At the grocery store this evening, I was chatting with the guy behind the counter and asked how to prepare a new type of fish that they are selling that I had never heard of called barramundi. He wasn’t really sure, but since it is a new offering and he couldn’t help with the preparation, he was able to give me a couple of filets for free. Works for me, I’ll give it a try!
My trusty How to Cook Everything book didn’t actually contain anything for barramundi, so I had to improvise. I did all right, because the following recipe is not only fast, but it is very tasty!
- Set a frying pan to heating with a bit of extra virgin olive oil in it and then prepare any grain or vegetable you want to eat with your fish. They’ll take longer to cook than the fish will.
- Wash the fish and then pat dry with paper towels.
- Score the top of the fish 2 or 3 times with a knife without cutting all the way through the filet. I’ve found with other fish that it helps the meat cook more evenly.
- Season with a little crushed pepper and salt. Don’t overdo it.
- Being careful not to splash yourself, set the fillets in the heated frying pan.
- After a few minutes, flip the fillets over.
- After a few more minutes, the barramundi flesh should flake a bit and it should be cooked through if you separate a fillet into halves.
That’s it, very easy. The entire meal took all of about 12 minutes to prepare and cook, including side dishes. If you were reheating left overs for side dishes, it would probably only take 7 or 8 minutes total.
For those that are interested, barramundi tastes a bit like sea bass but is a river fish. The fish tends to be hermaphroditic, and will usually begin life as a male and then become a female after a spawning season. The barramundi is typically 11-15 pounds, but can grow to be up to 2 meters in length and about 130 pounds. Because of their life cycle, the larger fish are almost always female.
(Photo & Info Credit: Wikipedia)
That is one interesting fish. Glad you liked it. Its a little odd that it would start male and end as a female…..
I do the same thing but use Blackend Redfish Magic. I brush a little olive oil on the filets and then blacken it to death. It is to die for and especially good with Tilapia 🙂
Nick, that isn’t actually uncommon in fish.
I’ve done the olive oil with tilapia before, although I prefer not to blacken it…
Weird, I never had heard that before.. I just usually eat the fish I guess! I was in Ghana for a couple of months during Grad school and they served the fish with the eye balls still in place. That was the only way you knew it was fresh! It was good too.
Just saw your entry about barramundi and wanted to let you know that a Massachusetts company called Australis Aquaculture is farming barramundi in a very healthy and environmentally friendly way, and it will be much more available in the near future. I know because I’m the head of marketing for the company, and we’re in the midst of talks with major retailers, including Whole Foods, ShopRite, Stop & Shop, Big Y, Price Chopper and many others. It’s already in a number of Costco stores in the Northeast and CA (frozen), and is becoming more popular at fine dining restaurants around the country (it’s Australia’s premier fish and chefs here love it).
You can learn all about it at our website. To find it in your area, you can email us and we’ll try to find a place in your area.
This really is a great fish -- all natural, no hormones, antibiotics, mercury, etc., loaded with omega-3s (fresh, local barra is comparable to coho salmon), and very tasty (mild, sweet buttery flavor and white, flaky texture).
Hope this is helpful and keep on running!
Carol Devine
VP, Marketing
Australis Aquaculture
I am surprised that fish can actually be eaten. It looks like an expensive aquarium fish at first glance.