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Barbecuing Whole Fish


ollie

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Hey all,

I'm going to be picking up a couple of whole rainbow trout for the barbecue this evening. I thought I'd stuff them with onion, garlic and lemon, wrap in foil and throw them on the grill. But I've never cooked whole fish before and I don't want to make any obvious mistakes.

How hot should the barbecue be before I put them in, and for how long? Lid up or down? Fish wrapped in foil or not? Head on or off?

Ollie

P.S. I've been lurking for the past month. This site rules! Thank you!

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Ollie, welcome to eGullet! Please nix the foil, and leave the heads on.

You want a medium-hot fire but a very hot grill rack, so let the grill heat up while the coals burn down. Oil the skin of the fish and the grill just before cooking, to help avoid sticking.

Give the fish 4-5 minutes a side, lid up, and don't attempt to turn it until it moves easily - if it's cooked enough on the first side, it won't stick. Be gentle.

I learned how to grill whole fish from Chris Schlesinger/John Willoughby, authors of 'The Thrill of the Grill.' It's one of the great grill cookbooks.

EDIT ALERT: This thread is about grilling. :laugh:

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I remember seeing a cooking show ("Naked Chef") where the guy kept his fish whole, stuffed it with all kinds of fresh herbs and lemon slices, and then wrapped the fish in several layers of newspaper, which he then soaked in a bucket of water before tossing it onto the flame. The newspaper, as it burns, supposedly gives the fish a pleasant smokey flavor. (If I were you, though, I'd avoid newspapers with colored ink on the pages ... maybe an , but for awhile there, they said that the newspaper inks all had heavy metals in them or something. Might not be true anymore, but better to be safe.)

Unfortunately, I don't remember how long you should cook it like this. Wait! Here's the recipe! Google to the rescue!

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ollie, welcome. I second what Cathy says. And stress the point of not trying to move the fish if it is sticking. And sure, stuff it, just making sure the stuff is not too wet.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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I remember seeing a cooking show ("Naked Chef") where the guy kept his fish whole, stuffed it with all kinds of fresh herbs and lemon slices, and then wrapped the fish in several layers of newspaper, which he then soaked in a bucket of water before tossing it onto the flame. The newspaper, as it burns, supposedly gives the fish a pleasant smokey flavor.

Newspaper?? Eck. I don't know why guys have to make everything so complicated. :wink:

For a smoky flavor I'd rather use a chunk of wood, or a bunch of herb branches.

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Our Jamie just has to bring in some old Boy's Life trick to make it really pukkha. Ignore him. He'll go away.

edit:

To Cathy's response below: A pre-emptive: Eh.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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Dave, thanks for the input. :smile:

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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Dave, thanks for the input. :smile:

You beat me to it - I clicked back in to edit my post accordingly.

Thanks, Dave. For me, no newspaper for the same reason as no foil. I really like grilling fish directly over the fire - the skin gets deliciously browned and crispy.

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What they said.

And may I suggest rosemary and warning your neighbors that they're going to be very jealous. D. would suggest lashing the thing with olive oil to get the flames really licking at it but he's of the 'fire good' school.

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I just made this last night! I had some gorgeous rainbow trout that I cleaned (leave the heads on) and then rubbed all over with EVOO, lemon juice, fresh rosemary and bread crumbs and of coure salt and pepper. Make sure to rub it all over the inside as well and set aside to marinate for 1 to 2 hours at room temperature. This recipe was from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking and I grilled it in my oven instead of a real grill. Absolutely delicious!!

One of my favorite uses for wet newspaper on the grill is with sweet potatoes. Wet a newspaper then wrap a cleaned sweet potato inside and then wrap it in foil. Through it in with the coals and cook for 15 to 30 minutes depending on the size. You will never want to eat sweet potatoes in any other way again!

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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Thank you all for the input. My grilled fish was a success! I coated the fish and grill with VOO (it wasn't *my* kitchen... :raz: ), stuffed with onions, garlic, lemon, salt, pepper (couldn't find any rosemary!), and grilled approximately 6 minutes per side... had no problem with the flip.

The onion and garlic didn't have enough time to cook through... should I have sauteed them a little to get them going?

I will definitely make sure I have more spices next go round and let the fish sit for an hour or two before grilling.

This is a pretty failsafe method of cooking fish though and I'll be doing a lot more of it in the future. No more nightmares trying to flip filets. :biggrin:

Ollie

P.S. Should I be brave next time and eat the eyes? I managed to pry a little meat out of the cheeks... isn't this meat considered a "delicacy"?

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Ollie

P.S. Should I be brave next time and eat the eyes? I managed to pry a little meat out of the cheeks... isn't this meat considered a "delicacy"?

After making salmon stock the staff was there to pick at the heads for the

cheeks and eyes.Not the actual eyes,but the meat just behind the eyes.

Don't think I could actuall eat the eyes myself. Or if no one was around

during the straining,I would collect them to make a pasta dish for everyone.

Very tasty.

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