Okay, so the other day I was staring into my freezer, wondering what to make for dinner. I spotted some rockfish fillets and thought, “Why not try the air fryer?” I’d heard good things, but honestly, I was a bit skeptical. Fish in the air fryer? Sounded like a recipe for a dry, rubbery mess. But hey, I’m all about experimenting in the kitchen.
First things first, I grabbed the rockfish fillets out of the freezer.
- I had two decent-sized fillets, probably about 6 ounces each.
I let them thaw out a bit on the counter while I prepped everything else. You don’t want to throw frozen-solid fish into the air fryer – it’ll cook unevenly.
Getting the Fish Ready
While the fish was thawing, I grabbed a shallow dish and mixed up a simple marinade. Nothing fancy, just:
- A good glug of olive oil
- A squeeze of lemon juice (fresh is best, but I used bottled ’cause that’s what I had)
- Some salt, pepper, and a dash of garlic powder.
I patted the rockfish fillets dry with a paper towel – this is important to get a nice crispy skin. Then, I plopped them into the marinade and made sure they were nicely coated. I let them sit in that for about 15 minutes, just to soak up some flavor.
Air Frying Time!
I preheated my air fryer to 400°F (200°C).
Once it was hot, I carefully placed the marinated rockfish fillets in the air fryer basket. Make sure they’re not overlapping, or they won’t cook evenly. Mine fit perfectly in a single layer.
Then, I set the timer for 10 minutes.
Now, here’s the thing about air frying – you gotta keep an eye on things. I checked the fish after about 7 minutes, and used a spatula to gently flip them over, then let it run the other 3 mins.
And boom! Pulled them out, The fish was cooked through, flaky, and the skin had a nice little crisp to it. I was seriously surprised! It looked (and smelled) amazing.
Served it up with some roasted veggies and a squeeze of lemon. Honestly, it was one of the easiest and tastiest fish dinners I’ve made in a while. The air fryer definitely gets a thumbs-up from me for rockfish!
