How to Cook Fish Without Filling Your Home with the Smell for Days

How to Enjoy More Fish During the Winter (Without Gagging on the Smell)

According to NOAA Fisheries, two-thirds of Americans prefer dining on fish at restaurants, especially during winter when you're stuck indoors with the windows closed, and the fishy smell lingers in your curtains and rugs for days. After all, grilling outdoors isn’t an option with snow on the ground and a wind chill in the negatives.

However, with restaurant dining restricted, more people are buying and cooking fish at home. A recent article from Bloomberg highlighted that seafood sales surged by 25% in 2020. Retailers like Stop & Shop are expanding their seafood selections to meet demand, while Whole Foods Market has reported significant growth in frozen seafood sales. They've even added value packs of halibut, barramundi, and arctic char, as well as fresh options like red snapper, black cod, and farm-raised striped bass to their counters.

Additionally, direct-to-consumer seafood companies have flourished, with some pivoting from wholesale to meet pandemic-driven demand. These companies range from general seafood vendors to those offering specialized, sustainable, regionally sourced products. Now, you can have anything from Florida stone crabs to Chilean salmon delivered right to your door.

If you’re confused or feel out of the loop about this trend, you’re not alone. The stats don’t specify where in the country—whether it’s places like Florida or California—these purchases are being made. Plus, they don’t reveal whether these consumers are seasoned pros when it comes to buying and cooking fish. So, we totally get it if you’re wondering, Why would I want to cook barramundi or striped bass in the middle of a snowstorm—and how exactly do I even cook it?

Health Benefits of Eating Fish

Many people believe that oily fish like salmon, mackerel, and herring are the healthiest options due to their beneficial fats. Nutritionist Lisa Richards explains, 'A 3-ounce portion of salmon provides a substantial amount of omega-3 fatty acids. Eating two to three servings of fish or salmon each week can help lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of obesity.'

All types of fish are packed with protein, B vitamins, and essential minerals like vitamin D and selenium. As for less common options like striped bass, nutritionist Richards explains, 'A six-ounce portion of striped bass delivers about 18% of your daily recommended iron intake. Iron is crucial for producing hemoglobin, which transports oxygen throughout your body. Regularly adding striped bass to your diet can boost your energy, mental clarity, and overall sense of wellbeing.'

Cook Immediately

While fish like salmon, tuna, black cod, Arctic char, halibut, and swordfish offer a wealth of health benefits—helping to combat everything from the coronavirus to pandemic stress—they can also leave a strong odor behind, especially if you’ve bought them during your last grocery run but didn’t cook them right away. This is the number one mistake.

Experts always suggest cooking fish as fresh as possible, ideally on the same day you buy it. This is because fish contains trimethylamine oxide, which breaks down into ammonia and causes that unpleasant smell. The longer you store fish, the stronger the odor will be when you cook it.

If cooking fish right away isn’t an option for you, consider buying vacuum-sealed or frozen fish and seafood. Fillets sealed immediately after being processed stay fresh longer, just like crabs and shrimp that are often cooked or frozen right on the boats for optimal freshness.

Or Skip the Cooking Entirely

Many home cooks swear by using citrus juices or vinegar in their fish dishes to keep the kitchen smelling fresh. Others suggest rubbing fillets and steaks with aromatic ingredients like garlic and onions, or marinating them. And of course, most of us love to sprinkle on plenty of herbs and spices. These additions not only help mask the fishy odor but also complement the flavor of just about any fish or shellfish.

But the moment your fish hits a hot pan, that familiar fishy smell will inevitably fill the air, no matter how you’ve seasoned it.

Instead, why not take inspiration from culinary traditions around the world and use brining or fermenting acids to 'cook' your fish? By preparing large batches of classic dishes like Latin American ceviche, Scandinavian pickled herring, or Asian fermented flounder, you can explore new flavors while keeping your kitchen odor-free. Plus, you’ll have multiple servings ready for the week, and these dishes work wonderfully as appetizers or light meals instead of a heavy main course.

While pickled herring and fermented flounder may call for specific types of fish, there’s plenty of room for flavor variation. Ceviche and its cousin, tiradito, offer endless possibilities in both taste and texture, allowing you to use anything from firm white fish like snapper or bass to richer, oilier options like tuna or kingfish, or even seafood like scallops and shrimp.

Hide It

If you prefer your fish cooked hot, try roasting or baking it in parchment paper or foil, adding your favorite seasonings. The sealed package traps the steam, and when you're ready to open it, you can always do so outside or near an open window. Adding lemon juice and white wine to the packet will likely give you a delicious, fragrant fillet of grouper or mahi-mahi—without the overpowering fishy smell.

Similarly, poaching or cooking fish sous vide will lock in the smell inside the cooking liquid or pouch. If you’re a fan of air frying, you can use that method too for a crispy, tender fish. Just be prepared to give your air fryer a thorough cleaning afterward.

Mask It

When a splash of lemon juice doesn’t quite do the trick, a generous amount of crushed tomatoes and a rich stock can work wonders. If you have fish that’s been lingering in the fridge longer than you’d like, or a mix of fish and shellfish, turn them into a hearty cioppino or chowder to cover up any lingering odors.

By gently simmering fish in a large pot of liquid—especially in a soup where you’re first sweating a soffrito or mirepoix, which instantly fills the air with an inviting aroma—you won’t need to worry about lingering fish smells. Alternatively, you can mix a variety of fish and shellfish into a flavorful paella or jambalaya, which start with a holy trinity of vegetables and are then enriched with poultry and/or spicy sausage.

The Instant Pot is perfect for quickly preparing fish stews, soups, chowders, and rice dishes, and it does a great job of sealing in the smells. Like with the air fryer, you’ll need to clean it thoroughly afterward—but you’d have to do that anyway. And honestly, cleaning one pot is far easier than airing out a whole house full of curtains, pillows, and rugs, right?