Porgy Fish Disaster

Thank you all for the helpful tips! I did get a refund from Whole Foods and hopefully can avoid this from happening again.

You can test the freshness by the texture of the fish as well as the brightness of the gills. If it is whole with the skin on it should be shiny and firm. Often when fish is not fresh it has an unpleasant odor and or sometimes slimmey and meat is not firm. Always check for freshness. Skin and fillet and the meat is smooth and firm to touch and bright in color. No odors except for the fish itself. To bake, marinate in an olive oil and seasoning. Allow the marinade to sit and then bake at 325 to 350. Bake until white but no more. Say about 20 minutes tops. I like my porgy with lots of butter, tomatoes, scallions and fresh chopped herbs and lemon juice or white wine. Or it can be bake poached in a parchment paper bag to capture moisture and flavor....very easy to do with the same flavor profile. Just wrap the marinated fish in parchment and fold over the bag to seal. It really captures all the flavor.

Although the mushiness points to overcooking, the fact that it was fishy- tasting suggests that it was not fresh. I'd go back to Whole Foods and tell them that it didn't taste fresh. It helps if you kept the receipt; but even when I haven't had a receipt, they have given me my money back or a credit for sub-par products.