How to Cook Fish

There thousands of species of fish and endless ways to cook them,including frying, deep-frying, broiling, grilling, baking and poaching.You can find a large variety of fish cookbooks at your local tackleshop, bookstore or library.

From a simple shore lunch to a gourmet dinner, fish always makes a great meal. And fish is really good for you. 

Nutritional Value of Fish

Fish are high in protein, vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids and contain polyunsaturated fat.

A four-ounce serving of fish can contain 30–40 percent of the body's daily requirement of protein.

Fish liver oil is an exceptional source of vitamins A and D. The fat in fish is a prime source of vitamin D. And all fish contain several of the B complex vitamins.

Fish also contain minerals including:  phosphorous, copper, iron, calcium and iodine.

And fish oils contain polyunsaturated fats that can reduce cholesterol levels in blood, which decreases the chances of heart disease.

Tips and Tricks For Cooking Fish

• Rubbing lemon on your fingers before handling fish will prevent odors from lingering on them.
• Include a slice of lemon with the water when boiling or poaching, this helps prevent the fish from falling apart and enhances the flavor.
• Try to use as much of the fish as possible, you can flake the cooked fish from the skin and bones and use it in recipes that call for flaked or canned fish.
• When baking or broiling, lining the pan with foil makes clean-up a lot easier.
• Avoid overheating smoked fish, it’s already cooked and overheating can make it dry and tough.
• Cook fish at the recommended temperatures and don’t overcook.

Frying Fish

Pan frying is probably the most popular way to cook fish. And it’s a method you can do at your campsite, just minutes after catching your fish.

Coat the fish with flour, breading, cornmeal or batter before frying.The batter mix can be a pancake-type batter or one made with spices or even a little baking soda. You can find a great shore-lunch batter at your local tackle shop.

Heat some cooking oil in a skillet. Test the heat by dropping a small piece of fish into the skillet. If it sizzles, the oil is hot enough.

Pan-fried Fish Recipe

Ingredients:

• Lean whole fish, dressed
• ½-cup milk
• 1 egg
• ½-cup flour
• Salt, pepper, and herb seasoning
• Cooking oil, butter, or margarine
• Lemon Parsley

Directions:

Mix the egg and milk. Dip the fish into the egg-milk mixture and then coat it with flour. Instead of flour, you can use a heavier, breaded coating or pancake batter. Set a burner to a high heat. Put oil, butteror margarine into a cooking pan. Use enough to cover the bottom to a depth of 1/8 to 1/4 inch. When the oil is hot enough, put in the fish.Adjust the heat so that the oil will not smoke or burn. 
Cook the fishuntil it is brown on one side. Turn it over and cook the other side.Remove the fish from the pan and place it on a paper towel to drain.Put the fish on a serving platter and sprinkle with lemon juice and parsley.

Planking Shad

Planked shad is usually reserved for a large amount of shad, twenty or more, but can be adapted to a backyard smoker. The shad are scaled,cleaned, the heads removed, and then butterflied from the top, with the belly as the hinge.

Then, as the name implies, they are nailed and cooked on pre-heated hardwood planks, then set back next to the coals of a bonfire. They are periodically basted and the planks are periodically "flipped" (turned upside down) to bake more evenly.

A small bonfire, 3' x 6', can be used and the cooking fire should not be a big roaring affair, but primarily a bed of coals after a larger fire has spent itself. The best fuel is seasoned hickory, but other hardwoods will work. Evergreens will spoil the taste. The Shad will take about 3-4 hours to cook after set-up.

Harley Family's "Secret" Shad Baste Recipe

Ingredients: 

• 2 Bottles of Worchester Sauce 1 lb. Butter
• 2 tsp. Salt 2 tsp. Black Pepper
• 1 tsp. Dry Mustard 2 tsp. Vinegar
• 2 tsp. Lemon Juice

Directions:

Heat and baste Shad as they are cooking on the planks. Note, the above recipe is for a large amount of shad, about 20. Just mix smaller amounts, estimating the measurements, for a smaller number.