Don't Cook Red Grouper That Carries an Odor

• Don't cook fish that has a strong, fishy odor, as this is a sign of bacterial contamination. Fresh fish has absolutely no odor. While it is not necessary to eat fish that has been dead for only a few hours, it is prudent to assure that fish has been kept properly cool during the time between being caught and being cooked. A strong odor on fish indicates that it was not kept cool enough to stop bacterial growth. Cooking fish with an odor increases the chance of transmitting bacteria, such as scombroid.

Cook Red Grouper Completely Before Serving

• Red grouper must be cooked thoroughly. After cooking red grouper, insert a thermometer into the fish to determine the internal temperature. The thermometer should read 145 degrees Fahrenheit. If a thermometer isn't available, insert a knife into a few places of the flesh and pull it apart. Fully cooked red grouper will not appear transparent, but will be white in color. People cooking red grouper are advised not to cook it while it is still frozen, as this increases the chance that the fish contains areas that aren't cooked evenly.

Trim the Fat and Skin Prior to Cooking

• It is necessary to remove the fat and skin from red grouper prior to cooking, to decrease the amount of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) consumed in this type of fish. PCBs accumulate in the fat and skin of fish, particularly those that eat other fish, such as red grouper. PCBs are a man-made chemical pollutant that is present throughout the world. This chemical leeches into the air, soil and water all around the earth. PCB are found at high levels in red grouper fish because they consume other fish that have also been contaminated. High levels of PCBs can pose a health threat to people.

Cook Small Groupers

• A poison called ciguatera accumulates in the bodies of older groupers that lived in waters near coral reefs and have consumed high amounts of coral over the course of their lives. Eating older groupers increases the risk of poisoning from ciguatera. Small groupers are safer to eat because they are typically younger. A young grouper can be differentiated from an older grouper by its size. A young grouper is usually less than 36 inches in length. Ciguatera cannot be removed by cooking, nor does it carry an odor. Ciguatera symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting and limb weakness similar to multiple sclerosis. By cooking smaller-sized groupers, people who eat groupers will be exposed to lower amounts of the poison, which in turn reduces the risk of ciguatera poisoning.