Why do people think cooking fish is hard?

When we meet people at parties or other events and they recognize our name, we've heard countless times "I only get fish in restaurants, because I don't know how to cook it."
     This is such a shame! And lame!!
     Fish is one of the easiest proteins to cook - it cooks quickly, and you can saute, it, bake it, broil it, and in better weather, grill it (or at least many of the heartier fish are good for grilling).
     Unlike red meats, fish doesn't have connective tissue, so heat penetrates the flesh quickly. We go by the Canadian cooking method, i.e. 10 minutes of cooking time per inch of thickness, measured at the thickest part of the fillet, cooked at medium high heat. In the oven, we generally cook at 425 degrees; on the stove top, we set the burner between medium and high, same on the grill. The higher heat seals in the moisture - cooking at slower, lower temperatures will not only take longer and use more energy, it will dry out the fish.
     Just about the worst thing you can do to fish is over cook it - fish will keep cooking after you take it out of the oven, so if it's a little bit rare when you take it out, it probably won't be by the time you serve it.
     And most important of all, start with really good quality fresh fish. Once fish goes off even slightly, it's not going to taste good no matter how you cook it. A lot of people think that they can't cook fish because when they've tried, it didn't turn out well. I'd guess that a very high percentage of these people bought sub-standard fish.
     I've told the story many times, but here it is again for those who haven't seen it. About 20 years ago, when we had more locations. one of our culinary staff was doing demos at our Highland Park store. A lady came in and tasted the recipe Joan had prepared, commented on how good it was, and picked up the recipe card. A week later, she came in and assailed Joan, saying her recipe was faulty. Joan went through it with her, step by step, trying to find where she might have gone wrong. but the customer claimed to have followed the directions exactly. Exasperated, Joan finally asked, "Did you get the fish from us?" To which the woman replied "no, it was cheaper at the grocery store."
     Joan's immediate response was "We don't guarantee our recipes with other people's fish!" The reason we don't is because we have no control over other retailer's quality or handling of the fish. Super market fish is often "thawed for your convenience" - once it's been frozen, it should stay frozen until you're going to cook it. Grocery store fillets are often sitting right on the ice, which sucks the juice out of it, and it generally stays in the case much longer than it should. Chain stores,with distribution centers, add days to the time between fish coming in and getting into the cases - ours usually comes from the airport and goes into the cases the same day.
     With fish, freshness counts more than with any kind of meat or poultry. If you buy poor quality fish at a cheap price and it doesn't taste good, what exactly have you saved?
     Here are some general cooking suggestions based on type of seafood:

THICK FILLETS
Meatier fish, like salmon, tuna, chili bass, swordfish, mahi mahi, marlin, wahoo, ono etc. are suitable for baking, searing and baking, or grilling. Tuna should always be served rare - so don't follow the Canadian method with that one! At home, we like to bake most of these in the winter, toss them on the grill in the summer, and add one of our marinades or toppings to add a little extra flavor.
     Though fairly thick, whitefish, cod, scrod and haddock are more suited to baking, as they are tender and can fall apart more easily on a grill.

THIN FILLETS
Rainbow trout, tilapia, sole, red snapper, lake perch, baramundi, walleye, any of the thinner fish are well suited to saute or baking, not so much grilling, because they can too easily fall apart and drop into the fire. If you're longing to grill one of these, try using a wood plank that's been soaked in water to hold the fish. You can also bake these - great for doing a nut crust.

SHELLFISH
Shrimp is great for stir fry, paella, grilling on skewers, sauteing with garlic, they're used in a ton of recipes. We have several wonderful ones on our web site, www.burhopsseafood.com. Shrimp cook very quickly - in 3 or 4 minutes - and are best prepared right before serving.
     Scallops are also good sauteed, and they make wonderful kebabs as well. Mussels should be steamed or oven baked in a wrought iron skillet.  Clams can be cooked the same ways, and both clams and mussels are great in paella, cioppino, bouillabaisse etc.
     Lobster tails we prefer baked and finished under the broiler -- watch our Lobster 101 video on line for easy to follow directions. Live lobsters should be boiled or steamed - and we'll do it for you for a small charge.
     Crab legs, claws and crab meat are cooked before shipping, so all you need to do is incorporate the crab meat into your favorite recipes, or in the case of crab legs, thaw and reheat in your oven or steamer. Soft shell crabs should be dusted with flour and sauteed - one of the most wonderful treats of the spring.
     Oysters we prefer not to cook at all - we just open 'em up and slurp 'em down. And we love it that we can eat them all summer long now, no worries about having an "R" in the month.

KEBAB ITEMS
Kebabs are an easy and festive thing to serve for parties. We will make them for you, or make your own with cubed fresh vegetables interspersed with tuna, swordfish, salmon, chili bass, wahoo, ono, marlin, shrimp, scallops. We generally marinate the kebabs before grilling - ask us for suggestions.

SUMMARY: Start with really fresh fish, cook it at medium high heat using the most suitable cooking method, and DON'T OVERCOOK IT! Err to the rare is my motto.