One Pan Risotto with Garlic Herb Tilapia | Easy Fish Dinner Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Should you rinse tilapia before cooking? ›

As with all fresh fish, it is important to clean tilapia thoroughly prior to cooking. Rinse the tilapia off in cold water and hold it by the tail on a flat surface, like a cutting board. Hold a knife or spoon with your other hand and scrape it from the tail toward the head to remove the scales.

The internal temperature of fish should reach 145°F for food safety, according to USDA guidelines. If you don't have an instant-read thermometer, check to see that your fish has turned opaque and that it's easily flaked with a fork.

Before cooking, soak the fish in milk for 20 minutes

In this scenario, the protein in the milk binds with the compounds that cause that fishy odor, in essence extracting if from the fish. What's left behind is sweet-smelling, brighter flesh with clean flavor. (Just make sure you pour that milk down the drain.

Instead of washing your raw fish, you should cook it to the proper temperature to kill off harmful bacteria. Per the USDA, that temperature is 145 degrees F. If the fish is wet, pat it dry with a paper towel before you start cooking it, so that it will sear properly and to prevent it from getting tough and mushy.

A “Best Choice” rating by the EPA and FDA means that tilapia does not contain unsafe levels of mercury. U.S. farmed tilapia is also rated as a “Best Choice” seafood option by Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch for consumers looking for sustainably sourced seafood.

Fresh, untreated tilapia tends to have a pink vein (the bloodline) running down the center of the filet. Carbon monoxide treated tilapia has a red and almost orange vein. Check out the color of recently filleted tilapia. It's more of a faded red and dark pink.

Soaking fish in brine or water before cooking to remove any muddy taste is not necessary. We prefer never to wash or soak whole or filleted fish in water or any other solution (except a marinade) before cooking as it affects the texture, and ultimately, the flavour of the fish.

Don't Thaw Your Frozen Tilapia Fillets

Low water and fat content is a hallmark of tilapia. Because of this quality, tilapia doesn't render out excess moisture as it cooks, which in other, fattier fish, can result in oversaturation and leave your fillets soggy and mushy – not appetizing at all.

A 15-minute salting period, which we usually use only with meat and fattier fish such as salmon, bolsters tilapia's mild flavor and keeps the fish moist as it cooks.