A Guide To Fish Varieties (INFOGRAPHIC)

So you've decided to have fish for dinner. You've chosen a recipe and know exactly the fish you need (let's say halibut, for example) and you run out to the market to buy your fresh fish, but they don't have halibut! What do you do? We're here to help by showing you that it's not the end of the world. As they say, there are many more fish in the sea.

Unfortunately, buying fish is not like buying chicken, pork or beef. There are countless varieties and what ends up in a fish market is different almost every day. We've created a handy guide for buying fish (see below). We'll show you the four big categories of fish, broken down by texture. Find the fish your recipe calls for, and then check out the other similar options that you can easily swap in.

Also, check out a step-by-step gallery (see below) to learn how to fillet your fish once you get it home. You can learn how to fillet both round fish (such as trout and snapper) and flat fish (such as sole and flounder).

If you're interested in sustainable fish (meaning fish that are harvested or farmed in a way that does not jeopardize the ecosystem or result in overfishing), then check out Seafood Watch for more information. You can print a Seafood Watch pocket guide or download the app for your iPhone or Android.

Thank you to "Fish: Recipes from the Sea" for providing us with the illustrations and photos. The publisher Phaidon is giving away one copy of the book to a lucky winner. Leave a comment below to be entered to win. Tell us about any fish blunders you've had in the kitchen and why you could use this book.

Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter, you must be a registered user and leave a comment below before Wednesday, March 8 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. You may enter only once and one winner will be selected at random to receive a copy of the cookbook "Fish: Recipes from the Sea." Click here for complete Official Rules.

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Comments

[jpfmtka]

07:58 AM on 03/09/2012

I agree with the folks who will not buy any farm raised fish but I also try to keep an eye on species that are sustainable and whose "harvest" methods do not endanger other oceanlife. Sadly, since moving to the "deep south" my choices are really limited. Pork and chicken are the annointed King and Queen here.

[Dubagee]

01:34 PM on 03/07/2012

Oily Fish = the BEST!!!!! Arctic Char & Steelhead Trout are awesome replacements for salmon!!

http://youtu.be/JHttdp6_JZM
http://gigieatscelebrities.com

[cgeric1]

12:51 PM on 03/07/2012

There are so many great tasting fish available in local area waters that there is NO need whatsoever to be eating the farmraised and imported items discussed above. First requirement for fish should be that it is WILD CAUGHT, DOMESTIC and nothing else.
People on the Gulf Coast especially should not even have clue what a talapia is. They aren't even indiginous to this continent.
BEST FISH: BLACK DRUM, SHEEPSHEAD, FLOUNDER, SPECKLED TROUT, RED DRUM...all extremely plentiful in Louisiana....its just a shame that we have the best politicians money can buy

[dickn2000b]

01:32 PM on 03/07/2012

It's nice to see a comment form someone who knows what they are talking about. From one fisherman to another...Tight lines and good fishing!

[lastliberalintx]

08:15 AM on 03/08/2012

Growing up on the TX Gulf Coast, I remember flounder was the only thing we would eat. It was so incredibly plentiful that you could bring home 100 fish and freeze them. I always wonder, and still do why you cannot find flounder in the grocery stores here.

[wildwomynwriter]

11:26 AM on 03/07/2012

After reading the comments-I do not want to eat fish. How sad we have overdosed our meat supply on hormones and antibiotics and the fish are raised in sewage. Maybe being a vegetarian is the way to go. How did it get like this?

[brokenleoheart]

11:16 AM on 03/07/2012

im not sure why we need to skin or filet a fish. personally it taste better with the bones... i also rank ocean fish on a much higher level of taste than fresh water fish. it just doesn't taste the same! fresh water fish has that muddy and boring taste.

[natal plum]

12:41 PM on 03/07/2012

Carp, suckers and chubs are the best for muddy boring taste

[jpfmtka]

08:03 AM on 03/09/2012

When I lived in California, we went trout fishing every summer in the Mammoth Mountain area. There are few things better than a trout dinner following a day on the lake or river.

[brokenleoheart]

09:09 AM on 03/09/2012

don't know why, but i always prefer deep sea fish and shellfish more. has more of that "sea" flavor.

[saultydog42]

11:07 AM on 03/07/2012

deep fried cod is the best, baked halibut is the best baked, baked salmon is great as a cold salad or cakes if you cant tolorate the unusual taste of salmon. You can use liquid smoke on salmon also. One of my favotite ways to prepare salmon for baking is. 1/4 cup of molassis, 1 table spoon of liquid smoke (dark), 2 eggs beaten, blend all the ingredients, , 1 package or tube of town house crackers crushed, brush the salmon filet with the ingredients then roll it in the crushed crackers, lay it onto a buttered pan and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degs for aproximately 15 to 20 minutes or until the fish flakes. Do not over cook as it will be mushy. Try this and when you sit down toeat it, tell your mother not to say anything for it will be so good that you will slap her for it.

[lastliberalintx]

08:17 AM on 03/08/2012

Sounds great, but I would never use liquid smoke in anything. It's a PAH, and while it exists naturally in some foods when you grill/cook it, I wouldn't want to add more.

[Lily P]

12:34 PM on 03/09/2012

I agree with you on the deep fried cod, but a bar down the st from me actually had fried bluegill a few weeks ago (caught out of a local lake). Awe that was good!

[Still kickin]

10:57 AM on 03/07/2012

I have only a couple of requirements...WILD caught (no farmed fish) and preferably from US, Canada or Iceland. No fish raised in sewereage or fed soy meal for me, thank you.

[ibeyour1]

11:52 AM on 03/07/2012

if it's wild caught from the Pacific it will be radioactive too. If it's shrimp from the gulf you can fry it without adding oil. Since when is a striped bass a rock fish? Which btw is farm raised as wild can't be sold and lives in both fresh and saltwater

[Judy White-stamp]

10:26 AM on 03/07/2012

I love the fish guide in this article.

[majett]

09:31 AM on 03/07/2012

My husband catches fish and I need ideas/recipes on how to prepare different types of fish.

[saultydog42]

11:42 AM on 03/07/2012

Try this, Have you ever wondered why some people can have reallty crispy fried fish when yours is always, greasy and mushy?Take 2 eggs 1 cup of flour, about 2 tbs of peanut oil, salt or even lemon pepper works well to taste, let some whole milk sit out or warm it in the microwave, also let the eggs warm to room temp, The reason is, milk, eggs and flour blend better if its warm and you dont have to let it sit and expand before you use it. start with 1 cup of warm milk and the eggs, blend them together and add oil, continue to blend add salt and pepper if you wish, slowly blend in the flour until you have a batter that you can dip your finger into and it stays on your finger but you can see the finger color thru it, heat peanut oil to 400 degs. Now for the crispy, you should be able to find rice flour in specialty flours at the grocery store, pour rice flour onto a plate, dip the fish in the batter and then roll it in the rice flour, the more rice four it picks up, the crispier it will be, drop into the oil and fry just until it pops to the top, dont look for browning , it will be a light tan in color, if the fish is flaky its done, dont over cook for it will be hard or mushy. ..

[saultydog42]

11:51 AM on 03/07/2012

I cant post but 250 words per post. Fish thats been frozen and thawed should be opened and placed on paper towels for about 1 hour after thawed because it has to much water in it, dont press it, let it drain into the paper towels for at least one hour, turn it occasionally to let both sides drain. Thick Cod works well with this but mit works with all fish, make sure the thickness is consistant in the same piece as the tail will overcook while the thicker wont be done. If fish has water in it the batter will be spongy when fried. also water in batter makes the hot oil kick the batter off or it might blow hot oils onto you.

[fergiesmom2]

08:49 AM on 03/07/2012

The most important thing is to know WHERE it came from. And I will NEVER buy farm raised fish of ANY kind. Also in the Pacific Northwest, I am leary of buying from the Reservation. I don't know what their practices are after catching the fish .

[natal plum]

12:42 PM on 03/07/2012

They abuse them after they catch them. No telling what they've done to them. Remember that guy in Florida with the dolphin?

[Learical]

08:29 AM on 03/07/2012

You cannot buy bass, except as fingerlings for stocking ponds, to the best of my knowledge.

[joebikerchef]

08:49 AM on 03/07/2012

You should be able to buy striped bass at any good fish market, sturgeon is protected almost everywhere, swordfish is caught by long lining, which has a by-catch problem that bothers me, personally...

[Learical]

09:29 AM on 03/07/2012

Thank you. Have never seen it in FL stores; maybe it's just FL !

[Diane Molinari]

08:02 AM on 03/07/2012

And where would you recommend buying healthy fish??Because it isn't in stores that sell sewage infested farm raised fish from other countries.In fact I recognized alot you named as not being healthy anymore.After BP and other countries I would be skeptical of any fish.

[fergiesmom2]

08:50 AM on 03/07/2012

I agree with you totally Diane......You're absolutely correct.

[saultydog42]

10:50 AM on 03/07/2012

Like Tilapia, these fish strive and grow very fast in sewer waters and I do mean sewer waters as in raw sewage. Always look where it comes from, China is among the worst.