The Art Of Cooking Monkfish
The hardest part about cooking monkfish might just be selecting a whole one at the fish market. The monkfish, sometimes called the angler fish, is not the most attractive member of the fish world. It is in fact, one of those creatures that nightmares are made of. Although fresh fish is usually preferred over frozen fish, when cooking monkfish either will do, and if you choose frozen cheeks, fillets, or simply purchase a monkfish tail for roasting, you won't have to look the creature in the eye.
A Little Fatty, But Healthy - Although a serving of monkfish consists both saturated and unsaturated fat, a well as sodium, which one would expect in a salt water fish, it will be rich in potassium, protein, and carbohydrates. As far as taste is concerned, the monkfish is considered a delicacy. Fresh monkfish can be hard to find at times, but is usually not difficult to find it frozen. Many claim the taste of monkfish is better than that of lobster.
When preparing monkfish fillets, some cooks recommend salting the fillets and setting them aside for about 10 minutes before cooking. This draws excess water out, which otherwise would be a part of the final dish, and could detract from an otherwise pleasant eating experience.
There are a wide variety of ways of preparing and cooking monkfish. Like lobster, monkfish can be served with a side dish, as part of a side dish, or in a casserole. A favorite recipe of many is roast monkfish tail.
Roasted Monkfish Tail - A monkfish tail is usually large enough to serve two, and as many as four people. The tail may be bought whole or with the skin removed. A monkfish tail is usually cooked or roasted whole, then prepared by cutting into two large fillets. Roasted monkfish tail is prepared by sautéing sliced onions and herbs in a frying pan, adding the monkfish tail. cooking for 5 minutes, and seasoning to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. The contents are then placed in a roasting dish and roasted in the oven for half an hour.
Pan Fried - Monkfish fillets are usually pan fried. Monkfish contains no small bones, so bones are not a problem when eating this dish. The fillets are cooked with crushed peppercorns, and fried in butter, olive oil and arrowroot. A tablespoon or two of brandy will give the dish a little extra touch. Cooking time is approximately 25 minutes. cooking for 10 minutes over medium heat, then simmering the fillets for another 15 minutes.
Stir Fry And Other Dishes - Don't forget to consider stir fry when cooking monkfish. Monkfish is delightful as either the main ingredient in stir fry, or when mixed in with any number of vegetables, or anything that tastes good when stir fried. About the only caution would be, not to have any ingredients whose taste would detract from or overpower the taste of the monkfish. When stir frying monkfish, it's best to cut the flesh into thin strips, and marinate the strips for an hour in lemon juice. When the strips of flesh are sliced thin enough cooking time will normally be between 2 and 5 minutes.
Chunks of monkfish flesh, or cubes cut from fillets can be cooked and served as kebabs. As in the case with stir fry, it's good to marinate the fish for an hour before cooking. Monkfish goes will with other fish, especially with prawns, though bacon is a nice companion as well. A monkfish and prawn casserole makes a very pleasant tasting dish. Monkfish can be fried with mushrooms or sprouts (stir fry is best in the latter case), or fried or baked with red peppers. When monkfish is fried or roasted, leeks always make a great companion dish.