Fish - that OTHER meat


rdraider

rdraider

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Glen Rose, Texas
Well, i'm a flatlander by birth, meaning i come from the panhandle of Texas, and there ain't a whole lot of good fishing close to there. I was raised pretty much on beef, pork, and chicken. So as a kid, i really didn't know there was another kind of fish other than Long John Silvers.

Now that you have stopped laughing, crying, or cussing me, my grandad did take me out fishing, one time before he left this earth and i caught a perfect sized blue cat for the pan. He said it tasted great! Whoops, getting off topic, anyway fishing for me has always meant cat fishing. Since college, i have gotten out and about, and have noticed that most salt water fishes taste much better than fresh water. I love shellfish, but got iodine poisoning once, and know every time i smell shrimp cooking, i start to heave. Enough of the back story!

I watch these videos and links on this forum, watched Ray Mears, Lars Monsen, and others eat all kinds of fish! I cannot stomach fishy tasting fish. LOL! I know it sounds stupid, but put it this way, i don't have a fishing kit in my BOB, because i don't think i could stomach eating what i'd catch.

Any ideas on how to cook fish to make it not so 'fishy' tasting, or what certain types of fish taste better than others?
 
Anything is better breaded and fried.
My experience with fish is, the fishy taste is closest to the skin, so peal it (skin it or fillet it) before cooking.
Keep trying different fish some are worse than others. Carp for instance is very fishy tasting to me compared to others.

You might as well bury me when the day comes I can't eat shrimp.
 
Another KEY thing to reducing the stanky fish smell and taste is to keep it COLD. A stringer in the water you caught it in ain't cold enough. Always always always keep fish on ice as soon as it's caught and return it imeadiately to ice after cleaning. Even while in the refrig. keep it on ice and if you don't plan to eat it the same day it's caught freeze it. Catch my drift? COLD thhis will go a long way towards your enjoyment of a fresh fish dinner.
 
Man, we love fish, shrimp, clams, oysters, shark, catfish, well all of them. Trout (both fresh and salt) are mild. Panfish like bluegill and sunfish are mild. In general, the smaller the fish, regardless of species, the milder the meat.

I agree with Brazito. We eat shrimp alot. Too bad you're allergic.
 
I eat fish at least 2 times a week. Clean it sqeeky clean, soak in milk, toss in some flour, (add salt & pepper to flour), fry in light oil or salt a griddle and toast it. If you have to whole fish, gut it. rinse it, pack it with onions and peppers, salt, pepper, wrap in foil and throw it in the coals for 7 or 8 mins..turn it once. You can also bake fillets with some onion and peppers, add some Italian dressing and BAM...
I tend to stay away from adding anything to my fish recipes. I love fish and the healthier you can prepare it, the better. Don't miss out on the goodness :)
 
I love fish...so this may not work...

but I'd do any / all of the above...but I'd also start with crappie or talapia or whitefish....light, flaky, and about as non-fishy fish meat as you can get.
 
catfish is my preffered fishy meal... although Largemouth Bass is Delicious... i typically catch and release bass but if there injured or hook stuck deep ill keep it for the fryer...

like said above keep em cold.. Fillet all fish.. remove any discolored meat..veins etc .. soak in milk for a little while then floud/bread crumbs and into the fryer.. season batter to your liking btw... and no fishy taste.. other than the meat being (flaky) its not fishy tasting at all.. in the warmer months i go out in the canoe and drop some Jugs for cats
 
Brazito said:
You might as well bury me when the day comes I can't eat shrimp.
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I hear ya, brother! For my 15th birthday my parents took me out for all you can eat crab legs. I love 'em! I miss me some cajun dishes too! I hope i get past it one of these days.
 
Growing up out West I've had a lot of trout, I prefer to wrap it in foil with some lemon, butter, and garlic then put it on the coals. Simple, clean and easy. I'm not into the fishy taste either so I usually only keep them from rivers/streams when I can get them on the coals within an hour or so. Another good way to prep them is to lightly flour the fillets, then cover with paprika, a quick fry in a light oil like peanut or extra virgin olive oil makes it pretty tasty.
 
First off each species of fsh has it's own flavor of meat, but none should really taste fishy.
The fishy taste comes from several factors. First is the blood of the fish. The quicker you bleed it out and gut it the less fishy the taste. Do this by ripping or cutting the gills right after you bonk it on the head. Give it a few minutes to bleed out. Wash it.
Next cool it as quick as possible by putting it in ice, even put it in the belly cavity - if it's available to you.
You have no control over the temperature of the water the fish is caught in. Traditional European fishing wisdom states catch fish for eating only in a month that has an "R" in it ie NovembeR. The cooler months. (carp is pretty mild if you eat it latest in MaRch)

For commercial ocean caught species, cod, haddock, halibut are mild. Tilapia, pangasius, farmed Atlantic salmon is also mild. BTW farmed fish is handled exactly as I outlined above - stunned with a high concentration of CO2 in the water, live bled, gutted, and iced down to 2 C or 34 F.
I work in the fish industry - I can't stand the fishy taste either. For me it's a sign of poorly handled fish.
 
fish

For something different try some smaller fish cleaned and cooked like a hot dog over a good bed of coals. It's done when the skin bubbles up. Peal off the skin, sprinkle on just a little salt and enjoy.
 
I really like trout and salmon types the most. For salmon its more of a thick steak so I grill it with some lemon pepper and butter in tin foil, same with trout but I just gut it and take off the head and put the whole fish in there. It's so good we even eat the skin. I usually take a fork and pull the meat away from the bones and then put it on a cracker.
 
About the only fish we eat are the ones we catch and that excludes the catfish, they go back.
I prefer bluegill and crappy over all others. As mentioned earlier, cold fish taste much better than warm fish. Depending on how big they are, scale or filet the fish, gut and cut off the fins, tail and head if that isn't what you like, if not, then cut the gills out so they don't cause an off taste to the fish. Fried fish is hard to beat but baking is healthier. Salt liberally inside and out before the fish is cooked. Some like to add lemon or lime juice as well. Bread in a 50/50 flour cornmeal mix with some salt and then fry is my preferred way. One can also get bisquick mix and mix up for the pancake recipe and use it as batter and fry in hot grease. Don't forget to season the fish before battering and also add garlic and salt to the batter. Taste the batter to make sure it has enough seasoning. Fry and eat. Kinda gets the Long John Silvers style of batter.
 
slow mind said:
Another KEY thing to reducing the stanky fish smell and taste is to keep it COLD. A stringer in the water you caught it in ain't cold enough. Always always always keep fish on ice as soon as it's caught and return it imeadiately to ice after cleaning. Even while in the refrig. keep it on ice and if you don't plan to eat it the same day it's caught freeze it. Catch my drift? COLD thhis will go a long way towards your enjoyment of a fresh fish dinner.
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I also learned that if you keep it in some fresh sea water that it will also in help in keeping it fresh, but do put it on ice A.S.A.P
 
cloudraker - thanks, i had some tilapia about 2 years ago that was farm raised at a restaurant, and it was horrid. My boss tells me tey screwed up some how, and i am willing to believe it.

Delta 7 - i had fresh caught trout 15 years ago and it was great. Recently i had some at a nice steak house chain, and it was like above, horrid.

thanks for the suggestions guys, i'll try some of these tricks.
 
Nearly all of my fishing has been from the ocean. I'm a salty beach bum from birth, so nearly all of my input comes from saltwater fishing.

Fish begin to smell, and in turn, taste fishy when decomposition begins. Keep a fish as fresh as possible by keeping it very cold and eating it right away. Freezing fish right away is important if you don't plan on eating it right away.
When a fish sits warmly after expiration, the fluids begin to seep into the meat and contaminate it. Keeping the fish cold, and bleeding the fish by either cutting off the head or cutting the gills is the best way to remove the fishy smell and taste. Bleeding should be done right away, and the fish should be put on ice until you can get int to the fridge or freezer

If you have an inherently fishy tasting or smelling fish, for example, Blue Fish or North Atlantic Bunker, its because that particular species is more oily than other kinds of fish, like Fluke (Flounder) or Striped or Sea Bass. To remove the inherent Fishy-ness, soak the fillets in milk or salt water to help draw out the oil and fishy fluid. This should be done in the fridge over night, to keep the fish cold. i dont recommend doing it in your kitchen fridge, or everything in there will pick up the smell!

Ever eat good sushi? it doesnt taste fishy because the fish is fresh, of high quality, and expertly prepared.

If you plan on taking a fishing trip, make sure you know the rules. I dont know about Texas, but Here in New Jersey, there are strict rules about taking a certain number of any given species, depending on the time of year. You also aren't allowed to fillet a fish at the sight of its capture. you either need to leave the beach, or do the filleting in port if you've taken the fish from a private craft. this is to ensure that the Fish and Wildlife service or the Coast Guard can conduct inspections and ensure people follow the rules, so that there are enough fish for everybody to enjoy fishing, and to preserve the population from over fishing.

I hope this helps. Good Luck!
 
rdraider said:
I hear ya, brother! For my 15th birthday my parents took me out for all you can eat crab legs. I love 'em! I miss me some cajun dishes too! I hope i get past it one of these days.
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I went crabing with a local in the gulf and DAMM that fresh stuff is ALOT better than the imported stuff in the restaurants! making my mouth water thinking about it! YUM!!!
 
I should also add,

A lot of varieties of fish with whiter meat, and im sure many with darker meat too, have patches of very dark flesh, which have a heavy concentration of blood vessels and or blood. Like i said, blood can make a fish fishier, so removing these spots when you fillet the fish is important. The colder and fresher you keep the fish, the fewer and smaller these spots should be.

For example, a lighter fish like Blues or Striped Bass have light pink to white fillets, with the spots i mentioned being red. the red meat is the bad stuff, and should be gotten rid of.
 
tilapia that has to be one of my favorite store bought fishes. Whoever cooked it must not have known what they were doing but either way it's a very clean mild fish.


I love all fish really trout being tops I so need to get out fishing this year. Believe it or not one panfish I like and some may laugh but sunnies are pretty damn tasty to clean them season simply pan fry in butter doesn't get any better than that
 
As mentioned fishy smelling fish is already going bad. White meat fish as a rule have the most bland flavor, make sure you cut out the dark bloodline meat from fillet. Also the best fish is freshly caught and eaten ASAP. Ice down ASAP too. Also as mentioned some fish are naturally stronger tasting due to oil content. I personally prefer fish that taste like fish like the tunas, mackerel, eels, sardines, anchovy. Salted and cooked over an open fire the best. Most tourists here LOVE mahimahi, and snapper because they are so neutral tasting their flavor coming from whatever spices and methods they are prepared. To me freshwater fish as a rule are pretty bland and neutral though I love perch, trout, and crappie I've tried. Tilapia to me is also bland but most bland fish are like a blank canvas ready for and artist to brighten up. I'll eat Tilapia I catch myself from mountain reservoirs but I won't buy any fish imported from Vietnam Basa, Tilapia, etc.

"Dirty Waters, Dangerous Fish" - YouTube
Murky Mekong Fish - YouTube
 
2 cents

Tilapia, bass, perch, and blue gill....those will take whatever seasoning that you happen to like. I personally use garlic, sautee'd onion, black pepper, and salt as the basics to those. Add some cayeene if you like a bit of spice. Can't go wrong with that!!

Those fish have a very bland taste as far as "fishy" smell, so they are great to add flavors to. Those are the only ones I have experience with sorry. I have gout and those are the ones the doc told me to eat instead of red meat.
A lot of people think of fish as "non fillers" as in you don't get filled up. Cook 2 good sized pieces up with vegie's on side and some potatoes...your good :)
 
I could not pass at the table if there was snook, redfish, lobster, crab legs, clams, grouper, wahoo, bass, trout.... and the list goes on. I love most fish. Cant stand tuna or salmon though.

Best way to eat it is a simple prep. If I go out I want a nice fillet, not some POS fish drenched in some cream sauce to mask the flavor of a poor piece of fish. I love when they tell you its whitefish. what is going on my people? does that mean. What species of fish is it please....... lol
 
Carbonmated said:
If I go out I want a nice fillet, not some POS fish drenched in some cream sauce to mask the flavor of a poor piece of fish. I love when they tell you its whitefish. what is going on my people? does that mean. What species of fish is it please....... lol
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Exactly! Whenever i go and order fish at a restaurant and they tell me it's whitefish, i pass on it. Its precisely those situations that have left me in the shape i'm in now. I don't know when to trust the cooks to know what they are doing.

Ahnk - i forgot to mention, that i grew up eating tuna fish sandwiches as well, so i'm good with canned tuna, not salmon though. My mom used to make these hard little puck she called salmon cakes, but they were horrible. Dry and tasteless. I had smoked salmon at a restaurant in Austin once, it was good.
 
As stated fish in general should not be strong smelling, or tasting, but fish is fish; just like chicken is chicken etc. and it does, depending on species, have its own natural flavor and a range of textures. I’d suggest staying away from oily fish (Bluefish, Mackerel, King Fish etc) as these fish are stronger flavored. Monkfish is a very neutral fish, with solid texture and almost no flavor. Cod, Hake, Salmon, Sea bass and most of the flat fish family (Sole, Yellow tail, Dabs, Winter Flounder etc) are mellow in flavor but flaky in texture. Sword, Tuna, Halibut, Shark are a bit stronger in flavor, but denser in texture, more meat like. Eel, if you can get by the snake like appearance, is a very sweet flavored fish.

Wild caught fish will have less fat and taste less than farm raised. Stay away from anything not farm raised in the USA.

Fish’s natural flavor can be easily overpowered when cooking. Pan blackening spices can make shoe leather taste acceptable. Fish soups and chowders can easily over power the fish’s natural taste. Smoked and jerked fish usually taste more like the flavoring than fish. Fish with BBQ sauce over a bed of coals or wood fire is a good eat. It’s an easy to get protein, one that should not be over looked.

Normally I prefer a minimal approach to seafood. Steamed, or broiled being favorite methods, they let the fish shine and stand on it’s own. But bacon fat and cornmeal do wonders to a trout, or pan fish, with tea, jam and bread it’s a stream side meal fit for a king.

Wolf
 
The best way to avoid the "fish" flavour is to keep the fish ALIVE until your ready to consume it. Kill the fish, then gut and wash the fish. Then skin and bone the fish if desired. Cook as soon as possible. Total time from the fish's death to grill, fire, or pan should be less than 30 minutes. 15 is even better!

If you can't cook right away, after cleaning the fish, place it in ice. You can then work the cleaned fish from the ice, filleting, skinning and boning if desired. At this point your ready to cook or package your fish for freezing.

When something starts to smell "fishy" real bad, it's to late. There is nothing you can do. The bacteria and other microorganisms have already started their work and there isn't any way to regain their lost fresh flavor!

Their are many great recipies for fish! Frying as mentioned before, Grilling, and Baked is always nice.

A big hit with my nephews was simply a baked fish with a lemon/orange gravy on the top or as a side dip. It tastes great with everything from crappie, bass and trout to salt water fish like flounder, ruffy, orange fish and etc.

Some of the best fish I ever had was trout with the skin on, caked in mud/clay and baked beside a fire in some coals!
 
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