Firehouse Fish Feed

This firehouse recipe feeds a crew of 12 with minimal effort: five pounds of cod fillets baked in a roasting bag swimming in garlic lemon butter. The sealed bag steams the fish in its own sauce, and the whole thing goes from freezer to table in under an hour.

A full pound of butter melted with lemon juice, garlic powder, and minced fresh garlic makes the sauce. It sounds like a lot, but spread across five pounds of fish it’s the right ratio. The butter emulsifies with the lemon juice during cooking and creates a rich, clinging sauce instead of a greasy pool.

The roasting bag is the whole technique. Squeezing out the air before tying it shut means the fish steams in concentrated garlic-lemon butter vapor. No basting, no flipping, no watching. Tie it up and walk away.

Making sure the cod isn’t stacked inside the bag is the one rule that matters. Stacked fillets steam unevenly and the middle pieces come out raw while the outer ones overcook.

Chef Tips

• Use both garlic powder and fresh garlic. The powder dissolves into the butter for overall flavor, while the fresh minced garlic gives sharper, more distinct garlic hits.
• Puncture the bag if it inflates toward the oven’s top element. An expanding bag touching a hot burner melts and you lose your dinner.
• Frozen fillets work fine. Add 15 extra minutes to the bake time. No need to thaw first.

Variations

• Old Bay version: Add a tablespoon of Old Bay seasoning to the butter for a spiced, Chesapeake-style take.
• Halibut swap: Use halibut fillets instead of cod for a firmer, meatier fish.
• Herb butter: Stir fresh chopped parsley and dill into the butter sauce for a more herbed finish.