Cooking Fish

You can’t beat fresh fish on a warm summer night. Follow these tips to preserve that great fresh taste and prepare a delicious meal that will receive rave reviews.

Freshly caught fish tastes great if it's cared for properly. Bring along a cooler with plenty of ice to store your catch until you get home - make sure the lid seals tightly. To preserve a fresh taste, clean your fish as soon as possible. It’s best to eat the fish the same day you catch it. If this is not possible, you can store it your refrigerator for 2-3 days.

Cleaning Fish

Cleaning fish is easy with the right tools and a little practice. First, cut your fish:

• Make sure you have a sharp knife with a thin, flexible blade and a flat surface to work on. 
• Always cut away from yourself. 
• Wear a fillet glove on your free hand to prevent serious cuts.

Filleting, pan dressing, and skinning are three simple ways to clean your catch.

• Filleting
• Pan Dressing

Cooking Fish

Fresh fish tastes great, so cook your fish as soon after catching them as possible. Follow these steps to maintain fresh, safe-to-eat fish:

• Wash cleaned fish thoroughly. 
• If you are not going to cook the fish right away, freeze immediately in a container (milk carton, pop-top plastic container, freezer bag, etc.) filled with water. Thaw fish in the refrigerator or under cold running water. 
• Do not thaw fish more than one day before cooking.
• Rinse fresh fish in cold water and pat dry. 
• Make several shallow, diagonal cuts in large fillets to shorten cooking time. 
• Trim off any portions of yellow or white fat and any red meat that is on the fish fillet. White meat will make the best fish fries.

Simple Recipes

Use simple recipes that let the fish’s fresh flavor come through, and follow the recipes carefully to avoid overcooking as fish cooks very fast. 

The fish are done when the fillets turn from translucent to opaque or white, feel firm but are still moist, and start to flake easily when tested with a fork.

• Recipe: Pan Frying
• Recipe: Deep Frying
• Recipe: Baked Fish
• Recipe: Microwave
• Recipe: Grilling
• Recipe: Blackened
• Recipe: Pickled

Get Healthy – Eat Your Catch

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans encourages everyone to make every bite count by following a healthy dietary pattern at every life stage. It is never too early or too late to eat healthy.

Recommendations for eating fish are:

•  At least 8 ounces of seafood (less for children) per week based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
• Those who are pregnant or breastfeeding consume between 8 and 12 ounces per week of a variety of seafood from choices that are lower in mercury.

4.59 million meals of Iowa-caught fish are eaten each year.

Most Iowa fish are low in saturated fats, have high quality protein, and important vitamins and minerals needed for a healthy diet for all ages. Some fish can also have omega-3 fatty acids that help keep your heart healthy and develop a child’s brain. 

Fish Provide Key Nutrients that Support a Child's Brain Development

Moderate scientific evidence shows that eating fish during pregnancy can help your baby’s cognitive development. Fish are part of a healthy eating pattern and provide key nutrients during pregnancy, breastfeeding, and/or early childhood to support a child’s brain development: 

• Omega-3 (called DHA and EPA) and omega-6 fats
• Iron
• Iodine (during pregnancy)
• Choline (also supports development of the baby’s spinal cord)

Fish also provide iron and zinc to support children’s immune systems. Fish are also a source of other nutrients like protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and selenium.

Eating Fish Can Provide Other Health Benefits

Strong evidence shows that eating fish, as part of a healthy eating pattern, may have heart health benefits. Healthy eating patterns that include fish may have other benefits too. Moderate scientific evidence shows that eating patterns relatively higher in fish, but also in vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, low or non-fat dairy, lean meats and poultry, nuts, and unsaturated vegetable oils, and lower in red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened foods and beverages, and refined grains are associated with:

• Promotion of bone health – decreases the risk for hip fractures **
• Decreases in the risk of becoming overweight or obese **
• Decreases in the risk for colon and rectal cancers **

** There is moderate scientific evidence of a relationship between the eating pattern as a whole and the potential health benefit.

Iowa Fish are Safe to Eat

In nearly all cases, Iowa fish are safe to eat. Cleaning and/or preparing the meal cause most of the problems regarding taste or color of fish. Like all living creatures, fish are susceptible to diseases, parasites, and other naturally-occurring conditions in the water. If you suspect your fish is affected by any of these conditions, do not eat it.

Consider eating smaller and younger fish which usually have lower levels of contaminants than larger ones. Most contaminants accumulate in larger, older fish.

Health Advisories for Women Who Might Become Pregnant, Are Pregnant, Are Breastfeeding, and Children

The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) have issued advice for eating Iowa caught fish for women who might become or are pregnant or breastfeeding and children under 12 years of age. Additional guidance from the  United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can help these women and parents or caretakers make informed choices about the types of fish that are nutritious and safe to eat.

Choose a Variety of Fish that is Lower in Mercury

While it is important to limit mercury in the diets of those who are pregnant or breastfeeding and children under 12 years of age because of its potential effect on developing brains, many types of fish are both nutritious and lower in mercury. Eating a variety of fish is better for you and your child than eating the same type of fish every time.

This chart can help you choose which fish commonly caught from Iowa waters to eat, and how often to eat them, based on their mercury levels. The information is based on thousands of fish tissue samples that were collected during a five-year research study in Iowa. It updates and replaces the DNR’s previous waterbody specific mercury advisories to be more protective of the health of new and expecting mothers and young children.

Use the EPA-FDA chart for non-Iowa fish that you may purchase from the store. These charts make it easy to choose dozens of healthy and safe options for the affected segment of people and include information about the nutritional value of fish. A set of frequently asked questions and answers on the FDA website provides more information on how to use their charts and additional tips for eating fish.

Serve children 2 servings of fish a week from the “Best Choices” list. If you eat fish that are not in these charts and there is no advisory listed from where it was caught (if outside of Iowa), eat only one serving and no other fish that week.

This advice supports the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, which reflects current science on nutrition to improve public health.

For the most up-to-date information on fish consumption guidelines and fish tissue monitoring, visit https://www.iowadnr.gov/environmental-protection/water-quality/water-monitoring/fish-consumption-safety