Eight Tips for Selecting Fish

The first—and most important—step in cooking sensational fresh fish is selecting the fish. These tips will help you judge the quality of fish fillets and steaks, ensuring that the fish you buy will become a swimmingly great meal.

1. SHEEN—The surfaces of fish fillets and steaks should have a moist sheen with no hint of film or milky liquid.

2. COLOR—The color of white or pale steaks, such as swordfish or shark, should be pristine white with no irregular red or brown spots. Irregular coloring may indicate that the fish was bruised when caught. The coloration of dark-pigmented fish, such as salmon, char or tuna, should be a vivid, uniform shade of red or pink.

3. TRANSLUCENCE—Fish fillets and steaks should appear slightly translucent. Fish that look opaque may not be fresh.

4. SKIN—If the fillet or steak has skin attached, make sure that the skin looks shiny and metallic. Avoid cuts that exhibit dry or patchy skin.

5. AROMA—Smelling the fish is especially important with fillets. Ask the fish department associate if you may give the fish a quick sniff; it should smell fresh, with no pungent aromas. If the fish is especially fresh, it will smell a bit like cucumbers.

6. HANDLING AND STORAGE—Fish fillets and steaks should be displayed atop plenty of clean crushed ice. Tuna should be kept in as large of a portion as possible. When cut into steaks, the steaks should be individually wrapped in plastic wrap. Although purchasing fish fillets and steaks wrapped in Styrofoam containers is convenient, packaged fish do not keep as well.

7. OPALESCENCE—Some fish, especially tuna, may develop a pearly, rainbow-like glaze on their flesh. These fish may have been mishandled and should be avoided.

8. GRAIN—All fish should be dense in texture, with no gaping visible anywhere on the flesh. Avoid fish fillets or steaks that have spaces in the flake.