Fish Substitutions

Also see Cooking Fish for tips about fish substitutions.

The five main varieties of fish, and how to substitute one species for another, Aliza Green March 04, 2009, http://www.cookinglight.com/

Fish can be categorized many ways; for example, Mark Bittman, author of How to Cook Everything, divides fish into 11 categories. Though there’s a bit of subjectivity involved in flaky versus medium flaky versus meaty and oily, these are general categories that fish tend to fall into. These are the “groups” that most recipes will call for when not identifying a single type for the dish, and you can usually go a little rogue and swap one for another. There will be differences in taste, of course, but the general properties are the same. Though by no means a fully comprehensive list, Cooking Light distilled Mark Bittman’s 11 categories of fish into a much more manageable but still descriptive five.

1. Dark and oil rich: anchovies, bluefin tuna, grey mullet, herring, mackerel (Atlantic, Boston, or King), Salmon, farmed or King (Chinook), sardines, skipjack tuna. These fish are attention-grabbing stars. Though bluefin tuna is incredibly overfished, king salmon can be cooked to perfection with crisp, crackly skin and tender, moist, flavorful meat like in this recipe from Serious Eats for crispy salmon with steamed bok choy and basil-caper relish. Fresh or oil-packed Spanish anchovies have none of the brown hairiness of other varieties and are a staple tapas plate either fried or, as in this recipe from Gourmet via Epicurious, served cured with roasted red peppers.

2. White, lean, and firm: Alaska pollock (I find pollock to have delicate flesh not firm), catfish, grouper, haddock, Pacific cod, Pacific halibut, Pacific rockfish, Pacific sand dab & sole, striped bass (wild and hybrid), swordfish. These fish are great for grilling very simply with just a bit of lemon juice, as shown by Martha Stewart’s recipe for grilled striped sea bass. Cod, sole, and haddock are also shoo-ins for a traditional fish and chips meal.

3. Medium color and oil rich: amberjack, Arctic char, Coho salmon, Hawaiian kampachi, mahimahi, paddlefish, pompano, Sockeye Salmon, wahoo, yellowfin tuna. These medium-firm, meaty fish are best served up with a medium-rare to medium cook, often benefiting from a bit of time in a hot oven and served simply in a white wine and butter sauce. But they also stand up to more serious sauces like the pink chile mayo in these mahi mahi tacos from The Food Network.

4. White, lean, and flaky: Atlantic croaker, black sea bass, branzino, flounder, rainbow smelt, red snapper, tilapia, rainbow trout, weakfish (sea trout), whiting, perch. Leite’s Culinaria has an elegant and quick recipe for flounder with lemon-butter sauce that can be successfully used for any of the fish on this list, though they also make for some of the best grilled fish tacos, like in this recipe from Food & Wine.

5. White, firm, and oil rich: Atlantic shad, albacore tuna, California white sea bass, Chilean sea bass, cobia, lake trout, lake whitefish, Pacific escolar, Pacific sablefish, white sturgeon. To highlight the melt-in-your-mouth qualities of these fish, try a lightly seared but still rare preparation version, like this sesame tuna from Cooking Light, or this baked Chilean sea bass with cajun seasoning from Food.com.

Fish
Oily or Lean
Market Forms
Texture
Flavor Notes Substitutions
Fresh Water Fish
Catfish Lean Whole, fillets,
steaks		 Firm, durable Mild Fresh water. Catfish are good for fried fish. In the South, they coat catfish with a cornmeal breading and deep-fry them. Catfish go well with lemon juice. Best substitution is tilapia; flounder may work. Can also try grouper, rockfish, sea bass
Lake Trout (North
American char)
  Whole, fillets, steaks Slightly firm Moderate Fresh water Pike, seatrout, whitefish
Lake Perch         Fresh water  
Rainbow Trout Oily Fillets Slightly firm, oily Delicate Fresh water Salmon, seatrout
Tilapia
Lean Whole, dressed,
fillets		 Slightly firm, durable Delicate Fresh water. Tilapia are good for pan-fried fish. This freshwater fish has a mostly vegetarian diet, so you won’t have to worry about mercury levels when consuming tilapia. Strong seasonings will mask the delicate flavor. Tilapia are farmed and caught in the wild. Best substitution is catfish; flounder may work, orange
roughy
Whitefish Lean Whole, fillets Moderately firm Delicate Fresh water Cod, lake trout, salmon, sea bass
Salt Water Fish
Atlantic ocean perch
(redfish)
 Lean Whole, fillets Slightly firm Mild Salt water Orange roughy, rockfish,
red snapper
Cod Lean Fillets, steaks Moderately firm, flakey Delicate Salt water. Cod goes well with lemon. Cod is traditional for Fish and Chips, but may fall apart or fail to cook all the way through. Haddock, flounder, pollack (flounder and pollock are too delicate to deep fry)
Flounder Lean Whole, fillets Fine Delicate to mild Salt water. Flounder goes well with lemon juice. Cod, orange roughy,
seatrout, sole, whitefish, whiting, haddock and catfish
Grouper Lean Whole, dressed, fillets Firm Moderately Mild Salt water. Mahi mahi, sea bass
Haddock Lean Fillets Moderately firm, flakey Delicate Salt water. Haddock goes well with lemon juice. Traditional for Fish and Chips Cod, grouper, halibut, lake trout, sole, whitefish, whiting
Halibut* Lean Fillets, steaks Very firm, dense Sweet, delicate Salt water Cod, grouper, sea bass, red snapper
Herring Oily     Strong flavor, oily Salt water Mackerel
Mackerel* Oily Whole Delicate Pronounced, strong flavor, oily Salt water. Herring, mahi mahi, swordfish, tuna
Mahi mahi (dolphinfish) Lean Whole, fillets Firm Mild to moderate Salt water. Grouper, orange roughy, red snapper, halibut, shark, swordfish, fresh tuna...
Monkfish Lean     Sweet flavor, much like scallops or lobster Monkfish has a huge, ugly, bony head, so only the tail section is consumed. In some areas, monkfish is actually more expensive than lobster. The firm meat is excellent for grilling. Be sure to remove the tough membrane covering the flesh before cooking.  

Orange roughy

Lean Fillets Moderately firm Delicate Salt water. Cod, flounder, haddock, ocean perch, sea bass, sole
Alaskan Pollock Lean Fillets Delicate and flaky Mild-flavored white fish Salt water. Alaska Pollock is a different species than the Pollock found on the Atlantic coast, and it is the most common type of Pollock in U.S. markets. Flesh is a little too soft to use for deep-fried fish, and in stews the flesh falls completely apart. So unless you plan to puree the stew, use something else.  
Red snapper Lean Whole, fillets Moderately firm Sweet, mild to moderate Salt water. Tends to retain moisture, making it a good choice for grilling. If you leave the skin on the fish while grilling, the meat will hold together better. Grouper, lake trout, ocean perch, rockfish, whitefish

Rockfish

  Whole, fillets Slightly firm Mild to moderate Salt water. Cod, grouper, ocean perch, red snapper
Salmon* Oily Whole, fillets, steaks Moderately firm, oily Mild to moderate Salt water. Salmon go well with salt. Some don't like the taste of farm-raised salmon, but provides an alternative to wild and free natural salmon. Redness is caused by diet. Rainbow trout, swordfish, tuna
Sea Bass Lean       Salt water.  
Shark (mako) Lean Fillets, steaks Firm, dense Mild to moderate Salt water. Swordfish, tuna
Sole Lean Fillets Fine Delicate Salt water. Flounder, halibut, haddock, pollock
Swordfish* Oily Loins, steaks Very f irm, dense and dry Mild to moderate Salt water. Swordfish go well with salt, and possibly butter. Swordfish are high in mercury. Halibut, shark, tuna
Tuna* Oily Loins, steaks Firm, oily Mild to moderate Salt water. Mackerel, salmon, shark, swordfish, halibut
* Good source of Omega-3 fatty acids