Gaining fish cooking confidence

Have you ever noticed how often commercials for some kind of room deodorizer show you a picture of a fish? We feel like suing them every time they do it, because they're enforcing a stereotype of fish being smelly that just isn't true - if you buy good fish. Here are two odor prevention steps which are totally in your control:
     1) Buy really fresh fish - when you buy fish that's been sitting there for a week, or cheap, thawed out fish, yes, it probably will smell when you cook it, and it won't taste very good. Fresh fish that is properly cooked will barely smell at all, except to smell good.
     2) Don't overcook your fish. When fish is cooked too long, it dries out and starts to smell - so follow the Canadian cooking method, 10 minutes of cooking time per inch of thickness, measuring at the thickest point, at medium high heat. (We cook at 425 degrees). If the fish isn't quite done, put it back in for a minute - you can always cook it a little more if it's underdone, but once it's overcooked, there's nothing you can do about it. And fish keeps on cooking even after being removed from the oven or grill - fish that looks a little rare probably won't be by the time it's served.
     We have numerous customers who cook fish on the grill all summer long, then when the weather dims, they stop eating it, for fear of making their house smell of fish. This is unfortunate for all concerned! Fish is an important part of your diet 12 months a year.
     If you are baking your fish, add a tablespoon of white wine to the baking pan - it enhances the flavor, keeps the fish moist, and also prevents odors.  Our Lemon Dill Sauce, great on almost any fish you can think of, also prevents cooking odors when poured over the fish during the last few minutes of cooking.
     But still, the most important thing of all is starting with top quality fish. If it smells bad before it goes into the oven, why would you expect it not to smell during and after cooking?
     We have lots of simple, delicious recipes on our web site - check them out at  www.burhopsseafood.com/.  But remember, we don't guarantee our recipes with someone elses' fish.
     And you can always ask our staff for cooking tips.