Seeking tips for tilapia
Hey FM readers. This is yet another guest blogger, Nona Nelson from The Happy Wag.
I love to cook almost as much as I love to eat, but I know my family needs to eat healthier. That started this weekend with me making better choices at the supermarket: lots more fruits, veggies, whole grains and fish and less of, well, all the other stuff I usually buy.
Last night I made kabobs with chicken, lean pork, peppers, onions, mushrooms and pineapple wedges. I soaked the meat in a little soy sauce, then assembled the skewers, seasoned with a dash of salt and the delicious smokehouse pepper that Lindsey gave me last week, and brushed them with a tiny amount of olive oil. My hubby grilled them and they were very tasty and moist, and fairly low in fat and calories.
Tonight I plan to serve tilapia filets, and typically I would bake them in the oven with butter, lemon and dill. But tonight I want to grill them, and I am looking for suggestions on ways to add flavor to this mild fish without adding too much fat and calories.
I know I can use olive or grape seed oil instead of the butter for a lighter dish. Anyone have a great combo of seasonings or a recipe for a rub that works well with delicate fish?
June 3, 2008 - 10:48 AM
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Hi Nona! I found a seasoning blend at the grocery store made by Durkee especially for fish that is really good. I actually had some tilapia the other night and used that seasoning with a little bit of fresh-squeezed lemon. I’m not a big fan of fish but that was good stuff!!
Don’t know how well this will work for grilling, but I like to combine grated parmesan cheese (the powdered stuff) with black pepper and some mild chili powder to taste. Dampen fish with water and coat in cheese mixture like you would breadcrumbs.
I usually saute this in a little olive oil until golden brown and crusty. It’s a low-carb substitute for breadcrumbs and you don’t need extra salt because the parmesan is pleny salty.
Nona – I have not worked with tilapia at home, but my husband will use it alot at work. I do know it has the taste and density of cod. I think it can be treated in a similar matter. I picture a blend of different fresh cracked pepper and salt.
If you want to go fancy, you could make a flavored butter. Let a stick of butter soften and mix dill, (or whatever YOU like) in and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. After grilling, you can cut off a small piece to melt on top of each filet. You can make any type of butter you like, honey butter, pumpkin spice butter, etc. It always livens up a meal!
I do know when grilling any delicate fish, heat your grill to a high temp so the fish won’t stick as easily.
You could always bake it on the grill en papillote (in parchment paper). It is easy to do an comes out looking fancy and very french!
Here’s a link to the culinary definition (#2).
Have fun – I hope it doesn’t rain!!
I hope everyone says, “ooooolala!”
Oops! I forgot the link. Here it is:
http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry?id=3798
Also, all this talk of grilling led me to my own post on my blog – check it out!
I’m not very familer with Tilapia, but I have a very good recipe that you use with cod, or some other white fish. It might work with the Tilapia. However, it’s not grilled. It’s called Fish Meuniere. You dredge the filets in flour, then cook them in a skillet with browned butter. then set them aside. In the pan heat 2 tbl butter, a little lemon juice, and fresh choppod parsley, then pour over the fish. It’s simple, quick and very tastey.
I would do the same thing, butter, lemon and dill, only wrap it in foil and let it sort of poach in its own liquid. I like to do salmon like that, too.
Thanks for all the great ideas folks. Since it looks pretty dismal outside, I may pass on gilling the fish and cook it indoors.
I am liking Jennifer’s parmesean cheese suggestion, so that is probably the route I will go but all the rest sound good too.
Kathy, I have done the oven poaching with salmon, too. Very tasty.
Two words: Blackened Tilapia. Out or this world good and really simple. Course I don’t rem the recipe right off – you can google it, it’s on one of the big cooking sites. Olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika,squeeze of lemon, and some other stuff that I am sure you have on hand. Need a cast iron skillet and remember to turn off your smoke alarm while you cook it. It takes no longer than 3 min/side to cook and it melts in your mouth. Not too spicy just too tasty. And I am someone who never cooked anything blackened on purpose!
We fix tilapia all the time! My new favorite way of preparing it is to drizzle just a little bit of olive oil on the fillet and then sprinkle the new Old Bay with Lemon spice over it, wrap in tin foil pouch and grill on the top rack for about 10-15 minutes. We also use a jerk seasoning that is a little spicy, but manageable with a mango and/or pineapple salsa on top!
Hey Nona, so what did you decide to do with your tilapia? How did it turn out?
Hey Jennifer. It poured down rain here in Roanoke on Tuesday, so no grilling outside for us that night.
I ended up cooking the filets two ways. I soaked a couple of the filets in soy sauce and ginger for about five minutes, and then added a little fresh pepper and a tiny squeeze of lemon. I cooked the filets in a skilllet with about a tablespoon each of grape seed oil and butter. OMG, it was sooooo tasty. The fish got a nice sear on it the soy and ginger added a lot of flavor.
The other filets I intended to cook with your breadcrumb recipe, but time and a lack of parm (how the heck did that happen!) made me switch to Plan B, putting the filets on a grill pan with a little butter and oil and seasoning them with lemon juice, salt and pepper. They were tasty, even though I overdid the lemon a just little.