Making Better Dinners With Less

When you want to cook a fish dish for your family or guests, your first stop should be to a local seafood shop to browse for the type of fish you want. While many people choose fish fillets or steaks, there are other ways to buy this type of protein. One option is to purchase the entire fish, which is something that is often possible with fish such as salmon, trout, and more. If you haven't previously worked with a whole fish, there's no need to feel intimidated. You can find many tutorials online, and an employee at the seafood shop can also give you some helpful advice. Here are three reasons to buy a whole fish.

Impressive Presentation 

A lot of people are accustomed to having a standard piece of fish on their plate when they sit down to eat, but it's not as common to see a platter that features a whole fish on the dining room table in front of them. If you like the idea of impressing your family and guests with the presentation of their meal, using a whole fish can be an idea to try. There's something unique and special about everyone taking a piece of the fish to enjoy, rather than having their own portion placed on their plate prior to the meal.

More Affordable

You'll often find that buying a whole fish can be more affordable than buying filets from a fish. It takes time and effort for the seafood shop's staff to cut filets out of a whole fish, which often causes this type of product to cost a little more. If you're keen on saving money when you shop for fish — perhaps because you need to buy a large amount to feel a big group of guests you'll be hosting — a few whole fish may be a lot more affordable than you realize.

Extra Uses

There will be a lot of parts of the whole fish that you don't eat, but this doesn't mean that you should discard them. Instead, you can use the head, tail, spine, and other parts to make a fish stock. There are many fish stock recipes online, and they typically involve simmering fish parts in water with other ingredients until the water is infused with the flavors of the fish. You may appreciate being able to use the extra parts of the whole fish in this manner — and end up with a tasty homemade stock to use for soups in the process.

Visit a local seafood shop to find out more.