Buying Fish

Tim Lauer has spent two decades in the company of a wide variety of sea critters. He's the general manager of Coastal Seafoods, a retail fish and seafood store in Twin Cities area of Minnesota, as well as the author of "Everyday Fish" in the April/May 2005 issue of Cooking Pleasures.
Hanging out with fish every day of your life teaches you a few things. For his customers who want the taste and benefits fish offer but are uncertain about choosing and cooking fresh fish, Tim has some advice: "First, look at the quality of the fish: its brightness, the firmness of the flesh, the smell, and whether the blood line or blood areas of the fillet or fish are bright red. Second, match the fish with the appropriate cooking methods."
Getting the freshest seafood possible is often just a matter of finding the right season, he adds. The best time for sea scallops or mahimahi is November/December through February. Halibut run from March to November. Summer fish, like wild salmon and bluefin tuna, are best in June/July through September, and soft-shell crab season runs from June to August.
However, if the craving for an out-of-season fish strikes, you can try to satisfy it, Lauer says. "You can always get seafood year-round. It'll just be twice as expensive and not taste as good."