Help Me! I hate fish!!

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ciship

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jan 1, 2005
Messages
11
I really hate the taste of fish. Don't want to smell it or look at it either. However, my doctor says I must work it into my diet.

I am looking for VERY simple ways of cooking that will mask the flavor and texture as much as possible.

I have tried broiling it and then drowning it in vinegar and that helps, but can I get some other suggestions please? I thought grilling (and burning) it might help also??
 
Have you tried herbs such as rosemary or thyme? What about lemon juice? I agree with you I hate fish also and I am too having a hard time working it into my diet. Good luck and maybe we both can learn something from everyone, else.
 
What foods do you like? If you pair things you like with the fish that might make it more palatable. I will bump Kitchenelf's spicy fish stew, that's a healthy and easy recipe which tastes of other things, the fish is kind of incidental. Make sure you buy the freshest and best quality fish that you can afford, fresh fish is not as "fishy" as older fish. Teriyaki and other asian flavours go well with fish and might take away the "fishiness".

Best of luck, I love fish so I am lucky, take pity on me though, as it has been suggested to me that I eat liver to boost my iron - YUCK!!!!!!!
 
I understand what youre saying regarding the LIVER. The only thing I can offer there is to make sure it is VERY thin when you cook it. Sliver thin!! Saute with onions (lots) and cook it WELL. I almost burn it to get through it.
 
Of course I can get down fish better when it is breaded.....but, that is a big no no according to the doctor. I'm going to fire up the grill tomorrow and see if I can figure something out. I will try the lemon and spices.

How about "blackened"? How would I do that?
 
Hey that gave me some good ideas Marmalady! Thanks......

We are breaking out the outdoor grill today also. I'm going to experiment!
 
Ciship, you might want to follow Dr. Andrew Weil's suggestion in his acclaimed book 'Spontaneous Healing' for people who need good cholesterol from fish oils but who don't like fish: Grind up flax seed into fine powder and sprinkle on food at meals. I highly recommend his book. You might also want to check out his newer books at his website.
 
Yes, I am very familiar with Dr. Weil. Thank you for the recommendation.

I take Flax Seed oil capsules, but when I used to get the grounds or ground them myself, I would gain enormous amounts of weight very quickly even if I cut way back on my intake of the grounds. My body does that with other healthy fats as well like Avocado, nuts, etc....I just blow up like a puffer fish when I eat healthy fats.
 
ciship,

I rubbed some tuna steaks with liquid smoke and baked them--they were almost like steak. It wasn't fishy tasting at all.

:) Barbara
 
Haven't tried this one yet. I've been saving it for a special occasion. Hoped it might be of interest since there's several layers of flavors goin' on with all the other ingredients. See what you think.

Salmon in Puff Pastry
1 salmon fillet, about 3/4 or so pounds
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed and rolled smooth
1 c. (about) cooked white rice
1/2 c. (about) cooked spinach
olive oil
lemon juice
salt and pepper

Place puff pastry sheet on baking pan. Prick 1/2 lghtly with a fork. To the same half, add the rice, smoothing out in an even layer to within an inch from the edge. Top rice with spinach. Drizzle with a little olive oil and lemon juice. Place salmon fillet on top of spinach. Season with salt and pepper.

Fold other half of puff pastry across salmon and other filling ingredients. Press edges together and fold once, crimping with a fork to seal.

Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes, until pastry is golden brown.

If you buy a larger piece of salmon, you can use two sheets of puff pastry, one for the bottom, one for the top. In this case, you might want more rice and spinach to cover the one piece.
 
Well, you mentioned "blackening" and someone else mentioned Tuna steaks. Blackened Tuna is truly a gift from the gods, if you ask me.

Blackened Seasoning Mix

2 T paprika
5 t salt
2 t onion powder
2 t garlic powder
2 t cayenne
1 ½ t white pepper
½ t black pepper
1 t thyme
1 t oregano

Mix all ingredients well, and place in a shaker (I use a Parmesan cheese dispenser like the pizzerias use.). DO NOT breathe in the “dust cloud” while mixing the spices together!

To properly blacken (cook) the tuna steak, please remember that this is best down outside, using a Coleman Camp stove and a cast iron skillet. I will do this inside, but I don't really get the heat up to high, and don't create a lot of smoke. The smoke has been referred to a "Cajun Bomb" by some of my co-workers.

You'll need some clarified butter. If you know how to make it, great. You can get by with using vegetable oil, but the flavor will not be quite the same.

Heat the pan until it's hot on the camp stove. Make sure to get your mise en place ready, and have the fat handy, seasoning mix nearby, and the tuna steak on a plate, platter, or something else similar. While the pan is heating, season the tuna steak with the seasoning mix. How much you use will determine how hot and spicy it is. How hot you can tolerate it will be trail and error.

Once the pan is hot, add some of the clarified butter or veggie oil. Lay the seasoned tuna steak on the pan, seasoned side down. While this cooks, season the other side of the tuna, which is now facing up. Cook for a few minutes. Flip once, adding a little more fat to the pan right before you flip it. Cook to desired doneness. I prefer a medium tuna steak.

It's been awhile since I last cooked tuna steak like this, so I can't really give you temperatures and times. I always cook by feel, anyway. I poke the tuna steak with my finger to feel if it's still slightly "soft" inside. Again, this is a trail-and-error process that I've learned working in restaurants.

Paul Prudhomme's first cookbook, "Louisiana Kitchen" describes the process, although I always thought his heat was up to high. He wanted the pan so hot you were developing ash IN the pan, from the season on the pan burning. I prefer a lower heat, as it doesn't flare up and burn as much, it's a slower process (doesn't burn into inedibility as fast), etc.

I recently reheated some ultra-rare blackened tuna (so that it was blackened medium) and ate it. Well, my DW wanted some, then my oldest step-son wanted some! He's the pickiest eater here.
 
WOW....really enjoyed reading about the Blackened/Cajun Tuna Steak....

Thank you to ALL who took such effort in writing out these recipes....just fabulous!!

How about an Orange Roughy recipe that I can do on the grill. A friend today told me it had very little fishy flavor to it and flaked well (but had no recipe).
 
ciship, I admit that blackened fish is my absolute favorite but here are some other recipes that I think you would like. I am not a huge fish fan either and when I cook fish I like to mask the fishy flavor by using spices (not hot, just aromatic)

Baked Trout

2 Whole Trouts (without the head) - trim the fins and wash it nicely
1 bunch of flat leaf parsley finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic finely minced
1 large lemon
2 tbsp of olive oil
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to your liking
veggies of your choice - I like baby carrots, broccoli and baby red potatoes

In a pyrex dish place the fish, add the chopped parsley, garlic, squeeze the lemon and throw in the rinds as well, olive oil, salt, red pepper, black pepper and veggies in. Combine it all together with clean hands.

Cover and cook in a preheated oven (350) for 30 - 40 minutes.

There is very little to no fishiness in this dish. All the other flavors permeate the fish.

Tandoori Fish (An Indian specialty)

2 whole Trouts (I have used this recipe with great success using Tilapia, Trout and Red Snapper)
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
pinch of red food color
2 tsp of freshly ground ginger
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of ground corrainder
1 tsp of cayanne pepper
Handful of cilantro finely chopped
salt to taste

Combine all the spices, food color, cilantro and yogurt together and pour it over the trout and allow to marinate for an hour.

Place in an oven proof dish or a stove top grill pan or grill (smear the grill with oil first so the fish does not stick). Cook until done.

Serve with slices of sweet onion and lime wedges.
 
Wow....Trout.....now that is going to be a BIG step for me....but I have printed off your recipe (thank you SO much) and I will work my way up to it.

Thanks again!
 
Tilapia is the fish for those that don't like that fishiness of fish. Personally I really dislike tuna and salmon, I'm not big on the fish that are 'fattier' but I would eat tilapia every day of the week. You just can't go wrong, no matter how you cook it. Well, unless you expect to fry it up like some Cat Fish, that just doesn't work well and goes against the whole adding it to your diet to be healthier :)

But find some fresh tilapia and try this, get some baby carrots, a sweet onion cut into 1/8's, allspice and dried chiles (use all above to suit your tastes and the amount of fish you're cooking). Put oil or cooking spray on the pan, add veggies and spices. Place fish on top, put tent of foil over the top and bake at 400 until fish is about 145 degree F
 
I have to agree with rob that fishes such as Tilapia and Trout to me are more lighter, flakier and any day less fishy than tuna and salmon.

I guess opinions differ from people to people but tuna and salmon are fatty fish and fish fat equates to strong taste and smell (to me atleast).

Try Tilapia and/or Trout and you will suprised as to how mild those fishes are. Trout too comes in two varieties, the pink trout is more fishier than the white trout (most of the ones sold in the stores are white).

My recipes can be used successfully with Tilapia as well.
 
I'm thankful for everyones help and suggestions. I'm heading to the store to find Tilapia (sp?)
 

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