How to cook orange roughy

[Kitchen Witch]

How to cook orange roughy

Orange roughy can be baked, broiled, deep-fried, grilled, microwaved, sautéed, pan-fried, poached or steamed. The mild delicate flavor, large flakes and moist meat enables it to hold together when cooking. It can be grilled, but place the fillets in a wire fish grill basket, for easier grilling.

If you like your fish marinated before you cook it, make sure not to use a marinade with to much acid and do not marinate it for more than 10 minutes. The delicate meat will start to cook somewhat with the acid.

Being a mild flavored fish, orange roughy will adapt to many recipes that call for a whitefish, such as Tilapia fish.



Purchasing Orange Roughy
When choosing orange roughy fillets, whether they’re fresh or previously frozen, look for moist, translucent (never dried out) flesh. Keep orange roughy cool on the trip from the market to your house. Never let it stay unrefrigerated for long.

To store orange roughy, remove packaging, rinse the fish under cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. Fish deteriorates when it sits in its own juices, so place it on a cake rack in a shallow pan filled with crushed ice. Cover with cling wrap or foil and set in the coldest part of the refrigerator. Orange roughy will store well this way for up to two days.

Frozen orange roughy keeps for two months in a refrigerator freezer compartment and three to four months in a deep-freeze. Cook frozen fillets without defrosting them.





Grill Orange Roughy. Season the fish with salt, pepper and lemon. The grill should be very hot, and you should use a fish grilling basket because Orange Roughy's texture is very flakey and tends to fall apart when cooked directly on the grill. Four minutes per side cooks the fish entirely.

Broil Orange Roughy about 3 inches from the heat source for about 6 minutes. A Cajun seasoning will go a long way to enhance the flavor of grilled Orange Roughy. You will want to thoroughly spray the broiler pan with a non-stick coating to prevent the fish from sticking.

Microwave lightly seasoned Orange Roughy until it flakes with a fork. Be careful of the time because microwave ovens differ greatly. After about four minutes begin checking every thirty seconds or so.

Bake Orange Roughy in a 400 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes with a fork until it flakes. Thoroughly spray the baking dish with a nonstick coating. Cover the baking dish lightly with aluminum foil for best results.

Marinate and Poach Orange Roughy in an olive oil based mixture to which you add aromatic vegetables and poach for 8 to 10 minutes.

Batter fry Orange Roughy using a cornmeal batter in a shallow fry pan and serve with French fries for a wonderful fish and chips meal.

Pan fry Orange Roughy by coating orange roughy with seasoned flour, crumbs, or cornmeal. Shake off any extra coating and fry in a small amount of hot butter or oil, turning once halfway through cooking time. Cook until opaque and moist on the inside, eight to ten minutes.

Steam Orange Roughy by placing orange roughy on a greased perforated rack over 1 to 2 inches (about 2.5 to 5cm) of rapidly boiling water. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and keep water at a constant boil through cooking time, eight to ten minutes per inch (about 2.5cm) of thickness of the fish.

Deep fry Orange Roughy Pour oil into a wok or deep fryer; it should be at least 1 1/2 inches (about 3.8cm) deep, and the cooker should be less than half full of oil. Heat oil to 375°F (190°C), using a thermometer to monitor temperature. Cut orange roughy into similar-sized pieces, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inch (about 3.2 to 3.8cm) thick. Dip in batter, drain, then slip pieces into hot oil. Cook until brown, two to three minutes.



ORANGE ROUGHY

2 lbs. orange roughy fillets
1/2 c. sliced almonds
1/4 c. parsley, minced
1/4 c. margarine, melted
2 tsp. lemon or lime juice
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Combine margarine and almonds. Saute almonds to a golden brown. Arrange fish, single layered, in a shallow baking pan. Sprinkle with lemon or lime juice. Spoon almond-margarine mixture over fish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and parsley. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Bake, uncovered, until fish flakes easily with fork, about 8 to 10 minutes. Serve with lemon or lime wedges.