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Thread: Helpful cooking tips for fish

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    Helpful cooking tips for fish

    Since we have a lot of tourists on our website here, I thought it would be a good idea to devote a post for tips on how to properly cook fish. Some experienced people may find this information useful as well. Im gonna divide into for categories: Grilling, Frying, Baking, and Pan Searing/Sautéing.

    Grilling
    Any fish caught can be grilled. However, the smaller the filet is, generally it will be much more delicate and much more of a challenge to grill due to sticking, etc. For small filets as such the best method is to sauté it(with the exception of a few fish such as pompano witch have a little bit heartier flesh). The first thing to grilling fish without it getting broken to shreds is make sure your grill grate is very clean. Anything that is stuck on will cause the fish to stick to it. Best way to clean it is to burn it off until a white ash form, then brush it off. Now you have a clean grill. Next thing is the temperature of your grill. for fish you are going to want a med high to high heat. You want the outside to sear and keep the fish held together. You want to make sure the grill grate is extremely hot also. this will prevent the fish from sticking. The last thing is right before you place your fish on the grill, make sure the grate is heavily oiled. Either spray it with pan spray or use an old towel soaked with oil to wipe it down. All these things will ensure perfect fish. Thinner filets will obviously not take long on the grill but thicker filets may need to be finished in a 350-375 degree oven to prevent burning.

    Frying
    This is the easiest method, but not exactly the healthiest. I rarely fry fish. First you want to make sure your fish is evenly battered to ensure even cooking. Also, you want your oil to be around 375 degrees. This will ensure that the batter gets crispy and doesn't soak up too much oil and make it soggy. It also will not cook the fish too fast and burn the outside. If you have to watch the amount of fat you take in, my suggestion would be to pan fry. You use a lot less oil as opposed to deep frying. Just fill a sauté pan with enough oil to evenly cook each side of the fish as it cooks. This is how i cook my flounder, just dip the flounder in seasoned corn flower and fry it up.

    Baking
    this is a very healthy way of cooking fish. you use very little fat to cook it. However, if you just bake it in 350 degree oven it can tend to dry out and also be a little on the bland side. The best way to go about this is first brush the fish with a light amount of melted butter, then turn your oven on to broil setting the rack more towards the element. This will crisp the outside of the fish. If it is a thick piece of fish don't leave it on broil all the way, let it get a little crisp then turn the oven down to finish the fish.

    Pan Searing
    This is one of my favorite ways to cook fish. It uses very little oil while also getting the outside very crispy while keeping the inside moist. Nonstick pans work the best, but a regular sauté pan will work. The key is the heat. You want to start out with a med high heat and make sure the pan is very hot when you place the fish in it. You will only need to use a couple tablespoons of oil. Whenever you place the fish in the pan let the first side sear really well, but don't burn it! Just before you flip it turn your heat down to a mid low. This will ensure that when you flip it the side will crisp at first the the neat will go down ensuring that the fish will still cook al the way through but will not burn the other side.

    If anybody has any questions, feel free to to message me!

    BDL1969, hickster and oldfisherman like this.

  2. The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to Rockinchef88 For This Useful Post:


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    Re: Helpful cooking tips for fish

    [size=12pt]Thanks Justin, great tips that are really worth reading[/size] :bow: :yippee:

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    Re: Helpful cooking tips for fish

    Great Tips , Thanks . I can tell you are knowledgeable and take a lot of pride in your cooking .

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    Re: Helpful cooking tips for fish

    Thank you USA.

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    Re: Helpful cooking tips for fish

    Justin, thanks for this very informative post. Couple of quick questions, especially since this is a sticky with the goal of helping the out of town folks enjoy their catch:

    For fish with that strong "aftertaste" like kings and, to a lesser degree, spanish have, what do you recommend as a marinade? I know about milk, buttermilk, various juices -- but I was curious to hear what the chef would say.

    For pan searing, what are your spice recommendations -- or would that be like the Colonel's secret recipe??

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    Re: Helpful cooking tips for fish

    You pretty much named it for marinades. The most common for me would be lemon juice. For me, I like king the way it is. I have my cooking method for king posted in this section. Very simple. As far as pan searing, I swear by Prudohmme's Blackened Redfish Magic. Love that stuff. If you don't want it heavily seasoned, just lighty sprinkle it on and just season with a little more salt. But you can get creative. With fish like specks, flounder, etc, you can use just about anything to season the fish with. One of my favorites is thyme. It is so versatile. But get creative. The key is just don't go overboard. Keep it simple, only use 2 or 3 different herbs/spices at a time. It doesn't take much to make it overkill.

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    Re: Helpful cooking tips for fish

    You forgot hibachi and sushi!! Adam aka Viking guy fell in love with my japanese cooking skill and asked me to marry him several time but I turn him down everytime.

    I caught a little tunny one time and bled it like I would with tuna(cut gill, split tail) and throw it in a bucket with seawater and ice. Got it home, filet it and freeze it.(7 days to kill the parasite).

    I took some out when he came to visit and wife wants some tuna. I lightly grilled the little tunny sliced it and drown them in a japanese vinegar mix and she thought it was one of the best tuna she's ever had.

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    Re: Helpful cooking tips for fish

    That is the one thing out of my league. Hope to learn all about it at some point though.

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    Hey Rockinchef a suggestion for you to try on the Baked Fish. Try covering the filets with a liberal amount of an oil and vinegar salad dressing or one of the many styles of vinagarette salad dressings. I then slice garlic thinly and place over the filets and dressing and sprikle with Tony Chacheres Cajun seasoning. About 11 to 12 minutes at 425 degrees works great for most fish. Increase time slightly for a real thick filet. Serve with a little tartar sauce and a whole wheat roll and a glass of wine.

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    Kings and spanish are real strong for me so my favorite thing to do is cut in small pieces and roll in yellow mustard then your favorite batter and fry. Second way would be to smoke it and make a smoked king dip with cream cheese, onions, garil, jalapeño, and whatever else you want to add, and third way would be to soak it in steak marinade and smoke it. Totaly different taste!

 

 
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