Best Yellowtail Snapper Recipes

Find Yellowtail Snapper recipes at Cooking in The Keys. Check out our easy recipes and make a delicious fish dinner tonight.

Yellowtail snapper, known for its delicate flavor and firm texture, thrives in warm waters like the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

Its mild, sweet taste makes it perfect for frying, grilling, searing, and baking.

Whether it's lunch or dinner, these simple yellowtail recipes are fresh and full of flavor. This mild, flaky fish cooks quickly, making it perfect for a variety of meals. From pan-seared fillets to oven-roasted and crispy fried fish, these recipes highlight the best ways to enjoy this Florida favorite.

Crispy Yellowtail Recipes

Broiled Yellowtail

How to Store Fresh Fish

If you bring home fresh yellowtail fillets, eat them within a day. Just season with salt and pepper and cook them in a skillet with a little butter. That’s all you need. Fresh fish is one of the best things you can eat—simple, clean, and absolutely delicious.

Refrigeration:

Store the fish in the refrigerator as soon as you bring it home. Place it in a shallow dish or on a plate, cover it loosely with plastic wrap, and keep it in the coldest part of the fridge—usually the bottom shelf in the back.

Use Ice Packs:

If you’re buying fish from a market, ask for ice to keep it cold on the way home. A cooler with ice packs is even better.

Freezing:

If you’re not using the fish within 24 hours, freeze it. Pat it dry with paper towels, wrap each fillet tightly in plastic wrap, and place them in a freezer bag. Label it with the date and use it within a month or two for the best quality.

How Big Is a Yellowtail Snapper?

Yellowtail snappers can reach sizes of up to 5 pounds and lengths of 30 inches, but the ones commonly seen measure anywhere from 15 to 20 inches long.

According to In the Bite magazine, Jeffrey Bowles now holds the Florida State Record for the largest yellowtail snapper! The fish was caught about 100 miles off Naples in the Gulf of Mexico and weighed 10 pounds 9 ounces.

Bowles caught the fish on a live mullet. It took about five minutes to land the fish! The previous record was set in 1996 at 8 pounds, 9 ounces.

Are All Snappers Interchangeable?

According to Fish Track, an app that helps anglers find and catch fish, there are over 250 species of snappers worldwide. They vary in color, size, and habitat, making them tricky to tell apart.

That said, yes, you can use these recipes with just about any type of snapper. The most popular snapper in the U.S. is Red Snapper—bigger than a yellowtail but smaller than a Cubera snapper, averaging around 10 pounds. There are plenty of them in the Florida Keys.

Here are some of the most common snapper fillets in the Keys:

• Yellowtail Snapper
• Red Snapper
• Mangrove (Mango) Snapper
• Mutton Snapper
• Lane Snapper
• Vermillion Snapper

Other white fish that work well in these recipes:

• Hogfish
• Tripletail
• Mahi Mahi
• Snook

Swordfish and Yellowfin Tuna are also local catches but need to be handled a little differently than snapper due to their firmer texture and higher fat content.