Seasoning for Fish (versatile and excellent)

A good Fish Seasoning is an easy way to make any fish delicious – fast! This spice rub mix is based on Old Bay Seasoning and is a combination of spices for fish that works really well together. I’ve used flathead fillets today, but it can be used for any fish suitable for pan frying.

A great fish seasoning spice mix

This might be “just” a simple recipe for a spice mix, but it’s excellent one to know because of its versatility and will serve you for years to come. It might even end up being THE seasoning for fish you end up using forever more!!!

This mix is based on the ingredients printed on Old Bay Seasoning tins. Old Bay Seasoning is a classic American spice blend that’s been around for more than 70 years. It was originally created for seasoning prawns (shrimp) and crab but has evolved over time into an all-purpose spice, used with everything from corn and chicken to potatoes and seafood.

Rather than being a direct copycat of Old Bay, I’ve tweaked this spice mix slightly to make it most ideal for fish. At least, to my tastes!

Seasoning spices for Fish

Here are the spices that go into this Fish Seasoning mix, based on Old Bay Seasoning as mentioned earlier. Plenty of substitutions listed below.

Here’s brief description on some of the less common spices, plus substitution options.

• Celery salt (key ingredient) – This is the salt base for this spice mix for fish. It’s a flavoured salt made from mixing ground celery seeds with salt. Though it doesn’t taste or smell like anything special out of the bottle, it’s got sparkle! When part of a seasoning, it adds a subtle extra layer of savoury flavour.

  In fact, celery salt is one of the “secret ingredients” in things like KFC seasoning and Old Bay. You’ve probably had it in more dishes than you realised when eating snack foods or at restaurants.

  It’s common these days, easily found in the spice aisle of grocery stores. Substitute with ordinary salt, or make your own celery salt using celery leaves (see recipe notes);

• Mace – This is a spice used in Old Bay Seasoning which is why it’s made its way into this recipe! Derived from the nutmeg tree, it tastes a bit like nutmeg and allspice. We only use a bit so it’s not a key ingredient (1/8 tsp out of 4 tsp of total Fish Seasoning). Substitute with nutmeg, allspice, or even pumpkin pie spice;

• Mustard powder – Substitute with 1/4 tsp ginger powder;

• Smoked paprika – Substitute with plain paprika;

• Allspice – Substitute with mixed spice;

• Clove – Substitute with nutmeg or mixed spice;

• Ginger – Substitute with more mustard powder;

• Cayenne – Substitute with pure chilli powder;

• Ground cardamom – Substitute with equal parts cinnamon plus nutmeg.

Fish to use with Fish Seasoning

I’ve used flathead in this recipe. The beauty of this fish seasoning is that it’s a great all-rounder that will work with virtually any type of fish that is suitable for pan-frying. This includes:

• White fish fillets – any;

• Salmon, trout, swordfish;

• Tuna (cooked rare, like this)

• Skinless and boneless fish fillets work best here. The seasoning is nice on fish skin too, but I just think it works better on the flesh;

• Pan-frying is the best cooking method. The direct heat cooks and rounds out the spices, while you get lovely caramelisation on the fish;

• Oven-roasting won’t really work. This is because you can’t leave fillets in long enough to cook the spices through, ie. you end up with raw spice flavour which isn’t that pleasant;

• Finish the fish in oven if you have thick fillets. If you have very thick fish fillets, say > 2.5cm / 1″ thick, it’s best to finish in the oven. So, firstly pan-fry to get lovely colour on the surface, then pop the pan into a 180°C / 350°F oven for 5 minutes or so until they are cooked through.

How to use this Fish Seasoning

The nice thing about this seasoning is that you can add a dab of butter into the pan at the end so it mixes in with the spices and you have yourself a lovely flavoured butter sauce to drizzle over your fish!

1. Make spice mix – Mix the ingredients in a small bowl. This will keep for a couple of months in an airtight container. The recipe makes 1 batch of seasoning which is enough to season fish for 4 people;

2. Sprinkle on fish fillets – Sprinkle on both sides of the fish, then lightly rub to spread with your fingers;

3. Pan fry – Pan fry fish in a little butter until golden on both sides; and

4. Rest fish – Rest fish for 3 minutes before serving. This is an essential step with any protein you cook to allow the juices in the flesh to redistribute and settle back into the flesh. This way, the juices end up in your mouth where they belong, instead of running out all over the plate when you cut into the fish!