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Fish Delivery or Pickup
The Instacart guide to fish products
Instacart grocers offer a variety of fish products that are tasty and nutritious. Visit the website to select and buy the types you prefer.
About fish
Fish are cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates found in both fresh water and saltwater. They offer many nutritional benefits and can be cooked in a variety of ways. To buy the best fish varieties, you should research their types and learn which seasons they are available. Fresh fish will have unsunken eyes and bright red gills, so make sure to look for these characteristics. The fish should be taut and shiny with bright black convex eyes.
Some edible fish varieties are endangered, so it might be best to avoid purchasing them. These types include Bluefin tuna, wild Atlantic salmon, Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, sockeye salmon, and steelhead trout.
Fish cooking tips
To prepare fish for cooking, you should rinse them with cold water to remove bacteria. If you're not going to cook the fish on the same day, wrap them in plastic and refrigerate them. Overcooked fish can have a dry texture, so it's important to cook them properly according to instructions based on the type of fish you purchase. It's ideal to buy fatty fish as they can withstand dry-heat cooking techniques like grilling or sauteing. For fatty fish, farmed varieties are better than fish caught in the wild.
Here are some types of fish that are excellent for cooking:
- Salmon:Â Salmon is loaded with nutrients and can be cooked in many ways. It offers a tender texture, with wild salmon having firmer flesh and more flavor than farmed types.
- Carp:Â Carp have tough, coarse flesh with plenty of bones that can dissolve with cooking. This fish is steamed whole or poached in Chinese cooking.
- Shad: Shad is the biggest fish belonging to the herring category. It tastes like salmon with a mild sweetness. It is hard to fillet this fish because of the number of small bones, but this variety is popular due to its roe (eggs).
- Chilean sea bass (Patagonian toothfish): This fish has a white, firm flesh that offers flavorful thick flakes. It has about 14% fat, and bigger varieties can weigh up to 100lbs.
Lean fish have less than 5% fat by weight. This type of fish can be wet cooked (poached or steamed) and made flavorful with creamy, rich sauces. Here are some top picks:
- Mahi-Mahi (dolphinfish): This fish has pinkish, firm-textured, moist, and sweet-tasting flesh with less than 1% fat content.
- Bass:Â There are hundreds of bass species, including farmed striped hybrid bass, black sea bass, and branzino. Their flesh is mild-tasting, firm, and flavorful.
- Other popular varieties of lean fish include trout, red snapper, tuna, cod, halibut, flounder, pike, catfish, perch, monkfish, tilapia, and swordfish.
Here are some great ways to cook fish:
- Pan-frying or sauteing: This method makes the fish crispy on the outside and tender inside. It's ideal for varieties like slipper tails, bay scallops, shrimp, and fish fillets. Firm fish, like halibut or cod, can also be stir-fried after cutting it into strips.Heat 1/4-inch butter or oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.Dip the fish in beaten egg or milk and bread it.Cook the fish for up to five minutes per side or until done.
- Baking:Heat your oven to 450°F.Spray a baking dish or sheet with cooking spray.Place the fish on the baking sheet in one single layer and season it.Bake uncovered, up to 10 minutes per inch of thickness until the fish is done.
- Microwaving:Â Boneless fillets can be microwaved easily.Spray a cooking spray on a microwave-safe dish.Cut the fish into two pieces and place them in the dish with some liquid.Use plastic wrap to cover the dish and make some holes in the wrap.Cook for about three minutes per pound and turn the fish once.Add salt after microwaving.
- Poaching:Â Gently cook the fish in a heated liquid such as milk, fish stock, water, or wine.Cover the fish with liquid.Place the pan cover on tightly and cook the fish fillets just under the boiling point.Cook whole fish for up to 20 minutes and fillets for up to 10 minutes.Use the poaching liquid to create a sauce.
Other popular fish cooking methods include pan broiling, grilling, and deep-frying.
FAQs about fish
Fish is packed with omega-3 amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and overall nutritious and heart-healthy proteins. These nutrients are preserved in frozen fish along with freshness. Freezing helps to preserve the cholesterol-fighting, high-protein properties of fish
Freezing is necessary as it can take a few days for the fish to move from the sea or farm to your kitchen. It preserves freshness to keep the quality.