Cooking with LMNO

[Darth Cupcake]

I probably wouldn't bother with the tomatoes, but otherwise, that looks AWESOME.

[East Coast Hustle]

Good point.

The haddock was on sale, though.

I like you, so I will give you the option of accepting or ignoring the PROTIP I have regarding haddock on sale.

[LMNO]

[East Coast Hustle]

if you paid anything less than $7.99/lb for your haddock (maybe $6.99 if you bought it at a fish market), it wasn't haddock. probably scrod, but any white fish that can be filleted that is found in the trap/net/whatever will be sold as "haddock".

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

if you paid anything less than $7.99/lb for your haddock (maybe $6.99 if you bought it at a fish market), it wasn't haddock. probably scrod, but any white fish that can be filleted that is found in the trap/net/whatever will be sold as "haddock".

I didn't know that. 

For white fish, I really prefer grouper as it has always been very adaptable to anything I tried to do with it.  However it isn't so easy to get here in STL.

I would be curious to see your top three fish choices from both ECH and LMNO. 

Also an opinion on Tilapia.

[LMNO]

To cook and prepare? That's pretty tough. There's a lot of different ways to prepare a lot of different fish.  I'm not sure I could narrow it down, because there are several different preparations I like for a bunch of different fish. 

Maybe fish I don't like/haven't prepared would be easier.  I don't like monkfish, haven't really tried grouper, and even though I really like mackeral, I've always had problems making it myself.

Tilapia is... what is the word... Ah, yes.



"Bait".

[East Coast Hustle]

I love monkfish. Grouper is good if I just caught it, not so good frozen or a few days old. Tilapia is bland. Also, it's almost always farm-raised.

DO NOT BUY FARM-RAISED FISH.

DO.

NOT.

BUY.

FARM.

RAISED.

FISH.

Mackerel is tricky to prepare. it HAS to be fresh, within 12 hours of being caught, and it should be either smoked or BBQ'd although there are some greek and italian recipes that call for it to be braised, usually with white beans and tomatos.

my personal favorite is wild-caught pacific king salmon.

other seafood I REALLY like (the only seafoods I dislike are mussels and sea urchin):

Eel
Squid
Fresh-caught smelt, beheaded and deep-fried within 1 hour of catching.
Mahi-mahi, which will take freezing better than most fish
Parrotfish
Perch, if it's really fresh
Snapper, which should be served whole, head on, eyes still in (eyes are yummy)
Skate, which has to be incredibly fresh as it will ammoniate very quickly

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

DAMN!!

You've just further proven the point that I need to find a good fish monger here in STL! 

DAMN!!

I agree on almost everything both of you gentlemen said except I can give or take monkfish.  Now I really love the dolfin or Mahi-Mahi for almost any preperation, however I have to say it takes to citrus marinades and rubs like errrr  a fish to water... 

Seriously, thanks for the input, being landlocked (unless you count the MS River and we do not eat from it EWWWWW) it's hard to find good fish and I have been a bit leery of trying new things when it comes to fish!!!

[LMNO]

Incidentally, fried smelt is one of my all-time faves.  Good call, ECH.

[BADGE OF HONOR]

DO NOT BUY FARM-RAISED FISH.

Why?

[East Coast Hustle]

I won't bore you by giving my ill-informed opinion of the ethics, ecological implications, and politics behind it.

a better reason than all of that is because farm-raised fish tastes like crap.

[BADGE OF HONOR]

No, go ahead.  Every time I read something about the ocean it's usually about how this or that species has been completely decimated by overfishing, so I'd like to hear how farm-raised fish are not the more ethically/ecologically sound choice.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

No, go ahead.  Every time I read something about the ocean it's usually about how this or that species has been completely decimated by overfishing, so I'd like to hear how farm-raised fish are not the more ethically/ecologically sound choice.

There have been a number of reports that cite serious concerns with the levels of antibiotics and carcinogens in captive raised fish, mostly due to them living in a hole with water in it, rather than some actual body of moving water. "Farm Raised" is not about the farmer going down to his nice little pond in the meadow and catching a couple nice bass... rather its about dug holes that are filled with water and baby fish to the max stocking point, lots of drugs to combat the rampant issues with health (and lack thereof in an overcrowded pond)... on top of that, they're often in the cheapest real estate available, here in Ohio, there are several pond fisheries right next to the freeways and highways, in some cases, they're part of factory farms and are surrounded by crops that are getting industrial strength sprays of whatever to keep down bugs, mold, bacteria and all kinds of other stuff.

Fishing in oceans, streams, rivers etc can be done safely and ethically... you just have to be careful and thoughtful about the types of fish, the brands etc. http://www.msc.org/ has some interesting info on sustainable fishing.

[Suu]

A cod is a scrod and a scrod is a cod.

Also, having a  semi-pro fisherman for a brother, I can fully attest to the benefits of fishing safely and following limits, especially in areas such as Florida were a lot of yummy species are protected by size and seasons. (Snook and Redfish ftw.)

Not to mention, fresh fish is win...except for bluefish and striper, he just couldn't figure out how to cook those fucking things. I think you're supposed to soak them in milk overnight or something to kill the fishiness and grease, but my mom never allowed it. So we ended up doing a lot of catch and release for blues simply for the fight as long as they didn't throw up all over us and try to take a finger or two. Those fuckers are NASTY.

[BADGE OF HONOR]

Ah, I see.  It's purely an intellectual discussion for me anyway, since fish is gross.