Conference turris::cooks

Ahah - you are among the luckiest of persons, having not had swordfish ?

Or at least not cooked it yourself.....

I assume that the steaks were frozen... so, thaw them.
Turn on your broiler, place the swordfish on broiler rack.  Coat top of
steaks with mayonnaise.  Broil that side.  Turn.  Coat other side with mayo.
Broil that side.

"How long do I broil each side", you ask ?

Assuming 3/4 to 1 inch steaks, 7 minutes on the 1st side, 5 on the second,
then check.  When the meat is white through and flakes easily with a fork,
it's done.

BE CAREFUL - swordfish dries out easily (hence the mayo) and when it does
it is not nearly as good as when at the "point of perfection".

You can also marinate the steaks instead of slathering them with mayo - I 
leave the other cooks to suggest marinades - there are a bunch of meat 
marinades aboe in the file.....

Steve


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Karen you're in for a real treat....

While broilin' [63.1] is Beautiful, GRILLIN's is GREAT !!

Take it from a current desert rat, but former West coast beach bum, there
is nothing like the ol' BBQ to bring out the flavor of good sword'.  Get
the coals good and hot.  Put the 'seagoing beef' steaks on a HOT grill close
to the coals.  Careful, don't walk off now.  The sword will begin to turn
white.  Turn that puppy over.  You should have grill marks burned into the fish,
and it should be starting to turn brown.

Many restaurants out this way often ask you, "how do you want your sword 
cooked (rare, medium, or well); just like beef!  You'll have to experiment,
but sword is pretty hardy; it will stand up to a lot of abuse.  Just by the
brown color, and all will be O.K.

If you feel like getting a little different, put garlic on it just like on
beef.  A touch of Mexico, believe it or not.

By the way,  a Fume Blanc compliments nicely....

Enjoy,

Eric

    Grilled swordfish is often served with an herb butter.  Melt some
    butter, and add some lemon juice and tarragon.  Ditto the
    recommendation on a Fum� Blanc.  Robert Mondavi Reserve.  Makes
    me drool just thinking about it.
    
    Scott

    A fish monger once told me not to defrost frozen swordfish before
    cooking.  The juices all drain out as it defrosts - thus you have
    tasteless, dry fish.
    
    I grill swordfish and tuna on a kettle grill (Weber style) with
    great results.  Also, many good fish markets carry 'swordfish chunks'
    for half the price of swordfish steaks.  Just skewer and place on
    the grill.  Turn every few minutes till meat turns white.
    
    But my favorite way to cook fish - baked with butter and parmesan
    cheese.  Please fish in baking dish.  Bake at 325 for 10 or 15 minutes,
    till fish turns white.  Spread a pat or two of butter or margerine
    over the top and sprinkle on the grated cheese.  Bake for another
    10 minutes or broil the top till brown.
    
    I do this with most kinds of white fish.  Swordfish and Halibut
    may take a few minutes longer.  Haddock and Cod usually need to
    be drained before you put on the butter and cheese.
    
    The neat thing about this is....You can turn down the oven to its
    lowest point and leave the fish in there for up to half an hour
    before it starts to dry out. Longer if you don't drain it at all.
    
    

    
    The best swordfish I've ever tasted was marinated (see below)
    and then grilled over the BBQ.  GREAT!
    
    Mix about 1 cup of olive oil, juice from 1 lemon (or two?),
    a few cloves of crushed garlic (depending on how much you
    love garlic - I use about 4), and then add oregano or basil.
    Marinade swordfish steaks for about 2 hours and you're ready
    for the grill!
    
    Enjoy,
    Bev

    
     Rep .5
    
     If you add about 2TSBP of Dijon style mustard or a couple of shakes
     of crushed hot pepper to your marinade it makes the taste even
     better
    
       

    This is just the greatest, greatest, greatest - especially the flavored
    butter.
    
                Lemon-Soy Swordfish Steaks with Avocado Butter
    
    Source: Piret's Cookbook
    Yield:  8 servings
    
    Marinade:
    
    	1/3 C. soy sauce
    	1 t. grated lemon zest
    	1/4 C. fresh lemon juice (2 lemons)
    	1 clove garlic, crushed
    	2 t. Dijon-style mustard
    	1/2 C. vegetable oil
    
    8 swordfish steaks
    lemon or lime wedges
    fresh parsley, chopped
    
    Avocado Butter:
    
    	1/2 C. butter, softened
    	1/2 C. ripe mashed avocado
    	5 T. fresh lemon or lime juice
    	2 cloves garlic, minced
    	salt
    
    Whisk together all the marinade ingredients. Place the fish in a
    shallow glass or porcelain baking dish and pour on the marinade,
    piercing the fish with a fork to assure penetration. Turn the fish
    and pierce it again. Let the fish marinate, covered in the
    refrigerator, for at least 1 hour. It can marinate up to 6 hours,
    if necessary.
    
    Grill the fish over hot coals or under the broiler for 5 to 6 minutes
    on each side, brushing the fish often with the marinade. Figure
    10 minutes' total cooking time for each inch of thickness of the
    fish steaks. Serve the fish garnished with lemon or lime wedges
    and chopped parsley, and topped with Avocado Butter.
    
    Avocado Butter:
    
    Whip the butter in a small mixing bowl until it is soft and creamy.
    Beat in the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate the butter until
    ready to serve. This is a good accompaniment to any barbecued fish.
    
    

    I had the most marvelous Swordfish Kabobs at a restaurant last week.
    I couldn't place the marinade/baste, so I asked the waiter.  He
    checked with the chef, and discovered it had been marinating in
    French salad dressing before being grilled.  It was wonderful! Try
    it on steaks, I'll bet you like it.
    
    Sarah
    

    Hi everyone!  I don't like fish, but feel I should eat it.  Recently
    I managed to make a really good scrod sort of cajun type recipe
    and have even made it two more times.  I would like to try  these swordfish
    recipes and I've also heard tuna steaks taste like chicken.  Is
    it true about the tuna and is the swordfish free of any fishy taste?
    Thanks for any help.
    
    Flo

    re .9
    A fresh piece of tuna or swordfish does not have a fishy taste.
     To me, when grilled they taste like veal.  Any fish with a strong
    odor is not fresh, therefore the taste will not be as fresh.  (Except
    for bluefish, which is a very strong-flavored fish, even when fresh).
    
    Sarah (wife of a fisherman!)
    

    Fresh tuna is *much better* tasting than chicken!
    Nothing like canned tuna.
    Just don't overcook it.
    
    Too bad it isn't as CHEAP as chicken....

    This was delicious, next time I'd use less ginger as it was a little
    overpowering.  My husband cut this recipe out of the Boston Herald.
    
    Grilled Swordfish Salad Oriental
    
      2 pounds swordfish
    1/4 cup soy sauce
      2-inch piece gingerroot, peeled and finely chopped
      2 tablespoons Chinese sesame oil
      2 teaspoons sugar
      1 lb fresh spinach, washed and deveined
    1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
    1/2 cup chopped scallions
    
    Place fish in a shallow baking dish.
    
    Combine the soy, chopped ginger, sesame oil, and sugar in a small
    bowl.  Mex well and pour over the fish, working the marinade
    into the flesh with your fingers, making sure all surfaces are well
    coated.  Refrigerate for a least 2 hours.
    
    When ready to cook, remove the fish from the marinade (reserving
    marinade).  Place the fish over hot coals 4-inches from heat source
    and grill 5-7 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the
    fish.  When cooked remove from the grill and cut into bite-size
    chunks.
    
    Arrange the spinach on a platter.  Mound the swordfish in the center.
    (We did each serving separately.)
    
    In a small saucepan, heat the reserved marinade with 2 tablespoons
    of water until it simmers.  Spoon the sauce on top of the salad.
    Garnish with almonds and chopped scallions.
    
    Depending on appetities -- 4-6 servings

    Re: an earlier note on the cost of swordfish.. I know what you mean, I
    grew up on the stuff, and even as little as 4 years ago it was still
    fairly priced..but its the *in* fish so..its about $9.00/lb give or
    take a dollar or two...so, at 1/2 the price (sometimes even less), to
    replace the swordfish and have almost the same taste, (and to many
    the SAME taste), replace the swordfish with mako shark, (not lemon
    shark, I think its a little mushy). But mako is excellent and looks
    identical to swordfish, and tastes about the same. 
    
    Also, if you are out on the west coast, try thresher shark. Slightly
    different taste, though same texture. And its *excellent*!
    
    Only problem is, even shark is getting popular..but I've been able
    to buy it at $2.50/lb when swordfish was $8.50, and I can still get
    shark for, at most, $4.00/lb.
    
    Kate

    
    
    TRY SOAKING THE SWORDFISH, TUNA, OR YOUR FAVORITE IN VERMOUTH, W/A
    LITTE LEMON JUICE, CRUSH GARLIC, MIN OF 3 HOURS,  WOW!

Here's one that was real good yesterday evening (serves 4 to six adults):

Fish: 1.5 to 2 lbs swordfish steak (figure about 1/3 lb per person)

Marinade: About quarter cup each of light soy, dry sherry and water
(actually a little less water), four or five cloves crushed garlic, a
few dashes Tabasco (to taste -- I used about a dozen or more), and
about 1.5 tsp crushed fennel seed.

Veggies: mushrooms, sweet red peppers, onions, whatever else you like
(tomatoes didn't look too good, but would've been nice).

Cut the fish into about 1-inch cubes and marinate for about an hour
(actually was about 45 minutes). Stick on skewers with veggies.

Cooking time: about five minutes on the Weber (don't overcook swordfish!!)

Serve with: steamed rice, a green vegetable (steamed broccoli), and
cold white wine (we had Round Hill sauvignon blanc, about $6/bottle)

    I was on the west coast recenlty and had dinner at Las Spresis (SP??).
    I ahd the swordfish special....it was absolutly heavenly!.  It was
    marinated in some sort of light sweet sauce and grilled over mesquite.
    It was topped off with sauted peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, onions and
    baby shrimp.
    
    It was soo good I'd like to make it at home, but I'm not real sure
    what to do with a marinade.  This one didn't have a garlicy flavor,
    but it was very light and sweet.  Any suggestions?
    
    Thanks-
    
    Michele
    

        <<< Note 63.16 by STUDIO::PELUSO "PAINTS; color your corral" >>>
                            -< Looking for recipie >-

<    I was on the west coast recenlty and had dinner at Las Spresis (SP??).

Was it Las Brisas on Pacific Coast Highway in Orange County?

If, so you can write to the LA Times Food Editor - Mary Lou ????? and
she will attempt to get the recipe for you.

Rochelle

P.S. Not to be a stick-in-the-mud - but did you read Consumer Reports article
     on fish - especially Swordfish?    

    That's the place! and no, I never did get around to reading that
    article, maybe I should.

     
    Someone please put us out of our misery.  What did the article say???
    

    What's in the article?  High mercury levels in the swordfish?  I know
    I've heard that one before.
    
    Cara
    

           <<< Note 63.20 by DEMON::DEMON::COLELLA "Wicked good." >>>
                                 -< Mercury? >-

    <What's in the article?  High mercury levels in the swordfish?  I know
    >I've heard that one before.
    
    
    

I've got our copy of CR here - I'll type it in tomorrow - by popular request
on and offline!

Rochelle

 I don't know if the CR article said it, but the state of the swordfish
fishery is such that the population is plummeting at such a rate that recovery
may not be possible. The average size of swordfish caught is currently 60 lbs.
Adult swordfish can exceed 1000 lbs. The swordfish are maturing at a younger
age due to the tremendous pressure commercial fishermen exert on the
resource.

 Swordfish are being MASSIVELY OVERFISHED. I think that we as consumers have to
recognize that our demand is what fuels this overfishing. And the clear answer 
is that preserving the future of swordfish populations for our progeny
requires that we collectively reduce our intake of swordfish.

 This probably sounds like just another alarmist message. But the facts are
clear and chilling. I really can't convey the gravity of the situation in
a few short lines. But when the fish are gone (and they will be unless
somebody does something) people will ask, "Why didn't anyone ever tell me?"
Well, you've been told.

 set note/mode=end_soapbox

 The Doctah

The Doctah is right.

Another sign of the reduced swordfish population is the number of times
you see stores sell shark and call it swordfish. This has happened to
us several times at the local supermarket. I like shark enough to not
bother complaining, but I don't like paying swordfish prices for shark.
If it happens much more, I'm going to complain (and I *do* know the
difference between the two -- it's easy to tell when you eat it, but
hard just looking at it all cut up).

� Swordfish are being MASSIVELY OVERFISHED. 
    
    I've heard this is the case with a lot more than swordfish.

           <<< Note 63.20 by DEMON::DEMON::COLELLA "Wicked good." >>>
                                 -< Mercury? >-

<    What's in the article?  High mercury levels in the swordfish?  I know
<    I've heard that one before.
    
Okay, here is the paragraph about mercury and swordfish, their views on tuna
were worse!

	Excerpted from Consumer Reports  without permission
	February 1992 - IS OUR FISH FIT TO EAT?

MERCURY

Mercury is a poisonous metallic element that is released by burning fuels as 
well as by industrial and household wastes.  Eventually it settles in waterways
and oceans where it joins naturally occurring mercury.  There, bacteria convert 
it to the toxic compound methylmercury.

Methylmercury is a poison that affects the development of the nervous system.
Unlike PCBs, which linger in the fatty tissues of humans for many years, 
mercury eventually leaves the body, usually within two years provided you stop
ingesting it.

Mercury accumulates in large fish that live a long time, such as tuna, shark
and swordfish.  Almost all of the mercury in fish is the compound methylmercury.
The FDA has set an informal action level of 1 part per million for methylmercury
in fish.

Ninety percent of our swordfish samples had detectable levels of total mercury,
ranging from 0.46 to 2.4 parts per million.  The average of those samples was
1.14 parts per million.  Forty percent contained mercury that exceeded the 
action level.

The high levels of mercury we found in swordfish are not surprising, since
mercury is present in oceans throughout the world.  There's no way to prevent
swordfish from accumulating it in their tissues.

The FDA told us, however, it is "actively reevaluating the action level for 
methylmercury" a step in the right direction.  The Canadian Health Protection
Board has a lower standard for mercury in fish-0.5 parts per million. Eight-five
[sic] percent of our swordfish samples would have exceeded the Canadian limits.

Rochelle

>    I've heard this is the case with a lot more than swordfish.

 True enough. Most every commercially valuable species is being overfished.
The big deal about swordfish is really a question of the magnitude of the
overfishing. It is phenomenal. On the other hand, the commercial fishing
practices as a whole are so bad, that if everybody knew how bad things
are, how wasteful some of the methods are, how harmful to the fisheries,
the outrage would be deafening. It's worse than strip mining or clear cutting
old growth forests.