Frozen seafood is a convenient and high-quality protein for healthy, home-cooked food. Not everybody knows which cooking techniques to use when cooking fish from frozen, but this guide will answer all of your questions on how to cook frozen fish, promising you a delectable experience with every meal.
Can you cook fish from frozen?
Yes! Cooking fish from frozen is easy to do, safe, and delicious when done properly. There are a few advantages:
- Convenience: Cooking fish from frozen makes it easy to cook a healthy meal in under an hour.
- No planning ahead: Cooking seafood from frozen gives you more options during the week for home-cooked meals, even when you haven’t planned ahead.
- Flavor integrity: When seafood is frozen shortly after harvest, it locks in the fresh taste, texture, and quality of the fish. Compared to cooking “fresh” fish from a local seafood market, cooking seafood from frozen will ensure a great taste that can’t be beat.
Best Ways to Cook Fish From Frozen
Baking is a favored method when it comes to cooking frozen seafood. Understanding how to bake fish fillets from frzoen can transform your cooking routine. Baking provides an effortless and efficient way to uniformly cook your fish, preserving its moisture and flavor.
Step-by-Step: Bake Fish From Frozen
- Preheat: Preheat oven to 425F.
- Prepare: Arrange fish on a baking sheet, then cover the dish with foil.
- Steam: Cook for 15 minutes, then remove foil. Drizzle with olive oil and season fish with salt and pepper.
- Bake: Cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, aiming for a flaky tenderness. Different fish will require different cooking times, so check on doneness often.
- Rest: Take fish off the heat and allow it to finish cooking through before serving it up.
Alternative Cooking Methods for Fish from Frozen
While baking is a fan-favorite method for cooking fish from frozen, there are some other cooking techniques to consider.
- Pan-searing: This method adds a delightful crispiness that cannot be achieved through baking. Pan-searing is perfect for those who desire a crunchier texture in their seafood meal. Searing fish from frozen also is quicker than baking from frozen.
- Grilling: Grilling imparts a smoky flavor — an ideal method for outdoor cookouts or achieving a summery char. The best way to grill fish from frozen is to wrap it in a foil packet and steam it for 8 to 10 minutes. Then, open the foil to season the fish, reseal and flip the packet, and allow to finish cooking for another 8 to 10 minutes until flaky.
- Steaming: The steaming technique is fantastic for maintaining the fish’s natural flavors and juices. It remains one of the leanest ways you can cook your fish, as you don’t need to add any additional fats to the meal unless you want to.
Pro Tips When Cooking from Frozen
- Steam first: When cooking fish from frozen, many methods work best when the fish is first cooked covered. This initial step helps to gently steam the fish so that it can cook more evenly.
- Carryover cooking: To prevent overcooking your fish, remove it from heat a few degrees before your target temperature — this will ensure the perfect cook for your fish every time.
- Safety standards: Be sure to cook your fish to a safe internal temperature.