Although frying fish is simple, delicious, and popular, grilling, and sauteing fish with other ingredients are delicious alternatives that are weight-friendly. For some types of fish, frying the fillets represents the best preparation, but for others, frying takes out some of the savory flavor. Following are the methods of preparation, and the best types of fish for each cooking technique.
Frying Fish
Almost any white meat fish fries well. Flounder, spot, croaker, whiting, drum, seatrout, mackerel, cod, monkfish, and catfish are among the fish that are best when fried.
Ingredients:
- fillets
- milk
- an egg
- flour or cornmeal, plus seasonings, like salt, pepper, old bay, or any other herbs or additives
- vegetable oil for frying
Directions:
- Simply rinse the fillets, and set them aside.
- Then, mix an egg with about one half of a cup of milk in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, or tupperware container, combine flour, cornmeal, seafood breader, or any other desirable ingredients of the batter, like seasonings.
- Dip the fillets in the egg and milk mixture, and turn them over so that they are completely coated in the egg. Then place the fillets in the container with the flour and dry ingredients, and shake, or turn them over, so the flour sticks to the fillets.
- Then place the breaded fillets in a pot of oil on the stove, at medium heat, and fry them until they are cooked thoroughly (5-10 minutes usually, depending on thickness of the fillets).
- The fillets may have to be flipped if the oil is shallow in the pot.
Grilling fish
Pelagic species of fish are generally the best fish for grilling. Tuna, wahoo, dolphin (mahi mahi, dorado), mako and blacktip shark, swordfish, as well as flounder, mackerel, rainbow trout, and salmon are excellent when grilled. All of the bluewater fish (tuna, wahoo, dolphin, shark, and swordfish) are best when soaked in a tasty marinade for a few hours before grilling. One of the best marinades for these fish is Italian dressing, with pepper and lemon juice. When the fillets have absorbed some of the flavor, place them on any grill (greased with cooking spray to keep them from sticking) and let them cook for a few minutes on each side, until they are thoroughly cooked. For salmon, trout, mackerel, flounder, and also tuna, pan-searing the fillets is very tasty. To do this, simply add a little oil to a skillet, and saute the fish. Lemon zest and pepper are great on fillets prepared in this manner.
Sauteing Fish with Vegetables
Some fish are better when sauteed with other ingredients. Snapper, grouper, tilapia, mola mola (ocean sunfish) tuna, and salmon are delicious when pan-seared or sauteed with vegetables such as squash, zucchini, tomato, cucumber, pepper, rice, and others. The types of vegetables to use depends on the type of fish being cooked. Tuna is delicious when served with zucchini and squash, and a little teriyaki sauce, and snapper and grouper go well with rice and cilantro. Salmon may be prepared along with many types of vegetables (and it also goes well with teriyaki sauce), and it is best to experiment with different kinds to find what is best.
Preparing a fish dish is relatively easy, when compared with many other culinary endeavors, and fish are, for the most part, wholesome and nutritional. Although some types of fish may prepared in many different ways, there are certain preparations for particular species that produce exquisite taste, and require little effort.
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