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- About
- Fish for Beginners: Perfect Seared Fish | Simple Grilled Whole Fish | Fish & Chips | Pairing with Beer
- Recipes by Category: Easy | Salmon | Snapper | Oddballs | Crabs, Shrimp & More
About
I was an angler before I was a hunter, and I’ve been cooking fish and seafood, and developing my own fish recipes since I was a teenager. Seafood is my first culinary obsession.
For a time I worked professionally as a line cook in a seafood restaurant and spent a while earning my rent as a commercial clammer and salmon fisherman.
Below you will find my favorite fish recipes, as well as seafood recipes, some from “easy” fish, such as salmon, striped bass and trout — I call these “easy” because they are not a stretch for most cooks. I specialize in the weird, however (I am sure this shocks you) so you’ll also find more esoteric fish recipes here, too.
Fish for Beginners
Some baseline techniques you will find useful as you come across various fish and seafood. Many of these apply to so many different kinds of seafood it’s worth compiling them here.
Perfect Seared Fish
How to pan-sear fish fillets, skin on or skinless, perfectly every time. It’s not hard, but there are a few tricks to it.
And here is my video on How to Sear Fish.
Simple Grilled Whole Fish
Grilling a whole fish is an important skill to know. It requires a clean, hot grill, some oil, and a little finesse.
Halibut Fish and Chips
This is a basic fish and chips recipe you can use with any firm fish. Halibut, cod, haddock, redfish, walleye, perch, catfish, lingcod, shark… you get the picture.
Here is an article I wrote about pairing fish and seafood with beer for Hop Culture.
Fish Recipes By Category
Easy Fish
Typical market fish, such as snapper, halibut, bass, flounder, etc. I catch a lot of halibut and striped bass, so you will see those recipes here.
Salmon Recipes
Recipes that focus on salmon, trout and char. They range from simple salads to fancy, date-night dishes.
Snapper Recipes
Everything you need to know about prepping and cooking both the true snappers, as well as similar fish like groupers, black seabass, Pacific rockfish and freshwater bass.
Sharks, Little Fish and Oddballs
Fish you are less likely to see in a regular market. Shark recipes will be here, along with shad and other bony fish, as well as my recipes for little fish like herring, anchovies and sardines.
Crabs, Shrimp and Other Seafood
This is where you’ll find it if it doesn’t have fins. I do a lot of clamming and crabbing, and I eat a lot of shrimp, octopus and squid. You’ll also find mussel recipes, too.
Read More about Recipes for Shellfish, Squid, Octopi and Crustaceans
Bought your book, Hook Line and Supper, purchased a just caught King Salmon at the dock straight off the fishing boat and made your salmon piccata recipe. Incredible! My partner who says he doesn’t care for salmon had 2 servings, will definite make this again.
what ya got for largemouth bass. and for Buffalo fish Black Fresh water drum recipes please. Texas hill country. thanks
Joseph: None of these need species specific recipes. Largemouth are just bass, which is to say in the kitchen firm, lean, white fish. Any recipe that uses those will work. Freshwater drum are a little softer and oilier, so are good for all grilled recipes, and buffalofish are like carp in that they have extra bones, so are best chunked up and fried as nuggets, or put in soups, stews or gumbo.
can you tell me the difference between squid and calamari. I got into a lot of trouble from Greek mum for bringing home squid instead of calamari the other day
Stella: There is no difference. They are exactly the same. Not sure what went on between you and your mom, but she might have been thinking of octopus or cuttlefish maybe?
The best fish I ever tasted was the Rocky Mountain spotted trout my dad caught from a river running through a campsite in Colorado. He fished for a few hours, and kept the fish on a line in the water. The water was ice cold. When we were ready to eat, he gutted the fish but left the rest of it whole, pan fried them in a cast iron skillet with a little lard and dusted lightly with cornmeal. The only seasoning was salt and pepper. The fish were so sweet and tender! The simple way is best.