Everyone is familiar with salmon and shrimp as these are two of the most common types of fish in the U.S. and usually available year round, but there are many varieties of fish that people don’t know much about.
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Check out the following underappreciated fish that chefs recommend and admit to being ‘just as good as’. Find them at your local fish market or at the fish aisles in supermarkets.
- Lionfish
Fresh caught lionfish is one of the best choices of fish for your health. They carry less mercury than other fish and are one of the few species with no health restrictions because of mercury levels.
Second, lionfish contribute to heart health because they contain higher amounts of omega 3 fatty acids and lower bad cholesterol in the body while raising the level of good cholesterol.
Two important nutrients in lionfish are calcium (25% of the DV) and protein (18 grams). Nutritional facts are for a serving size of 100 grams.
- Pollock
Another rich omega 3 fish, pollock is most common to eat in North America. It presents a great advantage since it is most often wild-caught, is also inexpensive and has a milder flavor, which means you can cook it in various ways.
Pollock contains more 177% omega-3 fatty acids and is loaded with several relevant nutrients.
Pollock includes 65 mg choline, 60 mg calcium, 67 mg magnesium, 36.5 mcg selenium, 3.2 mcg vitamin B12, 356 mg potassium, 220 mg phosphorus and 0.2 mg riboflavin among other vitamins and minerals.
- Rockfish
Rockfish is various fish, meaning there are different types of this species – about 70.
Rockfish comes from the Pacific Ocean and is highly nutritional. The fish provides essential nutrients, such as 18.8 grams of protein, 190IU of vitamin A, 65 mg choline, 3.2 mg niacin, 9.0 mg calcium, 26.0 mg magnesium, 178 mg phosphorus, 405 mg potassium, 60.0 mg sodium, 36.5 mcg selenium and 0.4 mg zinc.
Rockfish is a great ingredient for soups and stews because their texture is firm, but is also good to bake or fry. They may not be so suitable to grill though.
- Cape shark
This is truly one of the most underrated species of fish. Cape shark also known as spiny dogfish is a staple ingredient in Italian and French cuisines and is widely used in England for fish & chips.
In the U.S., however, it’s only recently that people have started incorporating cape shark into their diets and even restaurants are only just beginning to explore with various recipes.
Note that cape shark is mostly sustainable fish, so you should be able to find it local and wild caught at all times. Also note that you get about 22g protein, a good amount of calcium (17.6mg), and more than 15% vitamin A per 100 grams serving size.
- Redfish
Redfish can grow to massive size, live to be 60 years old, and has the distinguished feature of a spot that looks like an eye on the tail.
The fish contains vitamin B12, folate, riboflavin, vitamin A, iron and selenium and provides about 17 grams protein. Redfish is sold as fresh whole fish and salted fillet and is quite versatile to cook and serve.
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It has a balanced flavor and is low in fat, making it ideal to bake, fry, poach, sauté or steam.