Tis the Season for the Fillet 'O' Fish: Preparing Fish at Home

Being in the season of Lent, many people practice the tradition of abstaining from eating fleshy meats on Friday. Thus, the tradition of Fish Fry Fridays, which are found .

But if you are anything like me, you want to be cost-conscious and cook fish at home, too. Here are some tips to make fool-proof fish in your own kitchen.

Start with fresh white fish fillets with a meaty texture, like halibut, cod, sea bass or red snapper approximately 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick. As a novice cook, I believed that fresh fish would be fishier than frozen. It is actually quite the opposite. Fresh fish has a milder flavor and even your pickiest of eaters will find the difference between fresh and frozen to be quite extreme. 

Remove the skin if your Seafood Department sells it with the skin on. With a sharp knife, separate a corner of the skin from the fish. Using a paper towel to hold the skin, slide the knife between the fish and skin to separate them. Start up and work your way down the fillet to avoid losing control of the knife and slicing your hand in the process.

Dry fish thoroughly with paper towels and season with salt and pepper (salt actually will help draw out moisture, too).

Sprinkle with a very light dusting of sugar (about 1/8 t. per fillet) over one side of each piece of fish.

Heat 1 T. vegetable oil in an oven-safe, nonstick skillet over medium high heat until smoking.

Place fillets in pan, sugar side down. When you add a light dusting of sugar to the wet surface of the fish and it is exposed to the heat of the pan, it quickly breaks to glucose and fructose. Fructose begins to rapidly caramelize at around 200 degrees, which is a temperature the exterior of the fish can easily reach within a minute or so of hitting the pan.  Thus, the sugared coating will lead to faster browning, helping a good crust to form before the interior dries out. Note: Sear only on sugared side of the fillet.

Using 2 spatulas, flip fillets and transfer quickly seared fish to a preheated oven of 425 degrees, with the rack positioned in the middle.

Roast fillets until centers are just opaque and internal temperature reaches 135 degrees. It will generally take 7 to 10 minutes, depending on thickness of the fillet. Having the same sized fillets will help ensure that all the fillets are cooked properly. Serve with lemon wedges as garnish.

While the above-mentioned recipe suggests halibut, cod, sea bass and red snapper, my family is partial to tilapia, orange roughy and salmon. Tilapia and orange roughy are generally filleted too thin to use in the above recipe. 

My favorite tilapia recipe is Sesame Tilapia with Teriyaki Glaze-

½ C. sesame seeds

2 T. bread crumbs

¾ t. paprika

¾ t. seasoned salt

Vegetable oil

6 Tilapia fish fillets

GLAZE:

½ C. soy sauce

1/3 C. packed brown sugar

1 t. ground ginger

1 pinch garlic powder

1 T. cornstarch

2 T. water

Stir together first four ingredients in shallow dish. Lightly oil fish and press each side of fillets in seasonings. Place fillets in skillet with light oil and cook four minutes or until light brown. Turn and cook four minutes longer until flakes. Combine all glaze ingredients except cornstarch/water. Bring to boil in saucepan. Dissolve cornstarch in water.  Add to saucepan. Serve glaze over fish.

If you are partial to the meatier fish, like salmon or tuna, below is another family favorite.

Brown sugar Glazed Salmon

 4 salmon fillets

¼ C. packed brown sugar

2 t. butter, softened

2 t. Dijon mustard

¼ t. each salt and pepper

In a small bowl, combine sugar, butter, mustard and salt/pepper. Spread on salmon fillets. Bake on foil lined baking sheet for 25 min at 325 degrees or until flakes easily with fork.