Cooking Tips for People Who Don’t Like Fish
Whether you want to improve your heart health, your sleep or your overall nutrition, adding fish into your diet is a smart choice. Seafood is the best dietary source of vitamin D and heart healthy Omega-3 fatty acids. Getting more of these essential nutrients through your diet can have a big impact on your health.
The idea of eating seafood regularly might make your stomach churn if you aren’t a fan of fish. Maybe you’ve had bad experiences with stinky tuna salad, mushy fish sticks or stale tasting sushi. Or, maybe you don’t like the texture or “fishy” taste of the seafood you’ve tried. It can be hard to get past these types of bad experiences with food. Fortunately, there are many kinds of seafood. Once you learn what types of seafood to avoid and the best ways to prepare it, you may convert from a fish hater to a fish lover.
Give these tips a try to find seafood you can enjoy!
Tip #1 – Avoid “fishy” types of seafood.
If you aren’t a fan of seafood because of its “fishy” taste, you aren’t alone! Lots of people don’t like fish because of their experience eating fish with a strong flavor like sea bass or trout. Not all seafood has that distinctive flavor. There are many types of fish with a mild flavor similar to chicken. The best fish to start off with are tilapia, arctic char, cod, haddock, flounder, sole and walleye. You can substitute any of these fish into your favorite chicken recipe. Shrimp and scallops also have a nice, mild flavor.
Tip #2 – Get rid of the briny seafood smell before cooking.
The strong smell that fish has is another common turn off. There is a simple solution to get rid of that smell: squeeze a lemon over the fish fillets before cooking. The acid in the lemon juice will eliminate the odor. If you don’t want your fish to taste like lemon, don’t worry! Unless you add more lemon juice, it will evaporate when it cooks without leaving behind the flavor.
Tip #3 – Don’t wait to cook it!
Waiting too long to cook seafood can also give it an unpleasant flavor or smell. Fish tastes best cooked the day you bring it home from the market or immediately after thawing it. Two to three days is the limit on how long you can have uncooked fish in your fridge before it begins to turn. If you can’t cook it the day that you bring it home, you should store it in the freezer until you are ready to prepare it.
Tip #4 – Use fish to make your favorite meals.
You don’t have to be an accomplish chef to make a delicious meal with seafood. Mild fish are easy to cook and versatile. Instead of completely changing your meal plan, you can use fish instead of chicken or beef to make your favorite foods. For example, you can make tacos with grilled tilapia or do a seafood spin on burgers with tuna. If chicken fingers are a big hit at your house, you can substitute halibut and make fish sticks.
TIP #5 – Spice it up.
If you love bold or rich flavors, don’t be afraid to season fish with a marinade or spice rub. Fish absorbs seasoning better than chicken or beef. Once you get used to cooking it, you may prefer it to other meats because of how well it absorbs flavors.
Tip #6 – Make sure not to overcook it!
Fish should be tender and flaky after you take it out of the oven or off the grill. The rubbery or dry texture that you might associate with seafood actually comes from overcooking. Seafood has a much shorter cooking time than other meats. You usually only need to cook it for 2-4 minutes on each side. When you make it, be sure to keep a close eye on the timer and remove it from the heat according to the recipe instructions.
Don’t you resign yourself to swallowing down big pills of fish oil! Try out these tips from make seafood even a fish hater can love. If you are looking for meal ideas, check out All Our Favorite Recipes!