Thanks, annie. I did not know this was an inherent quality of the fish, so that info is very helpful. I am going to use up what I have and maybe look for some interesting recipes.

I don't know anything about whiting, but the temp doesn't surprise me. I'd do a thin white fillet in a hot oven or broil.

I usually bake fish at 400. Don't think I have ever used a hotter oven to bake fish.

I've never had "whiting" but I do not like mushy fish. Bluefish is mushy but also strong, like mackerel. When DH catches blues he smokes them. That firms up the texture. I wonder if you could smoke whiting? You could also try using the cooked fish in fishcakes, It might also make a good chowder.

What about cooking it a bit longer? I've bought & cooked frozen whiting in the past & I don't recall it being too soft for me. Was it thawed & @ room temp.?

I have found that cooking times on the packages of many frozen foods seem to be too short & results seem undercooked to me.

Whiting can be several fish....depending on where it's caught....and all is not the same.
But generally fish called whiting are delicate in texture ( and cooking longer won't help, it will just give you over cooked fish). Smoked whiting is delicious!
Look for recipes for sole, similar mild soft textured fish>
Funny, seagrass you say bluefish is mushy...I never have found it so...yes stronger flavored than say flounder, but I think of it as a firm fleshed fish. Needs to be eaten the day it's caught, or possibly the next....but don't let it sit around!

Linda - I don't care for bluefish. My husband loves fishing for them - they put up quite a fight. I prefer striped bass which appear seasonally on the Cape.

Yeah....I love striper too....but bluefish and snapper.....says east coast surf fishing. But blues are not mushy....strong flavored and fatty but firm fleshed I find....but it's been a few years since I have had a blue or a snapper or a striped bass fresh...really fresh!

450 for 11 minutes ? Sounds overcooked. However, I've only cooked fresh whiting - it's not been recent, but I know I didn't cook it about 350. Maybe 12 minutes max. It wasnt mushy.

Perhaps it was mushy because it was frozen? I find this a problem with tilapia.

Thanks for all your responses. Think the next time, I will cook at a bit lower temp and see how that works out.

artemis, I agree on the tilapia too, I won't eat it, it's too soft.

Annie

Tilapia and I don't get along at all. We stay away from it.

I'm fascinated. I have never had baked whiting, only breaded with corn meal and pan fried (it was my stepfather's favorite Friday meal). Interesting!

Isn't whiting one of the fish used in gefilte fish?

It's always been curious to me that Americans are so eager to eat tilapia. In the countries where it's native, you can't pay people to eat it, as much because of its habits as because of the texture/flavor. They're just flabbergasted that we not only eat it, but actually buy it.

A couple of years ago I thought I might be going to Shaba, where Joy Adamson was murdered, and so I reread Born Free and was amused by the scene where they take Elsa the lioness to experience the Indian Ocean. They get some "wonderful" tilapia en route, which they offer to their guides and bearers, and to a man the response is along the lines of "No thanks, I have a sandwich. I'm good." They thought, "What silly people," but I don't think so.

writersblock, I agree on the tilapia. Although not technically a "bottom feeder", tilapia will eat anything and hang pretty much in the bottom, eating the sludge and silt. I've been told that you can even raise them in an old above ground pool and given their dietary habits I believe that's probably true.

Annie

I have a bulletproof recipe for pink salmon (Walmart fillets, frozen & wild caught). Defrost in the fridge, saute w/ Louisiana hot sauce, sprinkle liberally w/ ground black pepper, broil for 7-9 minutes and serve w/ lemon and creamy horseradish. As tasty as pan blackened, and a lot easier to clean up afterward.

I bought some whiting fillets (Walmart, frozen, wild caught) and tried it w/ my salmon recipe.....mushy. Tried it by cooking it less, as well as more. Mushy, unless you cook it to a cinder, and not nearly as tasty as the salmon. It might work breaded and pan fried as someone here suggested, but that's not as healthy as broiled. It is what it is.