Recipe: Steaming Times for Fish Fillets and Steaks

STEAMING TIMES FOR FISH FILLETS AND STEAKS

Arctic Char Fillet (1 inch thick) 5 minutes

Bluefish Fillet (3/4 to 1 inch thick) 7 to 8 minutes

Cod Steak (1 inch thick) 6 to 8 minutes

Fillet (1 inch thick) 6 minutes

Flounder Fillet and Gray Sole (1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, folded in half so the tail end is under the wide end) 4 to 6 minutes

Grouper Fillet (1 to 1 1/2 inches thick) 10 to 12 minutes

Halibut Steak (1 inch thick) 6 minutes

Monkfish Fillet (1 inch thick) 10 to 12 minutes

Pompano Fillet (1/2 to 3/4 inch thick) 6 to 8 minutes

Salmon
- Steak (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches thick) 7 to 8 minutes for medium-rare 8 to 9 minutes for medium
- Fillet (1 1/2 inches thick) 7 to 8 minutes for medium-rare 8 to 9 minutes for medium

Snapper Fillet (3/4 inch thick) 5 minutes

Swordfish Steak (3/4 to 1 inch thick) 6 minutes

Tilefish Steak (1 to 1 1/4 inches thick) 6 to 8 minutes

Tuna Steak (3/4 to 1 inch thick) 2 minutes for rare 4 minutes for medium-rare

Wolffish Fillet (1/2 to 3/4 inch thick) 5 minutes

NOTE FROM SOURCE:
Although I have found the cooking times listed here to be very reliable (seven minutes has been perfect for every one-and-one-quarter-inch-thick salmon fillet I have ever steamed, for example), keep in mind that because the heat, thickness, and perhaps the quality of the fish affects the steaming time, these times should be used as guidelines. I prefer to err on the side of undercooking; check the fish for doneness early and continue steaming it if it isn't cooked enough for your taste. You can always cook it a little longer, but once fish is overcooked, it's overcooked. If you are steaming a fish not listed on the chart, find a fish on the chart that has a similar texture and thickness and use the time shown for it.

Source: Cook's Illustrated March/April 1995