Cooking Fish? Try These Popular and Easy Methods

The health benefits of fish are reason enough to have it at least twice a week. The omega-3 fatty acids most types of fish contain alone are good for your heart. Fish can also give you lots of protein with very minimal calories. Cooking at home may be intimidating at first, but there are easy ways to cook fish.

Baked Fish

To bake fish, preheat the oven to 450 °F for fillets; for dressed fish, preheat the oven to 350°F. Put the fish in a single layer in a greased shallow baking pan. Keep the fish moist by patting it with melted butter, olive oil, or pesto. You can also season it with some herbs and salt and pepper. Bake dressed fish for 6 to 9 minutes for every 8 ounces. Fish fillets or steaks, on the other hand, are baked for 4 to 6 minutes for every 1/2-inch of thickness. The best types of fish for baking include halibut, salmon, and tuna.

Broiled Fish

You can also broil fish, which can make for a very tasty meal, particularly if it is seasoned well before it is cooked. To broil fish, preheat the broiler before putting in the fish, which should be 4 to 6 inches away from the broiler. You may not need to turn over thin fillets (less than 1/2 inch). Thick fillets (1 inch), on the other hand, have to be turned halfway through cooking. The best types of fish to broil are oily ones, such as mackerel and salmon.

Fried Fish

The best types of fish fish for deep-frying are neutral ones such as halibut, cod, and hake, or oily ones such as anchovies. This cooking method involves breading the fish in a mixture of flour, cornmeal, and seasoning. Then heat oil in a deep-fryer to 375 degrees. Add the fish, which should be cooked for around four minutes per side.

Grilled Fish

Salmon and tuna are some of the best fish types for grilling as they are firm and don’t flake apart easily. As a general rule, clean and oil your grill properly to avoid fish from sticking; fish is more likely to stick as compared to chicken or beef. Extra steps may have to be taken when grilling thin fish (less than 1/2 inch) because it might fall apart. So what you can do is wrap it in aluminum foil with a parchment placed between the foil and the fish to avoid sticking. Using a basket is also one way of preventing thin fish from flaking apart as it keeps the fish in place.

Steamed Fish

Cod, halibut, and grouper are some of the best types of fish to steam, which is a really healthy way to cook fish. Steaming fish can be as easy as putting water or stock in a large saucepan and adding seasoning ingredients. Then bring the liquid to a simmer (not to a boil as this can overcook the fish in seconds), put the fish in the steamer, which is then put over the simmering water.