Selecting fish and serving size

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Selecting Fish

Freshness First
Trust your eyes and nose when shopping for fish. Look for fish with:



Clear, bright bulging eyes with black pupils
Shiny, taut, bright skin
Red gills that are not slippery
Fresh that feels firm, elastic, and tight to bone
Moist, clearly cut fillets and steaks


What to Avoid
Strong "fishy" odor
Dull, bloody, or sunken eyes
Fading skin with bruises, red spots, or browning or yellowing at edges of flesh
Raggedly-cut fillets and steaks


Frozen Fish
Flesh should be solidly frozen and glossy without dry papery edges. Avoid packages that have torn wrappers, frost, or blood visible inside or out.



Common Fish Forms
Whole or round: as it comes from the water

Drawn: whole fish with internal organs removed; may or may not be scaled

Dressed: ready to cook; organs, scales, gills, and fins have been removed (pan-dressed fish have heads and tails removed)

Steak: ready to cook; crosscut slice (1/2 to 1 inch thick) from a large, dressed fish

Fillet: read to cook; boneless piece cut from the side and away from the backbone; may or may not be skinned

Fish and shellfish come in many shapes and sizes. Use the following guidelines to determine portion sizes.



One-serving-size equivalents:



12 ounces to 1 pound of whole fish
8 ounces of drawn or dressed fish
4 to 5 ounces of steaks or fillets
1 pound live crabs
3 to 4 ounces of shelled shrimp
One 1- to 1-1/2-pound whole lobster, one 8-ounce lobster tail, or 4 to 5 ounces of cooked lobster meat

icandoit

Selecting Fish

Freshness First
Trust your eyes and nose when shopping for fish. Look for fish with:



Clear, bright bulging eyes with black pupils
Shiny, taut, bright skin
Red gills that are not slippery
Fresh that feels firm, elastic, and tight to bone
Moist, clearly cut fillets and steaks


What to Avoid
Strong "fishy" odor
Dull, bloody, or sunken eyes
Fading skin with bruises, red spots, or browning or yellowing at edges of flesh
Raggedly-cut fillets and steaks


Frozen Fish
Flesh should be solidly frozen and glossy without dry papery edges. Avoid packages that have torn wrappers, frost, or blood visible inside or out.



Common Fish Forms
Whole or round: as it comes from the water

Drawn: whole fish with internal organs removed; may or may not be scaled

Dressed: ready to cook; organs, scales, gills, and fins have been removed (pan-dressed fish have heads and tails removed)

Steak: ready to cook; crosscut slice (1/2 to 1 inch thick) from a large, dressed fish

Fillet: read to cook; boneless piece cut from the side and away from the backbone; may or may not be skinned

Fish and shellfish come in many shapes and sizes. Use the following guidelines to determine portion sizes.



One-serving-size equivalents:



12 ounces to 1 pound of whole fish
8 ounces of drawn or dressed fish
4 to 5 ounces of steaks or fillets
1 pound live crabs
3 to 4 ounces of shelled shrimp
One 1- to 1-1/2-pound whole lobster, one 8-ounce lobster tail, or 4 to 5 ounces of cooked lobster meat