I don't eat fish. My father is highly allergic so it was something that was never in our house. My mom and brother eat it but I never acquired a taste or the ability to enjoy the smell of it. When I was young, I had a short period where I ate shrimp. I've tried catfish and shark...but it's been well over 20 years since I've had either. That's greatly limited my menu choices and I know that it's healthier than red meat. So, I'm starting to think about trying it. It would make my wife pretty happy, too. While I can't confirm it, I think I have a slight allergy to at least crab. About 5 years ago at a business dinner, I tried a bite of a crab cake...and I proceeded to swell up a little. So, for someone who's 40 and never really tried it, what is the best way to start? It would have to be something that isn't too fishy smelling because that will just turn me off immediately. I'm looking for suggestions of type of fish and how best to prepare it.
Sashimi. If you're looking for cooked fish try the whiter fish like Tilapia, Halibut, etc. If you can't handle either then you are just one of the few unlucky people that have a very bad taste disposition to seafood. Also like DudeWah below said, don't bake fish. That smell is nasty. http://www.prevention.com/food/cook/how-cook-fish-so-it-doesnt-smell Grilled is great.
Halibut steaks are pretty good and on the meatier side as far as fish go. Ceviche is also really good and one of my favorites. All the lemon juice masks the fishy taste as well. Not that big on catfish. Always tastes chewy and greasy. It's the duck of the consumable fish family IMO. I usually prepare Ceviche with Tilapia, which is a white meat fish. It's pretty cheap to purchase and good. That said if you're looking to eat it for health benefits it's not the best option. It doesn't contain as many Omega-3s as say trout or tuna.
That would be a shellfish allergy, which wouldn't be caused by fish. So, you are probably safe with fish, but maybe not shellfish like crab, lobster, shrimp, crawfish, etc. It also might be fine for you to have mollusks like oysters, clams, mussels, etc. I'll also vote for freshwater fish or white fish like talipia for you, with a blackened recipe. Halibut is awesome, but expensive.
Grill up some (wild caught sockeye) salmon. One of, if not the most, nutritious fish. And taste's great.
There are a number of things you could try if your goal is to avoid what would traditionally be thought of as a "fishy" taste or smell. Fish and chips (cod traditionally), mahi mahi, poke (made with ahi tuna), the aforementioned sashimi and tilapia would all be decent options. Depending on how far you want to expand the definition of fish, something like a clam chowder. Shrimp or crawfish in a gumbo, though I would be concerned about your apparent shellfish allergy.
