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Appealing fish recipes fill the bill for any occasion Saturday, Dec 10, 2005 By Joe Mosby There may be preferred seasons for fishing in Arkansas, but enjoying a good meal of fish has no seasonal limitations. Fish can be a tasty entree at any time. We are told frequently that fried fish isn't healthy, that broiled, grilled or baked fish is better. Maybe so. Baked fish can come close to the traditional fried in eatability. Use a little imagination, and you may create a whole new ball game of fish as your family's favorite entree or as a special party food. Here are three suggestions: In-a-Hurry Baked Fish Get one or more fillets for each person, but try to use fillets of approximately the same size. Sprinkle liberally with lemon pepper and lightly with seasoned salt. Add a touch of red pepper if your tastes lean toward the zingy. Melt a tablespoon of butter or margarine and mix with about the same amount of prepared mustard - plain yellow, honey mustard, Dijon mustard, whatever you favor. Coat the fillets well but not excessively. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes, but check with a fork at 10 minutes. Thin fillets will cook faster than thicker ones. That's it. Serve with tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, ketchup, lemon juice or none of these. The baked fillets do well without embellishment. A variation is to use Italian seasoning instead of the lemon pepper and to dust the cooked fillets with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese before serving. Spicy and Crispy Oven Fish Get a good supply of small fish fillets. Bream work fine, or you can cut larger fillets from bass or catfish, even crappie, into smaller pieces. Crush a flake cereal until you have a full cup of crumbs. Corn flakes, Wheaties, Grape Nuts Flakes, Total - any will work fine, but with a slightly different taste result. To the cereal crumbs, add a half teaspoon of onion salt, a half teaspoon of garlic salt and a fourth teaspoon of Mexican seasoning or red pepper. Mix well. Mix a half cup of low fat milk and a quarter cup of egg substitute or one beaten egg. Heat the oven to very hot, 500 degrees. Spray a pan or baking rack with nonstick vegetable spray. Dip the fillets in the milk-egg mixture and then roll in the cereal mixture, shaking off any excess. Put them in the pan or on the rack and bake for 15 minutes. But check one fillet after 11 or 12 minutes. You don't want to pass the crispy stage to the point that they are too hard and undesirable. The finished crisp fillets go well as hors d'oeuvres, too. Serve 'em plain or with a dipping sauce. Baked Fish That Doesn't Taste Like Fish 2 pounds of fish fillets (bass, catfish, bream, crappie, walleye) 1 cup light or nonfat sour cream 1 cup light mayonnaise or salad dressing 1 package Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dressing mix (dry) 1 large can of french-fried onions, crushed Mix sour cream, mayonnaise and Hidden Valley Dressing together. Roll dried fish fillets in mixture, then roll in crushed french-fried onions. Cover pan with aluminum foil or baking lid to trap juices. Bake 20 to 25 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Test for doneness by inserting a fork at the thickest part and twisting the tines. The fish is done when it flakes easily. For a variation, use dry Italian seasoning in place of the ranch dressing mix. This one can be served as hors d'oeuvres, also. -------- Joe Mosby is the retired news editor of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and Arkansas' best known outdoor writer. His work is distributed by the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock. He can be reached by e-mail at jhmosby@cyberback.com. |
