Seafood Scaries: Are You Afraid of Cooking Fish?

Seeing as today is Halloween, for this week’s newsletter, I’m sharing a fun and spooky Q&A with Drew Pion, WAC’s Director of Email & SMS Marketing. 

Drew is based in New Bedford, MA, one of the largest fishing ports in the country — but despite having lived in a seafood town for so many years, he had a longstanding fear of cooking fish. “My worst fear with seafood was overcooking it,” he recently told us. “I really didn’t want to mess up something so special.” 

The cure to his fear? A marinade from his Portuguese mother-in-law, and a freezer full of Alaskan fish. 

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What was your biggest fear around seafood? 

The biggest thing that was scary for me is I didn’t want to mess up a nice fillet of fish. I thought of seafood as kind of a “classy” piece of protein, because I was used to ordering it out at a restaurant. It was something special, something we’d normally go out and enjoy as a family. Bringing that home was a little scary to me. 

When I think of a piece of steak or a hamburger, I throw that on the grill — I've done that my whole life — and I think nothing of messing those up. But there’s something special about seafood that I really didn’t want to mess up.

Prior to joining WAC, did you have any experience cooking seafood? 

I didn't cook a lot of fish. I never cooked halibut. I never cooked sablefish. I never cooked salmon, and when I did, my experience was never a good one. So I mostly would cook shellfish — boiling lobster, cooking shrimp. Shrimp is, I think, the easiest seafood you can possibly cook. It defrosts wicked quick, and you just throw it in a dish and it's almost done.

How did you approach your first box of fish from WAC?

When I got my first WAC box, I went straight to my mother-in-law for some advice. The first words out of her mouth were, “Oh it's so easy! You just throw it in here, throw some peppers on it, and you're good to go.” 

But I still had in my mind that seafood was hard to cook. I don't consider myself a great cook, so that made it more challenging in my head before I even started. 

What has helped you the most in overcoming your fear of cooking fish? 

Getting a box of high-quality fish every month. That’s really what’s helped me get over the fear of cooking it. It's less about the quantity and more about it being there and available and good. While seafood is still special, it's now become more of a part of my everyday life. 

I've made an investment in eating better, in eating wild-caught seafood. It's there — now I have to cook it. I'm not not going to cook it, and I have enough of it where I'm not as concerned about maybe overcooking or undercooking. That’s the great thing about getting fish on a monthly basis. 

So now that you’re over your fear, what happens when you DO overcook fish? 

I actually never have cooked a bad piece of fish since I’ve gotten my boxes — I think I’ve overcooked fish only once! 

I've learned a lot, actually, on our blog. When I started, I followed the strict instructions for something like pan-frying halibut. Three to four minutes each side, flip it once. And it came out perfect. I'm not even keeping track of time any longer when I’m cooking fish. I just kind of look at it and I kind of know when to flip it over because I've done it now enough times. 

What’s the bravest thing you’ve done when cooking seafood?

Cooking fish on my griddle was something I’d never done before. But this summer, we made fish tacos with Wild Alaska Pollock Quick Cuts, right next to some veggies and potatoes — I had my whole meal on the grill. 

Any tricks you want to share that have made cooking seafood especially easy for you? 

My mother-in-law makes this Portuguese marinade that’s great for seafood. She puts it in a jar for me — I use it all the time. I'll just throw it on some fish and all of a sudden I've got a proper meal. For her, when she says “it’s so easy,” having a marinade like this is where the ease comes in. Throw it on some fish and you’re good to go.

Fatima’s Make-Ahead Marinade

Drew’s mother-in-law Fatima uses this marinade for any species of wild salmon or wild white fish. If the fillet is on the thicker side, slice it in half before marinating. Allow the fish to marinate for at least an hour or up to 12 hours. 

Ingredients

• 6 garlic cloves

• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

• 1 teaspoon white pepper

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• ¾ teaspoon salt

• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Steps

1. Mince garlic with a food processor, then add all of the other ingredients except for olive oil. Pulse to combine.
2. Drizzle in olive oil until the paste reaches a thin, pourable consistency. Marinade can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks. 

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I imagine that many of you will be able to relate to Drew’s account of his culinary trepidations, whether it’s a fear that you’ve successfully overcome, or something that still looms over you. Either way, I hope you’re inspired to try out Fatima’s marinade.

Live Wild,

Monica

Pictured above: Drew Pion, WAC’s Director of Email and SMS Marketing, at the grill this past summer, fearlessly grilling wild-caught seafood for an al fresco meal.