Baked Monkfish
December 24th, 2010 | Seafood, Yankee Cook Recipes | 2 Comments »
Monkfish is a dense and hearty fish. Coated in flour and spices, the finished product has an almost oven-fried quality to it, without the grease.
This week’s fish share catch was indeed monkfish. After seeing photos of whole monkfish, I braced myself for an ugly mug when we opened the bag. Instead we found two slimy, headless buggers tangled in their own weirdness. After a pause, my husband said, “What is that!?”
I’ve never been one to be repulsed by the appearance of raw fish at all, but wow. Monkfish already has a face only a mother could love and these freaks didn’t even have that going for it.
Moving on, I searched around for some recipes. Most suggested braising with tomatoes and serving over rice or pasta, but I really just felt like a simple baked dish. I used to make this basic recipe with the frozen tilapia I’d buy from TJ’s when I lived in the city. I know, I know. Tilapia is not seafood. What can I say? This was before I lived in a fabulous fishing community.
What does one do when faced with a frightening looking creature from the cold, deep blue? Play the “I’m a delicate flower” card and ask your husband, boyfriend, roommate or neighbor to fillet it, of course.
Baked Monkfish – serves 4
2 lb. monkfish fillets, cut into 3-4 inch pieces
1/3 C flour
2 t sea salt
2 t smoked paprika
2 t cumin
1/4 t curry
1/4 t nutmeg
Combine the flour, salt and spices in a large dish. Cut the monkfish into 4 – 5 inch pieces and coat each piece with the flour mixture. Shake off any excess, place on a rack and refrigerate 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450. Place fillets on a lightly greased baking pan and roast for 10-15 minutes until cooked through.
This looks amazing. I’m not sure I’ve ever had monkfish – is there anything about its properties that make it particularly suited for breading/baking like this? Would, say, swordfish or another meatier white fish work as well? Some of us aren’t as lucky to live near a great source of fresh seafood!
Thank you! I’m so glad you think it looks good! I was afraid my description might scare people off. It really was a nasty looking thing.
The texture was similar to a dense cod or haddock in that the meat flakes in to smallish segments. It’s around the same size as cod or haddock too and so I think it might be best cut into fillets rather than steaks like a swordfish. I’ve only had swordfish grilled, but to be honest I kind of overdid it on swordfish when I was a kid and so I’ve never actually prepared it. I was seriously swordfish’s biggest fan under 10 for a while there. I think I thought it was cool that it had a weapon.