There are so many ways to cook fresh fish. You can have it fairly plain or with an elaborate sauce, but all the fish recipes in the world basically rely upon three cooking methods: either frying, grilling and baking. Any age old recipes for cooking up a day’s catch are all variations on a theme of frying, grilling or baking so you need to know how to do those well in order make the most of your precious catch of fish.

 

Frying

The old favorite of frying your freshly caught fish after breading it is still one of the best ways to eat freshly caught fish. It’s simple enough even to do over a camp fire right at the water’s edge. Imagine it now – the glorious aroma of melting butter; see the proud fisherman flipping his priceless catch. Anyone who has been fishing for a while will have cooked fish like this, probably more than once, but if you’re new to it, just be careful not to burn your butter but you must get it hot. Also, get the fish well coated in batter. The batter needs to be well seasoned to compliment the fish but simple salt and pepper is fine. Fish cooked this way can be a real bush feast! If you’re feeling more adventurous and you have them to hand, put a bit of extra zing in your batter with a few herbs and/or spices.

 

Grilling

Many amateurs begin with grilling their fish because it looks the simplest way of cooking up your catch; but to treat fish the same way as you would grill your average steak would be a mistake. If you grill your fish, most of the delicious juices – and therefore the taste of the fish – will drip away through the grill.

 

You can avoid this, though, if you coat your fish in oil to seal in the juices. Turn your fish too, as soon as you cut into the fish and can see that it is cooked half-way through. Once it is flipped, keep an eye on the fish. Remove it from the grill immediately it is done cooking.

 

Instead of basting your fish in oil like that, there is a healthier, lower calorie option; wrap your fish up in aluminum foil. This will retain the moisture of the fish. You can greatly enhance the flavor of your fish very simply by inserting a few herbs inside the cavity created by gutting the fish, before encasing the fish in the aluminum foil.  Then you place it on the grill as before, again being careful not to over-cook the fish.

 

Baking

If you’re really looking for an easy option, which means you can leave the fish to its own devices and not stand over it a little bit, then baking is the best cooking option for you. Just prepare a nice marinade, pre-heat the oven, pop in the fish, cooking it as per the instructions above to make sure you cook the fish right through but do not over-cook it.  Check the fish periodically to see how it’s cooking

 

The right recipe and careful cooking will definitely enhance the flavor of whatever fish you catch. You took the time when you caught it so now you should take time and care over cooking it and it will reward you with great flavor and texture.