My favorite of all is baked Greek snapper at Loui's. Think I'll head that way for lunch, today.

I eat mostly fresh salmon filets and use the method Angela Id does. I don’t use any seasonings on the amazing salmon we can get here in the pnw, but the method of putting in cold oven turned to 400 and baking for 20 min (or a bit less if filets are thinner) results in perfectly cooked fish. I’ve used the same method with fresh halibut and sablefish-black cod but since the filets are often thinner, I start checking @ 14 minutes.

I learned to cook my fish filets in my George Foreman "lean mean" griller while I was re-doing my kitchen. Comes out perfectly cooked in just a few minutes. I like simple seasonings, and don't like to bread or coat fish so this is a perfect method for me. I'll grill some vegetable garnish along with the fish, but start them a few minutes before I put the fish in.

Plus, I take the GF grill just outside the back door when I cook the fish, so no lingering fish odor in the house!

raee_gw, please share your secret! Ive tried so many times to grill fish on the GF but it sticks every single time.

I don't eat fresh water fish, salt water fish only.

For salmon, I follow a Cooks illustrated recipe. I line a baking sheet with HD aluminum foil (to ease clean up, nothing to wash) and put it into the over while it's preheating to 450 deg. The salmon is lightly brushed with olive oil and hit with salt and pepper. Herbs can also be added. When the oven is ready, you take out the baking pan, plop the filets on it skin side down, and return to the oven. Turn off the oven. In 12-15 minutes (depending on the thickness), it's done, at the earlier time end if you like the middle rare. You can easily slide a hamburger flipper at the edge between the skin and the meat to lift off the meat. The skin remains stuck to the pan and the meat slides off in one piece. Never fails for salmon, always perfect.

For other kinds of fish with flaky meat like cod or Pacific snapper, I have a NY Times derived recipe. I make a pouch of aluminum foil with raw onion slices on the bottom, then the fish, and then a generous topping of salsa fresca. Seal the package well, put it onto a baking sheet and into a 450 deg oven (which you can also turn off) for the same 12-15 minutes. What you get is essentially fish poached in its own juices with onions and salsa. It's delicious.

Moonie, first I make sure that the GF grill is perfectly clean (my secret for that is to put a wet - not dripping, but more than damp -- paper towel in the grill and close it while it is still hot. The steam loosens the baked on bits and grease -- like deglazing a pan -- then they are easy to just wipe off with the same towel. I rarely have to use the scraper that came with it. And, just like with a cast iron pan, I rarely use detergent on the cooking surface)

I wipe the grill with a light coat of olive or peanut oil before putting the food in. When it is cooked, I use the scraper/spatula to gently remove it. The filet might break apart but usually doesn't stick any more than it would in a skillet.

Scott, I am trying to eat low carb so I get what you are saying about avoiding the breading. But I am also getting better at measuring and reading labels, so if I pay attention I can keep carbs at an acceptably low level but still have a few delicious cranberries on my fish. I just went and ordered sliced almonds and cranberries separate so I can make a mix a little heavier on the almonds.

Glenda you have such great taste in food, can you please describe how Loui bakes his fish?

We have salmon fairly often (when we can afford it!), but seldom bake it. I cook it on a cedar plank on the grill, and it's SO much better than just baked in the oven. The smoldering cedar adds just the right touch of smoke.

I love baked fish and love the recipes/methods posted above. I also agree with Bossyvossy about making so many things sweet and not allowing it to remain savory. I hate sweetened fish of any kind. Ordered bourbon salmon at a restaurant years ago, not realizing it was sweet, I nearly gagged with the first bite and absolutely could not eat it - just awful and the restaurant was a very upscale one with great reviews. I don't want sweet on meat or chicken either.

You like it better with a cedar plank, mushcreek, that doesn't make your preferred method better or worse than another. Just different. Personally, I don't like it that way at all.

Some fish are too moist for my taste so I do like sea bass grilled on a hickory plank. DH prefers the ease of foil but i like some of the moistness cooked out. (auto correct does not like the word moistness lol)

Fish is one thing I haven't tried cooking at home. I don't like fishy fish. I like shark the best. I also like halibut, tilapia, mahi mahi, swordfish. But I've only had them from one certain restaurant in my area. I was told salmon isn't fishy but I found it fishy still...??

ETA: what would be a good fish for a beginner to try at home? This baking method sounds up my alley.

Coho salmon, a mild, yet flavorful salmon would be good for a beginner. Keep it simple, oil, salt and pepper.

always1step, I think one of the secrets to what to choose depends on where you live and what you can get the freshest. I would never buy fish in a grocery store and only from a trusted fish market that sells only the freshest of the fresh. I like King Salmon - never find it fishy when perfectly fresh. Halibut is mild, but fishy if not really fresh (as is all fish). I've had some great true cod lately that I fixed in a very mild lemon "sauce" (not too saucy, but added a nice lemon flavor) that wasn't in the least fishy.

Salmon filet patted with pank and a bit of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (just a bit). Get a large cast iron skillet (smooth interior) heated with a bit of EVOO and Butter (not much). Cook skin (on) side down for (depends). Then turn and pan fry (med heat to med plus) until done.

Remove from pan. Let rest ~6 minutes. Remove skin.

We feed the skin to birds on a bird table. The jays will eat all fatty things, They even eat steamed mussels.

ETA-- careful not to overcook. Delicious. Asparagus goes well with it. Even cold leftover fillet is yummy (cold!) Filet or fillet ;-)

My go-to fish meal is defrosted Costco sockeye salmon, covered with a mixture of one tablespoon Hellman's mayo and one teaspoon bottled prepared horseradish, baked in my toaster oven for 16 minutes.

I made baked fish, a little salt and a smidge of butter, but then I put on top a cranberry almond topping

I'm an excellent cook, but I never cook fish -- and I've been thinking lately I'd like to learn. Do you remember the name brand of the cranberry almond topping? How long did you cook it, and at what temperature?

An avid fisherman and friend, I used to work with told me to 1) skin & debone the fish 2) rinse it 3) roll it in ranch dressing 4) bread it with crushed stuffing crumbs, then pan fry or bake. I've tried it with whiting and trout. Success..!

Ooh, I'm interested! Do you mean you rolled it in liquid ranch dressing ... or the powdered Hidden Valley stuff?

We've been eating a lot of fish and roasted vegetables.

I've been making a lot of one-pan meals, which always include roasted vegetables. Check out Pinterest for multiple recipes ... just avoid beef. Not good for this application. But chicken, shrimp, kielbasa sausage ... yes, please! And any vegetable seems to work well.

Mrs. Pete I used a Walmart topping Great Value Dried Cranberries & Honey Roasted Almonds but have just ordered sliced almonds and dried cranberries separate so I could have a mix with more almonds. It was a hot oven don't remember the particulars.

My new "go-to" meal is baked salmon with Penzey's Fox Point seasoning (salt, freeze-dried shallots, chives, garlic, onion and green peppercorns). I also recently made a sauteed salmon with red curry sauce.

Olychick, I love your advice about where to purchase salmon or other fish. However, for us who lives in areas where there are no fishmonger shops, we have to rely on grocery stores. If I am ever lucky enough to be in the PNW, I will certainly heed your advice.

Graywing, what temp to you cook your fish at in the toaster oven, please. Do you preheat the toaster oven? Thanks for answering my questions.

Fish needs to be properly handled and strictly fresh. Raw fresh fish doesn't smell fishy. If you buy fish and it smells fishy before being cooked, return it.

I live on the coast so finding good fresh fish isn't a problem. For others, go to the store in town considered to be the highest quality one or with the best meat department. Lacking that, go to Whole Foods (whose fish I find to be consistently good). Cook it the same day you buy it.

Or, buy it frozen from a top store or Trader Joes. Defrost it overnight and cook it the next day.

Walnut Creek, I set the toaster oven for 350 degrees F and then start the prep, which takes maybe 2 minutes at the most. I don't wait for the toaster oven to reach full temp, I put the fish in when I'm done with my prep.

Oh, and I pour a few drops of oil, usually olive oil, onto the pan so the skin doesn't stick. But still, the skin separates from the meat during cooking and my dog gets the fish skin.

The Costco salmon comes individually vacuum sealed. I place it sealed in hot tap water for a half hour to defrost.

Thank you so much, graywings. I will probably soon be preparing meals for only me, so the toaster oven is perfect for cooking for one - at least IMO.

Not the best idea, graywings. Food experts suggest food always needs to be kept at a low temperature for safety and to maintain food quality - a hot water defrost doesn't do that. Food can begin to cook at the temperature of hot water but not at a sufficiently high temperature.

A cold water dunk for a few hours or 24 hours in the refrigerator is what's recommended.

I like fish that has been processed and frozen at sea right after catch; the individually quick frozen ocean fish fillets that you find at Trader Joes and Kroger are usually of this nature. They never taste fishy to me. I prefer cod above all for its texture and flavor (and price!)

Flash frozen is supposed to be better as far as not causing the fish to have too high a water content. Personally, although we eat a lot of it, i dont like fish that has been frozen. I think one reason more people dont like baked fish is because of the mushiness from the water content. Thats not too much a problem with salmon but it is with a lot of other variaties. One thing, DONT try to smush the fish with paper towels to get the water out. That just makes it worse. I always thaw today, cook tomorrow.

Meh, I don't see anything unsafe about what I am doing with a fast defrost and immediate cooking. And, it doesn't seem to affect the flavor or texture. Tap hot water begins to cool as soon as the package of fish goes into the water. I have defrosted in various ways and don't see a difference in outcome.

The only time I get salt water fish is if we go out to eat. We have so much largemouth bass, that that is the only thing I cook. Sometimes we might have bream, but neither of us like to clean them.

I cook it fried, grilled, and baked.

Moonie, if you cook in foil, and it is on the grill, when it gets almost done, poke a few holes in the foil and let the moisture drain out. It doesn't take but about 30 to 45 seconds.

Sherry, thats how DH grills fish but i prefer the plank method so that the fish doesnt steam in its own juices. DH thinks im a fish snob... i'm not, i just like my fish on the dry side. Meat only slightly moist.

Mine doesn't steam, because I don't close the top of the foil. I have used the planks also, but I kept setting them on fire. LOL.

You have to soak them in water. I don't buy the fancy, expensive planks from gourmet kitchen stores. I just buy 1X6 cedar at the lumber yard, and cut the length I need. A surplus place near here had 24" long pieces of cedar 2X6's for $.50. By re-sawing it and cutting to length, I could get at least 4 cooking planks out of each 50 cent piece. I should have bought all they had!

LOL Sherry! I've seen that happen more than once!

When I'm home alone, i bake fish in the toaster oven, let the skin stick, then lift the meat right off. Squeeze on a little lemon. Yum! DH turns his nose up at toaster oven fish. Talk about a fish snob! lol

Mushcreek, do you soak your planks each time? We dont... just the first time. DH uses a spray bottle if it flames.

Mush I had soaked it. I still set it on fire!

When I lived on the southern Atlantic coast, I learned to love all of the seafood. Fresh caught anything right off our own boat or at any of the fleet owned markets all around my island community.

I now live in northern Alabama surrounded by plenty of fresh water lakes and rivers but had never developed a taste for freshwater fish until recently. Guntersville Lake is big, clean and full of a wide variety of fish, most of which make exceptional table fare.

My biggest surprise has been with the different catfish varieties and how incredibly white, buttery, flaky, and delicious they can be when prepared properly. Zero fishy taste and so perfect baked, grilled, broiled, or fried. I swear that the sweetest, whitest, meatiest fish I've ever had was a big blue cat I caught myself.

For fresh seafood, this is the best place in North Alabama. They bring it in fresh from Bayou La Batre, AL.

https://www.facebook.com/AandVSeafoodMarket/

I have to say (having lived on THE coast (from Monterey to SF and all parts inbetween) and in the South), Florida panhandle and thereabouts (like north Alabama) has far fresher, better seafood than other places.

Yes, alas, rob. But I won't eat anything out of the gulf anymore. I know too much about that fake cleanup.

I love a nice white fish (not tilapia) baked with lemon butter, but I really miss the way my mom used to do fish sometimes. Back in the day Campbells had some very deluxe soups that were frozen, not canned, and their shrimp bisque made a wonderful topping for baked fish. I suppose I could make my own shrimp bisque but I'm too lazy.

Sorry writerblock, You only know fake news. The gulf is very safe. The seafood is safe and the oil never hit the coast. (and that was years ago) I would be more worried about the glow-in-the-dark seafood after the Japan meltdown.

And no, I will not respond or argue with anyone about this.

Sure thing, Sherry. I'll pass the word along to the guys I know who do IT for the monitoring there. They'll be delighted to hear it.

Only once have I ever had catfish and liked it -- last summer, in fact, in North Carolina. Only one bite of the dish had that muddy taste that usually makes me unenthusiastic. I'm not crazy about tilapia either.

I remember visiting my mother in Galveston in the late 1970s and seeing oil tar on the beaches from the offshore wells.

For anyone who is interested, from Encyclopedia Britannica ( there is a picture of workers cleaning up oil off a beach there. Further on in the article it talks about the persistent deleterious effects on ocean creatures such as dolphins):

As oil began to contaminate Louisiana beaches in May, it was manually removed; more difficult to clean were the state’s marshes and estuaries, where the topography was knit together by delicate plant life. By June, oil and tar balls had made landfall on the beaches of Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. In all, an estimated 1,100 miles (1,770 km) of shoreline were polluted.

OF COURSE sherry is correct. writersblock, pass along these links to your couch potato IT contacts so they can follow up to notify the FDA that they think they're wrong.

FDA - seafood as safe as before

Breaking down myths - Smithsonian Mag

(Truth be told, the real problem in the Gulf long has been and continues to be fertilizer residue and the other human activity-sourced soup of dangerous chemicals that flows out of the Mississippi)

"Back in the day Campbells had some very deluxe soups that were frozen,
not canned, and their shrimp bisque made a wonderful topping for baked
fish. I suppose I could make my own shrimp bisque but I'm too lazy."

Hey wb, never tried that, but not too long ago I had a can of cream of shrimp? I think, to use. Thawed a pound of shrimp and sauteed with some onion and mushroom, then added the soup and 1/4? cup of wine. Little paprika and a shot of lemon, served over rice. Not bad for a quick meal and would work with fish, as well.

Rhizo, I love catfish. The secret to not having that muddy taste is how it is filleted. There is a fatty layer under the skin....you don't want that. Filleting them so none of the grey fatty layer is on the filets, and it is delicious, mild, fine grained fish. A lot of catfish are farm raised here. We also have big ones in the bayou behind the house, but I don't fish for them....I feed them. I bought some catfish "nuggets" at Sam's, and had to take them back. They still had the skin on and the taste was awful....oily, muddy, nasty. Completely different from a properly filleted fish.

I'm going to bake fish tomorrow. Will let you all know how it turns out.

I didnt bake fish today. Took out the wrong package from the freezer. Instead, we grilled stingray. Some of you might call that fish but not me! I dont eat it (maybe a taste) but DH and our neighbor love it. The neighbor makes a good sauce, if you like that kind of stuff.

Wow, Moonie, I've actually never heard of eating stingray! What is it that you don't like about it?

All this fish talk gave me a hankering, but I was also craving a little Chinese, so I cooked the fish in some peanut oil in the wok, then added a bunch of stir fry vegetable mix, lastly cooked and tossed in some ramen that my daughter had given me -- from Korea, a little spicy, much nicer flavor than the cheap ramen that we have in our grocery (way less salty, for one thing). It came with 5 different little packets of flavoring to add.

Raee, a lot of seafood restaurants have had ray on their menus for quite some time. Some people say it taste just like scallops, which i dont care for either, but to me its a cross taste of (maybe) scallops and lobster (which i love). Dont know how much truth there is to it but its said that some unscrupulous salespeople will sell chunks of ray and call it scallops.

You might can tell that there is still cartilage on some of the pieces. It cooks more evenly, then you remove the cartilage... filet it before eating. As much sauce as the guys use, i doubt they taste much of the ray lol. The sauce is pretty spicy and gives me indigestion.

Now you've got me wanting chinese. I think tomorrow I'm going to pick some up. Love the way they cook their veggies!

Ray is commonly eaten in France. Spelled raie, pronounced the same as in English. There are lots of types of rays, I don't know which is the one eaten there. I've seen it frequently enough, it's not uncommon to find on a restaurant menu. I don't think it's considered to be exotic or unusual at all.