Grilling Fish

[bilrus]

I've never really liked the cedar plank thing. And there is no way that I am going to waste salmon skin. I'd rather throw away the fish.

Fine, if you don't like either of my ideas...

Just kidding - to each his/her own. I love the idea because I actually don't like fish skin. I know it is heresy, but just don't love it. I can eat it if need be, but if I can avoid it I prefer it.

Maybe you could send me your address and I could ship you my skins - teamwork is where its at.

[nervousnelli]

One of my favorites is grilled softshell crabs when I can afford them. I insist on buying them live and I clean them myself just before marinating. I mix lots of minced garlic with soy sauce or reduced balsamic vinegar (whichever strikes my fancy) and olive oil and let the cleaned crabs sit in that for about half an hour. I throw them on a very hot grill and after two or three minutes per side they're done and delicious.

[memesuze]

rainbow trout stuffed with a mix of goat cheese and mint

[Peter the eater]

What are your favorite fish to cook on the grill?

What grills best and how do you grill it?

Do you use a marinade?

Anything else you can add?

I, for one would love to learn more re grilling fish!  Thanks!

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This is an excellent opener for a topic.

I've never met a fish that couldn't be grilled - even 2" smelt can go on the barbecue if you lay them down properly.

Fresh Atlantic swordfish was half price yesterday so I grabbed a 1 lb steak for $7:

According to the Canada Food Guide, this steak is 5 servings. One serving is 50-100 g of a "meat or meat alternative", about the size of a deck of cards.

The fish was sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with black pepper then gas grilled for 3-4 minutes per side. After resting a minute it was just cooked through, then it was topped with avocado and served with new potatoes and greens from my garden, plus a little sweet soy sauce:

[nakji]

I feel really intimidated by fish. And I'm surrounded by good fish, so I feel like I should be taking advantage of that, and every week I walk into the fish section of my local supermarket, stare blankly at the array of fish laid out, and then turn around and walk back into the tofu section.

Do I have to use fish the same day I buy it? Can I stick it in the freezer to defrost and use later? Do supermarket fish come prescaled? I have so many questions...

[Katie Meadow]

Fresh sardines: salt and pepper, olive oil, grill for a couple of minutes on each side over high heat. My favorite markets seem to have them more often right now, so whenever I see them I grab some. If they are small, my only problem is that I risk burning myself because it takes so long to turn them all over. I'm thinking a grill basket would come in handy for small fish, no?

Fresh wild sushi-grade tuna steaks: I marinate them for 20 minutes or so in a little soy sauce, rice wine and sesame oil, salt and pepper. Then coat liberally with toasted sesame seeds, pressing them in a bit. Oil the grill. Grill briefly, hot fire, just so the fish is rare in the middle. The sesame seeds do get grill marks, if that matters.

Salmon: I could just cry. I think those days are gone, and it's sad, in so many ways. Nothing beats fresh wild grilled salmon, just barely done at the bone.

[Peter the eater]

I feel really intimidated by fish. And I'm surrounded by good fish, so I feel like I should be taking advantage of that, and every week I walk into the fish section of my local supermarket, stare blankly at the array of fish laid out, and then turn around and walk back into the tofu section.

Do I have to use fish the same day I buy it? Can I stick it in the freezer to defrost and use later? Do supermarket fish come prescaled? I have so many questions...

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Don't be intimidated by fish - unless it's bigger than you, and you're swimming.

North America doesn't eat enough fish, but I think it's starting to change. I forget exactly where you are nakji (central Japan?) but I see you're 12 hours difference so that's half a world away and I'll bet you've access to tons of crazy fresh seafood. I know less about the Pacific, but when it comes to seafood I think freshness is everything. I freeze fish but it's never quite as good.

Why not start with boneless fillets and work your way up to whole fish complete with scales and a head. Embrace the ocean's bounty!

Edited July 27, 2008 by Peter the eater (log)

[deadstroke]

My favourite fish to grill is a whole grouper, though I actually cheat using the oven broiler rather than a real grill. But I am still experiment how to strike the balance between getting the skin crispy and the flesh to remain juicy. Temperature control? Oil? Or should I let the surface of the fish dry first?

[RobertCollins]

I can see there are many geographic ideas of what grilling is and how its done.

When I think of grilling, I think of on my Weber[gas grill] or charcoal grill or even on a plank in a camp fire but some how directly exposed to the heat-sans pan.

On my grill, I haven't nor can I figure a need for a basket. Fillet's, I lay-skin side down and most I pull off when the firmness is slightly past rare. For salmon- I live in the N. American Pacific NW- that to me is a center temperature of 120°F. I never turn them. As suggested above, I mostly add salt and pepper, then take them off the grill with a couple spatulas leaving the skin behind. Serve.

Tuna I like seared on all sides and served-there are many good suggestions for how.

On a hot grill- at least 400° grill, I find most fish take about 7 to 8 minutes to the inch of max thickness.

To point out that none of my methods are grilled with firm rules, one of the best grilled fish I ever had was some sort of blue colored fish I spear gunned off what is now Cancun, Mex. It we cooked on an Hibachi over the husk of coconuts started to coals with gasoline siphoned from our VW Microbus.

It tasted like fresh mild beef but much more tender. It was so good, so was life, in the summer of '72...