I'm trying to figure out why a fish I cooked tasted pretty nasty.
I bought a whole farm raised striped bass from the Asian seafood market. It was US farm raised. The eyes were bright and not cloudy or desiccated. It didn't have much fishy-smell, so I assumed it was good.
My first mistake is that I didn't put it on ice when I brought it home. It just went straight into the fridge inside its package, bottom shelf. It smelled fine when I brought it out.
I cleaned the fish by scissoring around the anus up to the gills, drawing out the viscera and discarding, then I cut out the gills by snipping wherever I could until they came out. Head stayed on. I cut out the fins. I did not descale it. Another possible problem.
I rinsed it copiously, getting all the blood off. I laid spring onions, garlic, and lemon slices into the cavity as aromatics. I then built a salt crust around it and baked 450F/225C for 30 mins. The center temp was well over 130 (came up to like 180-190 actually) which was overcooked. That might have been my third mistake.
My question to you:
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Was it possibly a crappy fish? Can fish just taste bad even though it's fresh because it was fed a bad diet and/or improperly handled?
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Was the storage/cleaning process wrong?
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Was the cooking process wrong?
Best Answer
If the fish is left with guts inside for a long time, the biliary fluids may seep from the gall bladder into the meat, causing a bitter taste, this can also happen if you break the gall bladder while cleaning the fish.