The least fishiest fish?

emz8

I've been told by my PT to mix up my diet a bit and to definetely add some fish to it. I'm really not a fish fan (bar anything in batter, or tinned tuna, and smoked salmon). So what is the least fishiest fish? Or any recipes with spices that might kill the fish flavor a bit?

hfallada

I hate fish, but I like mackerel. Its nearly like beef in texture and doesn't have a strong fishy taste. Its very cheap, but quite smelly to cook. But its one of the healthiest fish and has a **** load of omega oils in it

Faith

Any white fish is fairly tasteless and unfishy. Things like cod, haddock, hake, monkfish, sole etc. Monkfish and hake particularly are quite meaty.

sheesh

+1 for monkfish

Whiting is fairly tasteless

try fresh tuna or swordfish

If you have a bar-b-q you could cook mackeral outside and bring it in to eat
try mustard powder onit before cooking

Geomy

Flounder is very tasteless, and a very underrated fish, nothing like catching a fat plump flounder from a beach in November, bringing it home cooking it. ..

Toast4532

Seabass is lovely, I fry it in olive oil with lemon juice, grated/crushed garlic, salt, pepper and chilli flakes. Delicious.

It doesn't take long to cook maybe 3-5 mins (obviously depending on the size you get, I get four small pieces for €8 or €9 in the fish shop).

Markcheese

Freshest possible White fish... Try a fish curry ....

kenco

A bit out there......but shark dosnt look like fish when battered or grilled ( looks like a pork chop)....

for more reasonable options I would agree with other posters on Hake and Monkfish (the latter with good chorizo is special)

stoutykid

I would recommend Lemon Sole, lightly floured, fryed in butter and a squzze of lemon... yum

livinsane

If all the fish listed are considered "least fishiest fish" then I am baffled as to what is considered a fishy fish! These are the most popular fish eaten in this country and if you are eating fresh, they are all incredibly tasty and "fishy".

Tuna and smoked salmon are quite strong tasting so Im surprised you like these, but don't ordinarily like fish. Are you sure??:pac:

I would say Flounder is a mild taste, but it's still undeniably fishy.

Maybe try making a tomato based fish stew using something like Monkfish [or a cheaper alternative would be Gurnard, if you can get your hands on some]?

Fish cakes?

RhubarbCrumble

Try tuna steaks OP. I don't like fish at all (cod at a push but that's it) but my friend cooked tuna steaks for me recently and it was beautiful. It has more of a meaty texture and doesn't have a 'fishy' taste at all.

awec

I wouldn't recommend monkfish on the basis that it's expensive and can be pretty difficult to cook correctly.

If you're only buying fish for the sake of it and want to completely drown the flavour then I don't see why you'd buy anything that's relatively expensive.

Faith

awec wrote: »

I wouldn't recommend monkfish on the basis that it's expensive and can be pretty difficult to cook correctly.

If you're only buying fish for the sake of it and want to completely drown the flavour then I don't see why you'd buy anything that's relatively expensive.

Because by eating one of the nicest fish available, the poster may actually develop a taste for fish . I didn't eat fish for years, believing I hated it, but you can't keep me away from seafood now. Monkfish was a revelation for me personally, as was lemon sole. From there, I went on to try and like loads of different fish.

But yes, monkfish is expensive and is more of a luxury than a dinner staple.

awec

OP - a fish curry is pretty much going to eradicate the majority of the fishy flavour in anything.

You like smoked salmon so you should like normal salmon too. For salmon I usually put them in the oven wrapped in tin foil at 180 for 30 minutes (I think) and with 10 minutes to go I cover the the top of the salmon in philapelphia cheese (or similar) and crunch over a broken up ryvita cracker. If you whack on a load of cheese you'll taste the fish but the flavour will be significantly lessened.

I am very fussy when it comes to seafood, but enjoy the above a lot. I won't eat anything that still resembles a fish - these recipes were people cook the whole fish head and all would have me running a mile. Also won't touch (or eat!) the skin. I honestly wish I could enjoy seafood more but it's a mental thing.

fenris

I was in the same boat for a long time and wouldn't go near fish until I started fishing (long story) then I got to taste really fresh fish that was properly cooked (every angler that I have met has their own favourite fish cooking tips), there is no comparison to your standard Tesco fare.

Really fresh fish will not smell fishy, for most people it is actually the smell rather than the taste that is off putting.
The fact that you will eat salmon and tuna which to me are the fishiest smelling and tasting fish means that you are off to a start but as it is mostly tinned and processed fish, that start may not be the best one!

Since I taught my kids to fish, there has been an unexpected backlash - "we only want to eat fish that we caught ourselves, the packet stuff tastes horrible!"

So when we want fish at this time of the year one of the old reliables is to head up to Annamoe and pull a few rainbow trout out of the bait pond if we are in a hurry. (€5 to fish & €4 per fish, each fish from the bait pond is about 1kg) As we are in Greystones it is very possible to have a fish on the BBQ / pan within an hour of it being caught. Left over fish then becomes fish cakes the next day.

Really fresh mackarel is a possibility at this time of year, the trick is to stay away from supermarket fish, it could have been caught weeks ago and frozen, yep I know that it isn't supposed to make a difference according to the fish freezer people but I think that it does and whether it does or not my kids won't eat it. If you can find a good fishmonger local to you then it will make a huge difference and he will be able to recommend ways to cook the fish as well as prepare it however you want, it is the work of seconds for him to fillet or whatever you want done, just ask.

One of the worries that I always had with fish was knowing when it was done, overcooked fish is rotten and I made a mess of a good bit of fish learning!
The simplest method apart from frying on a pan is to make a parcel out of tinfoil or parchment, leaving a big airspace above the fish, put in a good knob of butter and some herbs (dill is good & I tend to leave the lemon & salt to peoples own discretion) then pop in the oven or on the edge of the BBQ for the 15 mins or so that it takes for the fish to steam depending on the size of the fish. When done the skin should slide off with the barest pressure and the fish should just lift away from the bone (still check for pin bones).

Cod & prawns done in the oven with cream and avocados is another fantastic one for a group of people.

Treat yourself to a good fish restaurant visit with a friend and make sure to order different stuff then taste
each others orders (theirs will always be nicer), this way you will taste fish done properly and may even taste something that you fancy having a crack at in a simpler form at home, if the worst comes to the worst there is always dessert and beans and toast when you get home!.

livinsane

fenris wrote: »

Really fresh fish will not smell fishy, for most people it is actually the smell rather than the taste that is off putting.

That's a good point, because fish is a fairly inoffensive tasting meat. The smell and appearance of the actual fish is probably the big turn offs for most people.

the beer revolu

RhubarbCrumble wrote: »

I don't like fish at all (cod at a push but that's it)

I really don't get this often heard notion of only liking cod. If someone likes cod, I really don't believe they will dislike any white fish. Cod has skin and bones too!

I have a big problem with fish bones. I take no pleasure eating fish if I have to sift through it for bones so the preparation is very important. Things like sardines and herring are a no no for me but any white fish tastes rather similar to any other, imo.

fussyonion

I disagree with a previous poster; mackerel is a really fishy fish, but it's gorgeous.

It has a strong taste to it, OP, and you'll either love it or hate it.
It's the kind of fish you don't even really need to season.

I buy some fresh mackerel from my local fishmonger and I grill it-it's lovely.
I was like you and only liked tinned tuna and cod but by being adventurous and trying out new fish, you'll be surprised at ones you come to like.

John Dory/cod/whiting are all bland IMO.

the beer revolu

fussyonion wrote: »

John Dory/cod/whiting are all subtly flavoured IMO.

Fixed your post;)

fussyonion

the beer revolu wrote: »

Fixed your post;)

Lol yeah, that is a better way of putting it

munchkin_utd

livinsane wrote: »

That's a good point, because fish is a fairly inoffensive tasting meat. The smell and appearance of the actual fish is probably the big turn offs for most people.

+1

Canned stuff is vile. However anyone can eat something that smells that pungent and rank I'll (literally) never know.

awec

the beer revolu wrote: »

I really don't get this often heard notion of only liking cod. If someone likes cod, I really don't believe they will dislike any white fish. Cod has skin and bones too!

I have a big problem with fish bones. I take no pleasure eating fish if I have to sift through it for bones so the preparation is very important. Things like sardines and herring are a no no for me but any white fish tastes rather similar to any other, imo.

If I find a bone in my fish then that's pretty much me done eating it in that meal. It would put me off the rest of it.

rubadub

Lidl & I guess aldi do frozen bags of white fish fillets. There are several types/species I have not heard of before but many similar enough.

These would usually be frozen straight after being caught, so less likely to develop any fishy smell.

Merkin

Great post Fenris! I also love to fish. I used not eat a huge amount of fish and mainly stuck to the old reliables like trout, salmon, haddock etc but then I got together with my hubby who loves to sail and fish and he introduced me to the joys of sea fishing out on his boat. Since then I even hot smoke some of the fish we catch and there's nothing quite like it!

fenris wrote: »

Really fresh fish will not smell fishy

This is a very good rule of thumb. Mr. Merkin always says that fresh fish should only smell of the sea and not "fishy" and it is so true. When you catch your own fish they just smell of sea salt really.

I think if you don't like very strong tasting fish (mackerel being one - probably one of my favourites) then you have two options. You either go for a smoked fish (smoked haddock is really delicious) or go for a subtle tasting one. Something like pollock is probably the most bland fish there is so it's a good one to try if you hate fish. If you don't mind my saying though, it just sounds like you mightn't have tasted really delicious fresh fish before because if you had you'd know that they don't smell or taste "fishy"!

Also, the cooking is obviously important as well. I always steam my fish - best way to avoid overcooking it and you have dinner ready in 10 minutes!

I'm making fish pie this evening......CANNOT WAIT

fussyonion

rubadub wrote: »

Lidl & I guess aldi do frozen bags of white fish fillets. There are several types/species I have not heard of before but many similar enough.

These would usually be frozen straight after being caught, so less likely to develop any fishy smell.

Just be careful with Basa fillets in Aldi.

There was a report in a newspaper about a year ago saying Basa (not seabass as some people think), is imported from Thailand and lives in polluted rivers. Even the locals won't eat it, so they export it to countries who'll take it.

Tesco/Dunnes won't stock it, but Aldi buys it and apparently buys a hell of a lot.

Faith

fussyonion wrote: »

Just be careful with Basa fillets in Aldi.

There was a report in a newspaper about a year ago saying Basa (not seabass as some people think), is imported from Thailand and lives in polluted rivers. Even the locals won't eat it, so they export it to countries who'll take it.

Tesco/Dunnes won't stock it, but Aldi buys it and apparently buys a hell of a lot.

I heard that before, and was really surprised to see Aldi stocking it. Morrison's in the UK did too. Wouldn't go near it myself.

nompere

Faith wrote: »

I heard that before, and was really surprised to see Aldi stocking it. Morrison's in the UK did too. Wouldn't go near it myself.

I bought it once in Dunnes, about two years ago. Even in a curry it was awful. The texture was truly horrible.

Pembily

fussyonion wrote: »

Just be careful with Basa fillets in Aldi.

There was a report in a newspaper about a year ago saying Basa (not seabass as some people think), is imported from Thailand and lives in polluted rivers. Even the locals won't eat it, so they export it to countries who'll take it.

Tesco/Dunnes won't stock it, but Aldi buys it and apparently buys a hell of a lot.

Is there a link to the report? I eat it as do my family and no issues.

fussyonion

Pembily wrote: »

Is there a link to the report? I eat it as do my family and no issues.

I can't remember when I read it so I don't have a link, sorry, but if you Google "Mekong River Basa fish" there are reports about it.

DellyBelly

Swordfish is really nice. A little expensive but good. I've also had shark fin soup in a few of the Chinesse restaurants in Dublin and that is excellent really tasty.

kylith

munchkin_utd wrote: »

+1

Canned stuff is vile. However anyone can eat something that smells that pungent and rank I'll (literally) never know.

I thought I hated tuna until I tried some fresh stuff. I don't know what they put in the cans, but it sure as hell doesn't taste like fresh tuna!