My hubby and I thought it would be a good idea to eat more delicacies of the sea. Neither of us are big seafood fans, but we do enjoy an occasional shrimp cocktail. So off to the store I went, and picked up a salmon steak and a package of four talapia fillets.The last time I made fish for dinner, it was pretty awful. As a matter of fact, it was so terrible, neither of us wanted to eat it. My efforts to ask if anyone knew a tasty way to cook fish gave me no help, so I did a search on google to see if I could find something that sounded good.
Let me give a background before I go on. When I was growing up, we used to eat fish. But the fish we ate was fresh. Someone would come up with the idea to have fish, and we would go in the cellar to get the poles, dig up some worms, walk out to the pond and catch enough fish for all of us to eat that night for dinner. I learned how to clean and skin a fish from my dad, and was pretty good at it. We had two ponds on the farm. One of them was stocked mostly with bass, sunnys and blue fish. There were snapping turtles in there too. A friend of the family would come over and catch them to bring home for soup, but we never did that. I was scared of those things. They were nasty! Back to the point - I grew up eating freshly caught - fresh water fish.
For a couple of years, I lived by the ocean in NJ. This is where I learned that not all fish are alike. I found out about the enormous salt water cousins with light meat and dark meat. They made a different tasting meal altogether. This was a reminder of a taste that I do not like. Salt water fish has a strong flavor. You must choose your fillets wisely. Since I do like cod, talapia was a logical choice. And salmon is a must-serve at restaurants and is super good for you, so that was a given.
I found an easy recipe that I tried and it worked on both cuts of fish. I modified it a little to conform with the supplies in my pantry. Here is a fish dish to try, if you are afraid to make fish.
1 TBSP Garlic powder (not garlic salt)
1 TBSP dried Thyme
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
teeny pinch of salt (optional)
1 Salmon fillet (enough for two people) skinned and deboned
1 TBSP unsalted butter
Combine garlic powder, thyme, Old Bay and salt in a bowl. Coat the seasonings on both sides of the fish. Heat skillet (that is large enough to lay the fillet in) with the butter until melted and starts to get bubbly. Place fillet in skillet and cook for several minutes, then flip. Tip pan so the butter stays around the fish. Continue to cook, flipping to each side once more, so the outside gets golden and crusty. Fish will be flaky and tender. Serve hot with chili sauce and lemon. Goes very well with flavored rice or seasoned potato wedges (think fish and chips).
Making it this way will not smell up the house, like it would if you used oil. And the crispiness will allow you to enjoy it like a fish fry, only without soaking it in grease. So if you decide to give this a try, when you go to the store, make sure your fish is fresh. Ask the guy behind the counter for help. Stay away from anything that smells fishy. Or get out your poles - I'll teach you how to clean 'em!
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