How to Cook Rockfish from Costco - Eat Like No One Else

Have you seen Rockfish at Costco but never knew what to do with it? In this post, I will show you how to cook Rockfish, several different ways.

3 raw rockfish fillets on butcher paper.

How Do You Cook Wild Rockfish from Costco? Rockfish is a mild fish that is very versatile. You can pan fry it, poach it, bake it, air fry it, etc. It's a great option for making a fish chowder as the fish stays tender and flaky in soups. It's affordable as well coming in at $6.49/lb at Costco.

I have visited different Costco stores across the country from California to Alabama. They offer different types of fish depending on where you are. If you are closer to the ocean you usually get more options.

Right now I am in Utah and the options aren't as plentiful. But I did see some packages of wild rockfish there recently and decided it was time to give this fish a try. Let me share with you all about it and what you can make using it.

Jump to:

🐟 What is Rockfish?
👅 What is the Taste & Texture
💲 How Much Does it Cost at Costco?
🍳 Pan Fried
🌬️ Air Fryer
🥄 Poaching and Fish Chowder

Close up of raw rockfish on butcher paper You can see the fish is white with some pink coloring.

🐟 What is Rockfish?

There are multiple species that are classified as Rockfish. Sometimes you may see it in the store as "Rock Cod" although it's not really cod. The Rockfish I got at Costco was harvested in Canada. I don't know exactly where, but most likely off the coast of British Columbia. I think that due to proximity to Utah and I know they fish for Rockfish there.

The fish was also not marked as previously frozen, so should have arrived to the store, fresh. If you read the package it will tell you if the fish was previously frozen or not. A lot of the fish is, which is why I often will opt for just buying frozen fish and thawing it myself.

So the name "Rockfish" comes from the fact that the fish prefer to hang out in rocks on the ocean floor.

👅 What is the Taste & Texture

Rockfish is a mild in flavor, which is what I love. I am not a big salmon fan or anything that is strong. To compare it other types of fish, Rockfish is milder than Mahi Mahi, but a little stronger than Cod, but not by a whole lot.

It is a flaky fish with medium sized flakes. They are smaller than cod flakes but are more firm, sort of like Haddock. That's a great thing to take advantage of when cooking with it, which you will read about in a moment.

A package of Kirkland Fresh Wild Rockfish Fillets from Costco selling for $6.49 per pound.

💲 How Much Does it Cost at Costco?

The price I found in January 2024 was $6.49 a pound, making it one of the cheapest types of fish Costco sells. Tilapia is the same price. I think Rockfish is a better fish, so I would say out of all the fish Costco sells Rockfish is the best value.

Now let me show you some ways you can prepare it from pan fried to air fried!

🍳 Pan Fried

This is pretty simple to do. You don't need a ton of fat. I use a mixture of oil and butter:

1 tablespoon salted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil (you can use a different oil too)

This doesn't sound like much but it worked perfectly good. You can dredge the fish into some flour before you pan fry to make a lightly breaded fish.

💡 Tip - Use Gold Medal Wondra Flour. It is a pre-steamed and dried flour. It will give your fish a beautiful, crispy sear. You can learn more about using Wondra Flour for fish on my podcast, Eat Shop Waste Not. Listen to Episode 206 - How to Cook Seafood on the Stove Top.

I serve the fish with a mustard-dill sauce. You can find the recipe on my friend Christina's website, the Weekday Pescatarian.

🌬️ Air Fryer

Got an air fryer? It makes for a great place to cook Rockfish. Here is what you can do:

Place your fillets into a pouch made with heavy duty aluminum foil. Season the fish. My suggestions are:

Dijon Mustard or Stone Ground Mustard
Freshly chopped dill
Kosher salt
Freshly cracked pepper
Garlic powder

You want to air fry for about 5 to 6 minutes at 400 degrees. Some people say when the fish flakes it's done. I prefer more precision. I cook the fish until it reaches at least 145 degrees in the thickest part of the fish.

Learn more about seasoning fish and what thermometers are best for cooking fish.

🥄 Poaching and Fish Chowder

I made an amazing fish chowder using Rockfish. I started by cooking some bacon in the Dutch oven. Then adding garlic and onions that I cooked in the bacon fat that was rendered. Then add some water that you load up with salt and spices. Herbs are good as well. I used dried thyme and ground bay leaves.

When you poach the fish you want it to just come up to the top of the fish without fully submerging it. You want to simmer the fish, not rapid boil, for 4-5 minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees in the fattest part of the fish.

You can then serve it with that bacon on top. You could use it for fish tacos. Or do what I did and set the fish aside while you make a fish chowder.

For a good fish chowder recipe, check out the blog, Bowl of Delicious. I based what I made off her recipe. To thicken my chowder, I pureed some of the cooked potatoes in a mixing bowl with my immersion blender until it was like mashed potato paste, Then I stir that in and the texture was perfection.

I topped it off with some fresh dill and crumbled up bacon. Both optional, but very delicious!

Baking Rockfish - I have yet to bake Rockfish before so I can't testify to how it turns out. But if you want to I would recommend you bake it as 375 degrees until it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees (you should have that memorized by now!). I will update this post once I get a chance to try it myself.