assuming you kept enough liquid in it)

Try taking red wine, and covering the bottom of a large non-reactive skillet with about 1 inch of wine. Get the wine to 150 degrees (I'm not 100% on this number... look it up for your particular fish) and micromanage the wine temperature to keep it within 3 degrees either way. Leave the fish in long enough to cook. Serve with whatever you want. Whitefish is good for this method.

Tuna.

Tuna is such an interesting beast. Because like scallops, you're going for dark, crusty outside, barely warm in the middle. High heat, quick application. GRILL IT baby! Get your Tuna steak cut into 2 inch by 2 inch cubes (from the loin end, yes a large fish has a lion end, don't argue with me, used to be a meat cutter) and kabob them. over a blazing hot grill you should get perfect tuna doneness after 3 minutes. Turning once after 2 minutes.

Salmon is another that can be grilled, but whether you want your salmon medium rare, or well done, it really doesn't change the flavor. (although it will be considerably more dry...) Some purists swear one way, other purists swear the other.

Hope that helps.

[Lukie]

1. go to nearest japanese/sushi joint
2. order lots of sushi and see what you like. if cost is an issue, play more poker.

This is why I love you. I'm 100% serious, but not in a gay way.

Please elaborate (sp?).

[RML604]

Good timing for this thread. I just made a drunken $1k bet with my roommate that I can go a year without eating meat. Fortunately, I can still eat fish.

I'm a big fan of (canned) tuna sandwiches with some mayo and relish for a quick meal . Also a huge fan of salmon and tilapia. I'm coming around to tuna steak as well, and I imagine in the next year I'll be coming around to it a lot more.

If you do plan to grill fish frequently invest in a grilling basket it can make grilling easier.

Thanks for this, I think the hardest part of not eating meat for a year is going to be when people are grilling.

[badgers]

I just made a drunken $1k bet with my roommate that I can go a year without eating meat.

haha awesome glglgl

[Deanglow]

I just made a drunken $1k bet with my roommate that I can go a year without eating meat.

haha awesome glglgl

I was a vegetarian for 5 years until I "saw the light." It was hard at first but after 2 months it's a breeze.

As for fish, I second tilapia. Cheap and tasty with gobs of tartar sauce.

[Ragnar4]

If you have to cover it with tartar sauce to make it tasty, you've failed in ways we can't describe here.

[Lukie]

Good timing for this thread. I just made a drunken $1k bet with my roommate that I can go a year without eating meat. Fortunately, I can still eat fish.

I'm a big fan of (canned) tuna sandwiches with some mayo and relish for a quick meal . Also a huge fan of salmon and tilapia. I'm coming around to tuna steak as well, and I imagine in the next year I'll be coming around to it a lot more.

If you do plan to grill fish frequently invest in a grilling basket it can make grilling easier.

Thanks for this, I think the hardest part of not eating meat for a year is going to be when people are grilling.

you're getting $20 a week to not eat meat? thats it (really)???

totally not worth it. make a filet tomorrow.

[Lukie]

fwiw, i think i would go a week without eating meat for 1k. a month or so would be borderline, but i'd probably take the under on it.

a year? lol

[RML604]

It actually all started at the beginning of the month. I was seeing if I could go the entire month without eating meat. No reason really, just wanted to see if I could do it. And last night my roommate told me how stupid I was and how I wouldn't be able to do it, so I told him I could do it for a whole year.

I really don't think it'll be that tough. I figure going a year is pretty much the same as going three months. Once you get used to it, it just becomes a life style change, and then you don't really think about it anymore.

To me it's like betting someone they can't stop smoking for a year. Once they get past a certain point, it's pretty much just coasting to victory.

And above all else, this will actually be healthy for me and give me a good reason to get back in shape.

[Lukie]

there's nothing healthy about giving up meat for a year.

if u want to give up heavy reds, wings, ribs, that kind of stuff.. sure. but lean meats are the most important part of a healthy diet.

[RML604]

Assuming I was already eating lean meats, you'd be right. But I'm substituting hamburgers, ribs, hotdogs, etc for tilapia, salmon, etc.

I agree though, there is nothing wrong with lean meats. But for me personally, this will definitely make me eat healthier.

[will641]

i just grilled this excellent whole red snapper with a couple home made salsas. catfish is definitely one of my least favorite fish. it just doesnt have a lot of flavor to it, imo. my favorite seafood is probably scallops, although shrimp is way up there too. i feel so sorry for people allergic to shellfish.

spoon, you can really do anything with seafood. just get a filet of salmon, but it on a pan with some oil, and fire it up. if i dont feel like doing a whole lot, i just squeeze some lemon juice and put s&p on it for seasoning. also some sort of cajun rub that you can just buy in a grocery store.

check out a cook book by guy steven raichlen. i have loved almost every recipe from him.

http://books.google.com/books?as_aut...gational&hl=en

[spoonitnow]

1. go to nearest japanese/sushi joint
2. order lots of sushi and see what you like. if cost is an issue, play more poker.

This is why I love you. I'm 100% serious, but not in a gay way.

Please elaborate (sp?).

Cuz you're balla obv.

[flomo]

trying to move in on my action
lukie is mine

[yourfather]

I think for some reason its bad to eat swordfish, (overfishing or something) but its so good. Also mahi mahi is good.

[Lukie]

the gay meter is a little too high in this thread right now

[Galapogos]

How can the gay meter ever be high in a thread about eating fish?

[will641]

How can the gay meter ever be high in a thread about eating fish?

cause its not as manly as a fat steak.

[flomo]

fish tacos

[will641]

fish tacos

...are f'ing incredible? yes i agree.

[tom]

fish is good
mahi mahi is one of my favs
seared tuna mmmmmmm. Seriously it's pink and glorious
swordfish is cool, more like a steak, nice and meaty.

[bode]

made grilled mahi mahi tonight with a pineapple/mango salsa that was absolutely delicious.