How do I get the fishy smell and taste out of frozen tilapia?!
Answers: I bought bagged frozen tilapia from Wegmans, and its super fishy smelling and tasting. It tastes like lake Erie. I don't want to throw it out because it wasn't cheap, but I can't really stomach it. I've heard that soaking fish in milk will fix it...has anybody else had success with that? Or what seasonings will mask the flavor? Thanks!
To me the best way to get rid of the "fishy" taste is to first rinse the fish off in cold water then let it soak in buttermilk . I make a breading using all purpose flour with pepper,garlic,and season salt .This works with all types of fish. Good luck and enjoy your meal.
I love tilapia because it's not so fishy tasting and smelling, but to be honest, it never occurs to me to buy ANY fish frozen. Buy fresh... that'll probably solve the problem.
I would take it back. Tilapia should not smell fishy at all
LEMON JUICE, Cut the fish in thin strips. Then use real lemon juice. Down here in south Louisiana we have some fishy tasting salt water fish but lemon juice works.
The recommendation when buying fish is to make sure that it does not smell fishy at all, as that is a sign that it's not as fresh as it should be. Unfortunately, when buying frozen fish, you can't tell until you've got it home, defrosted it, cooked it, and are ready to eat! I would definitely say you should take it back to the store and explain to them that the fish was not fresh, and ask them for a refund or to replace it with some fresh tilapia. No fish should smell or taste that fishy, but especially tilapia, it should have a very mild flavor, so it was probably well past its prime if it smells and tastes that bad!
Wash the fish well, then melt a good amount of butter or margarine in a skillet on medium heat. Add a couple of shakes of salt and a half cap full of lemon juice to the butter. Add the fish and sprinkle a little parsley on them. Cook about 5 minutes or so on either side. Melt some butter or margarine in a small bowl. Add some salt and pour this over the fish when it's fully cooked. Serve it right away. I promise you.... it won't taste fishy! :)
add some crushed ginger while frying it or if not frying, marinade it with fresh lemon juice or lime =)
If it smells fishy return it. Tilapia is a farm raised, very mild fish. If tilapia smells bad it probably is bad. If you can't get to the supermarket to return it today, call them and inform them, so that you can pop it back in the freezer until you have a chance to return it. I really would not eat it. For future notice, I would check the packaging on frozen fish. If it's not frozen the minute it's harvested it's not going to be very good.
Buy fresh.
Lemon will help, but it shouldn't smell fishy at all. It's either a poor quality product, or was not stored well at some point.
Being a person who actually does go out and "catches" my fish from time to time, I understand what you are saying. It is a different smell than what fish has when gone bad. This smell is usually from it not being cleaned properly. Sometimes on the fish, when it is cleaned, there is a membrain on the inside of the chest cavity that is not completely removed, that can cause the smell as well as a "fishy" taste.
As for soaking in milk, I have never used this for fish but certainly have on wild game such as deer/elk. You could try it, wouldn't hurt for sure. What I have done with fresh water fish is soak in salt water for several hours to remove the fishy taste they can get from area lakes. Talapia is one of my favorites and I like to cook it in the microwave. Sprinkle with salt/pepper to taste, Molly McButter, and garlic (lemon if desired). Cook for about 6-8 min, or until done. Good luck and enjoy.
if you're sure it's not bad and want to still use it, soak it in milk for a few hours. when you take it out, it should smell better and be kind of tender, too.
as a rule, fish shouldn't smell fishy if it's really fresh. when i used to live near a wegman's, their fish was always really fresh, so i'd probably say take it back . . . they wouldn't want you to get sick.