TravelTalkOnline Forums People Talk Recipes Preferred method for cooking tilefish

Suggestions appreciated....grilled, fried or sauteed?????

I'll admit I've never heard of tilefish let alone cook it so in my research I found this site. Very interesting. I guess it tastes like lobster. Who knew? Certainly not moi!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />
http://www.bigoven.com/tilefish_recipes


<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> Contessa

I have caught a few off the Jersey Shore in the past...
I like them best Saute'd in real butter (unsalted) & garlic...
I add a little olive oil to the butter so the butter doesn't burn...

They are excellent and have a flavor similar to lobster...
If you like lobster, you'll like tilefish...
If you've ever had skate before the flavor is also similar...
The meat off skate wings is truely a treat!

another good way to serve tilefish is coated in yellow cornmeal & flour (mixed 1/2&1/2, coat once with flour, egg bath, coat again with cornmeal & flour mixture) and fried in about 1/4-1/2 inch of 350F canola oil til golden brown and just cooked thru... turning half way thru...
also good deep fried with a good beer batter...

http://www.foodreference.com/html/art-tilefish-7806.html

Interresting fact(???)... I have caught tilefish from around 500-600'...
they like to live on the slope of the Hudson Canyon... and were in the 12-20 pound range...
although they feel a lot bigger when you are reeling them in, due to the drag on all that line that's out!
and after you reel them in, they die from the bends...
or so the captain of the Charter Boat I was on told us when they all came up dead... or soon after landing on the deck...
Tilefish can live as deep as 1400'...
Not sure if that is really a fact, or they just died from exhaustion...

word of caution... if pregnant, don't eat them, as they have a higher concentration of mercury than most fish...

Interesting website Contessa. Thanks! I've read that tilefish tastes very similar to lobster....yummm-I'll let you know.

Aaaayye! Thanks so much Brian...exactly what I'm looking for. My husband wants to grill, but sauting seems more appropriate. Have you ever grilled it?

I've never grilled it, and although it is a firm fleshed fish (similar to cod or grouper in consistancy), you might want to do it in foil...
I'd add butter, onions, peppers, garlic, s&p, etc...
I usually use olive oil when grilling in foil, but tilefish lends itself more to a butter flavor...

I live on the Outer Banks, and we get lots of Tilefish. It is one of my favorites, and I cook it on the grill a lot. I have a non stick flat "pan" that's made for the grill that I use for fish and vegs. You can also place the fish on a piece of heavy duty foil, add a pat of butter, some white wine, and seasonings and any vegs you may like, wrap and seal the foil in a tent, leaving room for expansion, and then place on the grill for about 12 minutes. I agree that you don't want to use really strong seasonings....Tilefish is too good to cover up! I have put a small amount of leek, zuchinni slices, lemon slices, halved grape tomatoes, and things like that in the foil with the fish, and it's really been good.

Actually the tilefish was from the Outer Banks! It turned out excellent. We did grill with just light seasoning, butter, garlic and touch of wine.

We are so lucky to have a man coming from the Outer Banks to NC mountains with great seafood...his scallops are so sweet and tender.