The CookingBites recipe challenge: fish

[ElizabethB]

There were several comments about fresh V.S. frozen. Don't discount frozen. G likes to fish so I rarely buy fish. The exception is when I want a species that is not native to my region, wild salmon or halibut. When G brings home fresh fish it is too much for the two of us to use immediately so we clean it and freeze it. The fish that G catches are game fish and not sold commercially. Commercially harvested species from the Gulf (Red Snapper, Gulf Tuna, Flounder) arrive at market frozen.
In many cases frozen fish are actually fresher than fresh fish. My hairdresser's husband is a fish spotter. He fly's a Cessna and spots large schools of fish in the Gulf of Mexico. Commercial fishing vessels are carried out to sea on a ship. The catch is off loaded onto the ship where it is processed and flash frozen. If a fishing boat leaves port, travels to fishing waters, fills the hold, returns to port and off load to a processing plant those fish may be a week old.
We both love shrimp (prawns). We frequently drive to the docks thirty miles away and purchase fresh shrimp off the boats, remove the heads and put in the freezer. There are two zones off the Louisiana coast - inside and outside. The inside zone is closer to the coast and includes marsh regions. Outside is farther from the coast and deeper water. The shrimp boats that work the outside zone are larger and stay out longer. The catch is flash frozen on the boat. Recently G was in Grand Isle for a fishing tournament. He stopped to purchase shrimp from one of the large commercial boats that works the outside zone. The shrimp were flash frozen on the boat. The shrimp were fresher than the fresh shrimp that we usually buy from the boats working the inside zone.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

There were several comments about fresh V.S. frozen. Don't discount frozen. G likes to fish so I rarely buy fish. The exception is when I want a species that is not native to my region, wild salmon or halibut. When G brings home fresh fish it is too much for the two of us to use immediately so we clean it and freeze it. The fish that G catches are game fish and not sold commercially. Commercially harvested species from the Gulf (Red Snapper, Gulf Tuna, Flounder) arrive at market frozen.

I second the notion that frozen fish shouldn't be immediately looked down upon. I also like to catch my own fish, and while fresh is best, I vacuum seal my remaining fish and freeze to be used later (up to 3 months later, but that's just what I am comfortable with).

EDIT: it appears nobody was actually disparaging frozen fish, but I stand by my earlier comments that frozen fish is fine.

 

[JAS_OH1]

My post was that I had frozen grouper, walleye, Chilean seabass, etc. in my freezer and told vernplum to ask the fishmonger if the cod in the display case had been previously frozen and to ask for a frozen piece if so because it may have been thawed for too long (he had commented that the cod was not good). Obviously I don't think there is anything wrong with frozen fish or I wouldn't have 20 pounds in my freezer. Yes I grew up in the Gulf of Mexico and was accustomed to having fresh fish regularly (much of which I caught myself) and it's my preference, but never once did I say there was anything wrong with frozen!

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

I am going to be on vacation for the next 2 weeks, so I thought I would spend some time and write out my recipe entries for this challenge.

1. Recipe & Video - Jamaican Steamed Fish
2. Recipe & Video - Smoked Fish Dip
3. Recipe & Video - Mackerel in Coconut Sauce

I have more to offer, but not enough time to cook them before I go on vacation. As it is, the first two recipes in my list feature videos from 5 years ago on my old youtube channel whereas the third recipe is more recent and lives on my current YouTube channel.

 

[JAS_OH1]

I am going to be on vacation for the next 2 weeks, so I thought I would spend some time and write out my recipe entries for this challenge.

1. Recipe & Video - Jamaican Steamed Fish
2. Recipe & Video - Smoked Fish Dip
3. Recipe & Video - Mackerel in Coconut Sauce

I have more to offer, but not enough time to cook them before I go on vacation. As it is, the first two recipes in my list feature videos from 5 years ago on my old youtube channel whereas the third recipe is more recent and lives on my current YouTube channel.

There goes my smoked fish dip, LOL. That's okay, I am still going to make my fish tacos.

 

[JAS_OH1]

There were several comments about fresh V.S. frozen. Don't discount frozen. G likes to fish so I rarely buy fish. The exception is when I want a species that is not native to my region, wild salmon or halibut. When G brings home fresh fish it is too much for the two of us to use immediately so we clean it and freeze it. The fish that G catches are game fish and not sold commercially. Commercially harvested species from the Gulf (Red Snapper, Gulf Tuna, Flounder) arrive at market frozen.
In many cases frozen fish are actually fresher than fresh fish. My hairdresser's husband is a fish spotter. He fly's a Cessna and spots large schools of fish in the Gulf of Mexico. Commercial fishing vessels are carried out to sea on a ship. The catch is off loaded onto the ship where it is processed and flash frozen. If a fishing boat leaves port, travels to fishing waters, fills the hold, returns to port and off load to a processing plant those fish may be a week old.
We both love shrimp (prawns). We frequently drive to the docks thirty miles away and purchase fresh shrimp off the boats, remove the heads and put in the freezer. There are two zones off the Louisiana coast - inside and outside. The inside zone is closer to the coast and includes marsh regions. Outside is farther from the coast and deeper water. The shrimp boats that work the outside zone are larger and stay out longer. The catch is flash frozen on the boat. Recently G was in Grand Isle for a fishing tournament. He stopped to purchase shrimp from one of the large commercial boats that works the outside zone. The shrimp were flash frozen on the boat. The shrimp were fresher than the fresh shrimp that we usually buy from the boats working the inside zone.

You know, I just read back through all of the previous posts and I did not see one single post that discounted frozen fish.

 

[caseydog]

There were several comments about fresh V.S. frozen. Don't discount frozen. G likes to fish so I rarely buy fish. The exception is when I want a species that is not native to my region, wild salmon or halibut. When G brings home fresh fish it is too much for the two of us to use immediately so we clean it and freeze it. The fish that G catches are game fish and not sold commercially. Commercially harvested species from the Gulf (Red Snapper, Gulf Tuna, Flounder) arrive at market frozen.
In many cases frozen fish are actually fresher than fresh fish. My hairdresser's husband is a fish spotter. He fly's a Cessna and spots large schools of fish in the Gulf of Mexico. Commercial fishing vessels are carried out to sea on a ship. The catch is off loaded onto the ship where it is processed and flash frozen. If a fishing boat leaves port, travels to fishing waters, fills the hold, returns to port and off load to a processing plant those fish may be a week old.
We both love shrimp (prawns). We frequently drive to the docks thirty miles away and purchase fresh shrimp off the boats, remove the heads and put in the freezer. There are two zones off the Louisiana coast - inside and outside. The inside zone is closer to the coast and includes marsh regions. Outside is farther from the coast and deeper water. The shrimp boats that work the outside zone are larger and stay out longer. The catch is flash frozen on the boat. Recently G was in Grand Isle for a fishing tournament. He stopped to purchase shrimp from one of the large commercial boats that works the outside zone. The shrimp were flash frozen on the boat. The shrimp were fresher than the fresh shrimp that we usually buy from the boats working the inside zone.

There is a pretty big shrimp boat fleet in Port Arthur, and another near Houston. I used to buy shrimp right from the docks, but I have no problem with shrimp that are frozen, as long as they were frozen with the shells on. The shells protect the meat from freezer burn.

Any other fish I buy in Dallas/Frisco is going to be frozen. High dollar restaurants here can afford to get fresh fish delivered every day, but that's not feasible for regular folk like me.

CD

 

[caseydog]

That's okay, I am still going to make my fish tacos.

DOH! Maybe we are doing them different styles. My plans are/were for Baja style -- I learned them in Cabo San Lucas.

By the way, I have a new name for when somebody makes your entry before you. I call it getting Tasty'd (or Tastied?)." I wonder if it will stick.

CD

 

[caseydog]

You know, I just read back through all of the previous posts and I did not see one single post that discounted frozen fish.

I made a comment. I did not necessarily "discount" frozen seafood, but mentioned that it is all that many of us can get. EB just added to that line of conversation.

CD

 

[JAS_OH1]

DOH! Maybe we are doing them different styles. My plans are/were for Baja style -- I learned them in Cabo San Lucas.

By the way, I have a new name for when somebody makes your entry before you. I call it getting Tasty'd (or Tastied?)." I wonder if it will stick.

CD

I looked through the posts earlier and saw you mentioned catfish, didn't see anything about tacos (I didn't want to step on your toes so was checking first).

I spent a lot of time in Cabo San Lucas over the years, been there probably 7 times? Went fishing there and stayed for 2 weeks each time at all inclusive resort located near the marina. I definitely am giving mine a bit of a creative twist but they will likely be similar. Ah well, we will just give it a shot anyway, right?

 

[JAS_OH1]

There is a pretty big shrimp boat fleet in Port Arthur, and another near Houston. I used to buy shrimp right from the docks, but I have no problem with shrimp that are frozen, as long as they were frozen with the shells on. The shells protect the meat from freezer burn.

Any other fish I buy in Dallas/Frisco is going to be frozen. High dollar restaurants here can afford to get fresh fish delivered every day, but that's not feasible for regular folk like me.

CD

I've got 8 pounds of shrimp in there, too. And yes, they are shell on. Not only do the shells protect the meat, but to me, they have a better depth of flavor than the peeled shrimp. I get the 16/20 count ones.

I used to get them heads-on off the boat when I lived in Florida--actually we would drive over to Biloxi for them because theirs are better IMO (and cheaper). We would make a run for several people and put a whole slew of ice chests in the bed of a pickup truck and go get 'em.

 

[caseydog]

I looked through the posts earlier and saw you mentioned catfish, didn't see anything about tacos (I didn't want to step on your toes so was checking first).

I spent a lot of time in Cabo San Lucas over the years, been there probably 7 times? Went fishing there and stayed for 2 weeks each time at all inclusive resort located near the marina. I definitely am giving mine a bit of a creative twist but they will likely be similar. Ah well, we will just give it a shot anyway, right?

I'm fine with that. I plan to do mine the way I learned from this late-night (early morning) place down by the marina. So, it will be pretty traditional. I'm using cod (already bought it).

I have a friend with a time-share down there. We piled it full of men, played golf by day, and partied until about 2AM -- then went to this same place for fish tacos every night... er, morning.

BTW, those are NOT Corona beer bottles (gringo beer).

CD

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

There goes my smoked fish dip, LOL. That's okay, I am still going to make my fish tacos.

But I'd still love to hear your take on it!
We're here, in the spirit of fun and shared enthusiasm, to learn from each other!

 

[JAS_OH1]

I'm fine with that. I plan to do mine the way I learned from this late-night (early morning) place down by the marina. So, it will be pretty traditional. I'm using cod (already bought it).

I have a friend with a time-share down there. We piled it full of men, played golf by day, and partied until about 2AM -- then went to this same place for fish tacos every night... er, morning.

View attachment 70892

BTW, those are NOT Corona beer bottles (gringo beer).

CD

Did you stay at Playa Grande by chance?

 

[JAS_OH1]

I'm fine with that. I plan to do mine the way I learned from this late-night (early morning) place down by the marina. So, it will be pretty traditional. I'm using cod (already bought it).

I have a friend with a time-share down there. We piled it full of men, played golf by day, and partied until about 2AM -- then went to this same place for fish tacos every night... er, morning.

View attachment 70892

BTW, those are NOT Corona beer bottles (gringo beer).

CD

Obviously not Corona, duh.

Is that you in the pale yellow shirt? The handsome one?