Whenever you can, buy fresh seafood, you'll get top quality and the best taste experience. The best way to buy fish for preparation ease, is in fresh fillet or steak form. Fillets are normally bone free and steaks are usually cut into serving portion sizes making your prep time shorter. Most "light cooking recipes" call for 6-ounce raw fish fillets or steaks, which yield approximately 4 1/2-ounce cooked portions. Choose only fish of the right size for your planned meal if you can. If there are only larger fillets buy 12 or 18 once sizes etc. and cut them into 6 once portions. (Most counters will also cut them for you)
Don't buy anything more than one day or at most a couple of days old, especially if you don't plan to cook it that night. Pick fish that are blemish-free with the outside skin being neither slick nor soggy. Fresh fish should be firm and the flesh should spring back when touched. The fish should smell subtly of the water from which it came. If it has a strong "fishy" smell, it is not fresh and not for you. Ask at the counter when the fish came in.
The most economical way to purchase fish is in the whole. When you buy a whole fish, look for clear glossy eyes; shiny red gills and a firm body. Again make sure that the skin is free of any dark blemishes. The tail should not be dried out, brittle or curled. Ask the counter person to fillet and portion it for you, or wash and cook it as. Whole fish are great for BBQ or banquet affairs.
If you have a whole fish you can cook what you need and freeze the rest. Use the bones to make fish stock for soups and stews. The bones will freeze and the stock will also. Fish stock packed in plastic tubs with tight fitting lids freezes well. It's a good idea to date everything you freeze and use it as soon as you can.
No matter the form, avoid seafood that has been in a display case for extended periods, even if it is on ice. If you are unsure ask if there is more in the back. If there isn't fresh fish available buying fish that has been frozen at sea is your next best alternative.
If you buy frozen fish, when possible, purchase vacuum-packed frozen fish, and look for "once frozen" on the label. Buy individually Quick Frozen (IQF) not bulk frozen. Avoid any fish that has symptoms of freezer burn, such as brown or dry edges. If the packaging has tears, rips or is ragged looking avoid it. Defrost frozen fish in the refrigerator overnight. Don't refreeze fish you have thawed, purchase a size that can be consumed at one meal.
If you are shopping at a grocery buy fresh seafood on your way out of the store, take it directly home, and cook it within 24 hours. Take along a cooler to keep it cool going home. If it's not possible to cook it immediately warp it good and freeze it. Keep the fish as cold as possible until you are ready to cook it, store seafood in the coldest part of your refrigerator.
When shopping for fresh whole shellfish always buy live or if unavailable buy cooked products that have been canned or frozen and dated. In the case of shucked shellfish meats such as scallops buy those in a fresh state, again ask how fresh they are. Don't buy live clams and mussels that have gaping shells, they should be close or shut with a little hand pressure. Lobsters and crabs should be moving and not be sagging at the joints and tails.
