Ideas for the seafood neophyte

[San Juan Sun]

I love seafood, but I'm married to a New Mexican girl who doesn't like the taste/sight/smell/texture of anything from the ocean. But she's trying to turn over a new leaf, and so, for the first time in 11 years of marriage, we're doing seafood at the SJS house.

Any ideas for easy, delicious salmon? I love it, and Mrs SJS thinks she can learn to live with good salmon. I was thinking about getting some cedar plank and grilling, but I've heard that broiled salmon is the easiest for beginners to get right. We're also going to get into some shrimp dishes. I hope to have her fully converted in a few years.

[TripletDaddy]

Yes...my suggestion is to NOT start by cooking in your home. seafood stinks when you cook it and to someone that doesn't like the smell, it can smell almost nauseating. The sight of uncooked fish can also be disgusting to the neophyte, especially as the skin starts to bubble off when you grill the steak.

If you want her to slowly climb aboard, take her to a place that serves easy to handle simple seafood stuff (not even a dedicated seafood restaurant) and then move forward gradually. Salmon is probably not the way to do it.

I would suggest shrimp....fried and battered in something yummy. Coconut shrimp, for example. The flavor is less shrimp and more coconut. There are a million ways to mask the taste of shrimp (ask Bubba gump) until your wife realizes that at least some of her aversion is mental.

A really well well prepared tuna steak is a great second step.

Canned tuna is anathema under any circumstances. It is disgusting. Cats like to eat it.

[Donuthole]

I love seafood, but I'm married to a New Mexican girl who doesn't like the taste/sight/smell/texture of anything from the ocean. But she's trying to turn over a new leaf, and so, for the first time in 11 years of marriage, we're doing seafood at the SJS house.

Any ideas for easy, delicious salmon? I love it, and Mrs SJS thinks she can learn to live with good salmon. I was thinking about getting some cedar plank and grilling, but I've heard that broiled salmon is the easiest for beginners to get right. We're also going to get into some shrimp dishes. I hope to have her fully converted in a few years.

My wife is a salmon convert (I'd like to bear my testimony, I know this fish is true. . .). That and shrimp are the only two seafood items she will eat. A huge part of converting her was cooking it on the grill so the house wasn't permeated with the smell. While the smell of fresh-cooked salmon doesn't bother me, she finds it irritating, and it was directly affecting her ability to enjoy salmon. However, now that she likes it, she isn't bothered by the smell. Baby steps . . .

EDIT: And, i'm a hack.

[Flystripper]

If you want her to slowly climb aboard, take her to a place that serves easy to handle simple seafood stuff (not even a dedicated seafood restaurant) and then move forward gradually. Salmon is probably not the way to do it.

I would suggest shrimp....fried and battered in something yummy. Coconut shrimp, for example. The flavor is less shrimp and more coconut. There are a million ways to mask the taste of shrimp (ask Bubba gump) until your wife realizes that at least some of her aversion is mental.

A really well well prepared tuna steak is a great second step.

Good advice DDD. Also a mild fish like a halibut rather than a stronger tasting salmon might be a better first choice if she wants to go with fish over shrimp.

[old_gregg]

Make sure it's fresh

[NorthwestUteFan]

Ultra-simple fish recipe with minimal 'smell' issues:

Broiled Lemon Pepper Tilapia

Tilapia filets (I use the frozen filets - change the cook time to suit if using fresh)
extra virgin olive oil
lemon pepper
sea salt
garlic (prefer fresh, but garlic powder or garlic salt will work)

Lay filets in a pyrex dish. Cover liberally with olive oil, lemon pepper, garlic, and salt. Cover dish with aluminum foil.
Cook at 350 for 20 minutes (or until the 'fat' rises to the surface).

Serve with white rice or Rice Pilaf. Also goes very well with quinoa.

I have also used this same technique with salmon, trout, halibut, and 'swai'*. It is OK for salmon, but I prefer a saltier teriyaki-style preparation for salmon and also prefer to cook salmon outside because of the smell. For fresh salmon, barbecue on cedar is the best.

*swai = catfish. Because it is grown in Vietnam trade regulations forbid calling it 'catfish'. The funny thing is, the breed swai actually tastes better than domestic catfish. It is super cheap and yummy! It is more of a pinkish meat IIRC.


Tilapia is a very mild fish with a white flesh. It is almost chickenesque. My kids absolutely love it.

[MarkGrace]

I know I'm going to repeat some of what has already been said, but I've been through the same thing with my wife so I'm (not really) an expert!

When we married, Mrs. Grace would pretty much only eat shrimp and crab as far as seafood items went. I love fish of all varieties, but she just wasn't into it. Through the years she's progressed pretty well, and she's to the point where she'll even order fish dishes now when we go out.

A big part of the change was of course moving to Seattle -- the fish you have access to here is just different than the shit you buy at, say, Smith's in Farmington, UT (if you pick the stuff up and it smells fishy, don't buy it!). I have no idea where you get your fish, but you probably want to avoid the local Albertson's. Freshness and quality with respect to fish is just such a big differentiator. I think for my wife, a lot of the problem was that the fish she was initially exposed to just wasn't very good. In terms of national grocery stores, Whole Foods probably does the best and is the most accessible since they're all over the country. Is there one in your area?

I would also look into any local fishmonger/speciality retail shop type stores. There are several great ones in the Seattle area, and I go to Mutual Fish quite often. Great shop and a lot of local restaurants get their products from here as well. Anyway, be on the lookout for something like this in your area.
http://www.mutualfish.com/

Also consider Asian specialty grocers. In my experience they get better quality seafood than regular grocers, especially if there's a strong Japanese bent at the store.

And if you ever end up living in Seattle, just go down to the docks in Ballard and buy it right off the boat.

Ok, in terms of approach, I would absolutely stay away from starting with salmon. Based on my experience with the Mrs., this is the last fish she came around to. Any pink fleshed fish is inherently going to have a stronger taste than a white meat fish (btw, I don't know if this is universally true, but I think it generally is). For Mrs. G, she started with Halibut and other very mild fish and for a while would only eat those varieties. After a year or two of just that, she finally started trying salmon and Little by Little eventually got to the point where she liked it.

That's about as far as we've made it, but I have no doubt that sooner or later she'll be into more Weird Fishes. In terms of the shellfood stuff, she's still just pretty much into shrimp, crab and scallops. I doubt I'll ever convert her into a fan of mussels, oysters, clams, etc., but I keep trying!

[TripletDaddy]

Weird Fishes. ha.

[Eddie]

In all honesty, I'm not a big fish eater either. My wife is, kids really aren't (unless you count fish sticks...)

But there is a grilled salmon recipe I followed a couple of years ago that had everyone happy - with the kids asking for more and begging mom to share.

Take your salmon fillet, sprinkle with salt, lemon pepper, and garlic powder to taste. I use quite a bit.

stick it in a marinade made of 1/3 C brown sugar, 1/3 C water, 1/3 C soy sauce, and 1/4 C water. Let it sit for 2 hours or more - I probably wouldn't leave it overnight though.

The throw it on the grill for about 7 minutes each side - I grill the flesh side down first and then the skin side down. When it starts to flake it is done.

I've never been a salmon fan. I like this - a slight teriyaki flavor to it and not too fishy.

[Drunk Tank]

In all honesty, I'm not a big fish eater either. My wife is, kids really aren't (unless you count fish sticks...)

But there is a grilled salmon recipe I followed a couple of years ago that had everyone happy - with the kids asking for more and begging mom to share.

Take your salmon fillet, sprinkle with salt, lemon pepper, and garlic powder to taste. I use quite a bit.

stick it in a marinade made of 1/3 C brown sugar, 1/3 C water, 1/3 C soy sauce, and 1/4 C water. Let it sit for 2 hours or more - I probably wouldn't leave it overnight though.

The throw it on the grill for about 7 minutes each side - I grill the flesh side down first and then the skin side down. When it starts to flake it is done.

I've never been a salmon fan. I like this - a slight teriyaki flavor to it and not too fishy.

This is the exact recipe I have used for years. I think I posted it here somewhere. It is great! My picky kids even love it.

[Portland Ute]

To echo...

Don't start with Salmon, even if it's fresh.

If you MUST start with "salmon", get fresh steelhead. It's much milder than other salmonid species.

I, too, would start with a fresh Halibut.

Instead of cooking inside, try cooking it on the grill outside. Get a fish rack to grill it or even use a cast iron pan on the grill. Or even foil.

An easy and quick way to make Halibut is to make a little "pan" out of foil by rolling the edges. Add some butter, lemon juice, garlic, pepper. I prefer to salt it after it's plated. Cook it on low on the grill. When you are done, just toss the foil in the outside garbage when it's cool and you are done with clean up. No smelly house. No dishes but the table ware.

[kccougar]

Interesting that so many say not to start with salmon. I thought that was one of the most commonly liked fish? It is in my house. My wife and kids don't like much in the way of seafood, but they will all happily eat grilled salmon.

Maybe it's just the way I've had it prepared, but I can't stand tilapia. Yuck.

If you are going to eat at home, I highly recommend grilling your fish for the reasons stated above.

[jay santos]

I'm on high protein diet, and I cook up Tiliapa a lot (cheap, easy, not too fishy, good low fat protein). Today I was looking for a new way to cook it up, and put together some ingredients I found.

two Walmart Tiliapa fillets
dab of olive oil
teaspoon full of chopped up garlic
couple tablespoons of Alfredo sauce from a bottle
skim milk
lots of salt and pepper

cooked it up on high heat, reduced it down, added a little cheese at the end (all we had was cheddar sorry food snobs)

very, very good. mmmm. i'll have to do that again.

[Eddie]

This is the exact recipe I have used for years. I think I posted it here somewhere. It is great! My picky kids even love it.

You probably did - might be where I got it from originally (I think I pulled it from a link to a recipe site from the Mother's Day dinner thread?)

Now I've got the link bookmarked - it's about the only way we grill salmon anymore.

[MarkGrace]

Interesting that so many say not to start with salmon. I thought that was one of the most commonly liked fish?

It is. I just think the general idea is that if you want to inch someone in that doesn't care for fish at all, you should start with stuff that's as mild as possible.