Thread: Fishy whiting???

So I've heard how great whiting are. I've brought fish home before, but this is the first year I've brought home pompano and whiting. I baked the pompano and it was great, but a week later, we had some whiting and Redfish. Part of the whiting was breaded and deep fried and the other part was cooked in a skillet with seasoning (dont ask with what, I didnt cook it). Well...... the whiting tasted fishy to me (yes I know its fish). Is whiting normally a more "fishy" tasting fish. I hope not as they are alot of fun to catch. It seemed Fishier than the redfish. So is this normal or could this have been something we did???

Brandon,
My experience is that whiting are "fishier" tasting than redfish, spanish, or pompano. I have had them fried fresh, but have not soaked them overnight in saltwater to see if they might be more mild. Some people love them, but I rate them much lower on the taste scale than pompano (#1), red drum (#2), or Spanish mackerel (#3). Hopefully, you will get some other opinions, and ideas on the best way to prep and cook them.

I fillet almost everything including cutting off the skin and rib bones. Then I put them in a plastic container after mildly salting them. I shake them up in McCormick's Cajun Seafood Fry Mix. I deep fry them in a "Fry Daddy" until they're a nice brown color. I've never had whiting taste anything but wonderful. Mild, white flesh, beautiful and tasty. Not "fishy" at all! I've prepared them on the grill before and they were great that way, too.

I've never noticed them tasting "fishy", but I've always eaten them real fresh, and like Tom, I fillet and skin them. Nice, firm, white fleshed fish.

Once frozen, any 'red meat' on fish begins to break down.
And over a period (long) of time will get 'rancid' as all fat does (even in the deep freeze).
I try to freeze ASAP and VERY carefully trim ALL the 'red meat' off fish before freezing to help eliminate that smell.

Another thing that may help is rinsing the thawed fillets under cool water and sprinkling a dash of ground ginger on the fillets prior to cooking. As Harley Rogers told me long ago, the ginger helps neutralize 'fishy' smell and taste in frozen fish.

No red meat. I always trim that from fish, as I did the redfish (which was good). Fillets only frozen two weeks. Have to look into the ginger thing. One thing I'm thinking is my mom always uses a salted flour mix and doesn't cook them crispy. I'm thinking a cajun mix might be the thing to try.

I've never had fishy tasting Whiting. It's always been a fairly mild white meat even after it's been frozen for up to a year.
I have had very fishing pompano, but was told it's always that way unless grilled or broiled. Never fried. Are you sure you didnt mix up the packages?
Also redfish, being a little tougher. Has never been fishy as long as all red meat has been removed. Just my $ .02.

IMO, comparing whiting to redfish is like comparing hamburger to steak.

After sampling a taste of pompano, I don't think I would keep one if I caught one. Didn't care for it at all

Originally Posted by stik

After sampling a taste of pompano, I don't think I would keep one if I caught one. Didn't care for it at all

I'd like to take the opportunity to announce that I'm accepting donations of pompano from anyone who doesn't want theirs. For me, it's the best food of any kind I've ever eaten. No steak, no veggies, no casserole or other dish compares to pompano on the grill with garlic salt, butter, and a sprinkling of "Slap Yo' Momma" spice. I understand that some people don't like pompano and I'm thankful for that disparity in tastes!