A covered grill, fueled by charcoal or gas, just may be the perfect vehicle for cooking fish. From small whole trout or branzino to thick halibut steaks, the smoky flavor of hardwood pairs beautifully with all manner of seafood.
That doesn’t mean grilling fish is easy or foolproof. Most seafood proves expensive — overcooking can render it inedible and a real misfortune.
So, let’s talk about how to be successful. First, work with a covered grill to help control heat and prevent flare-ups. Always allow time to preheat the grill. Charcoal should burn until embers glow red and are covered in gray ash. Gas grills need to be preheated to prevent sticking and allow for maximum defined grill marks, which equal flavor.
Second, a preheated grill grate prevents sticking. Always clean the grates — it’s easiest to do this when they are hot. Clean grill grates help prevent sticking. Never oil the grill grates — rather, oil the fish instead.
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Don’t overdo the smoke; most seafood needs just a minimum of added smoke flavor. Add just a few soaked wood chips to the coals or the smoker basket of a gas grill.
Use moderately high heat for seafood, but have a cooler section of the grill available if the browning gets away from you.
Have the fish sit at room temperature for 10 to 20 minutes before cooking.
Calculate eight to 10 minutes of grill time per inch of fish. In general, I set the timer for the first side to be a minute or two longer than the total cooking time. For example, to cook a 1-inch-thick piece of halibut, I leave it untouched on the grill for five minutes. Then flip it for the remaining cooking time of three to five minutes.
Do not fuss — flipping food over and over again on the grill decreases the chance for beautiful browning (plus you lose grill heat every time you open the grill) and increases the chance of sticking.
Grilling skin-on fish fillets means no flipping is required. The skin acts as a natural insulator for a moist interior. A bonus? Crispy fish skin tastes marvelous.
Skewer smaller fish, shrimp and scallops to make them expedient to turn.
When the grill is properly heated, and the fish lightly oiled, the fish will release itself from the grill grates when it’s finished cooking. Use a thin, metal spatula to gently loosen and remove the fish.
Always let the cooked fish rest a couple of minutes before eating to allow juices to settle and finish cooking.
Wild-caught Alaskan sablefish, also known as black cod, grills beautifully. Its rich, buttery texture stays moist even with the dry heat. It is usually sold as skin-on fillets, and I grill it skin side down with every intention to enjoy the crispy skin. A complex shallot and garlic-infused butter is all that’s needed to make a restaurant-quality piece of fish.
■½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
â– 2 shallots, finely chopped (or white section of 2 green onions)
â– 1 tablespoon seafood seasoning, see recipe
â– 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
■¼ cup chopped flatleaf parsley
Put butter, shallots, seasoning and garlic in a small bowl. Cover and microwave on high (100% power) until butter is melted.
Stir in finely grated rind from ½ of the lemon and juice from the whole lemon. Stir in parsley. Use warm or at room temperature. (Mixture can be refrigerated, covered, up to several days.)
â– 1 tablespoon table salt
â– 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
■1 ½ teaspoons each: garlic powder, dried basil
â– 1 teaspoon each: dried thyme, freshly ground black pepper
■¾ teaspoon dried oregano
■¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Mix everything in a small container with a tight-fitting lid.
Grilled sablefish with seasoned shallot butter
Note: This recipe also works well with small rainbow trout or branzino. Open up the whole fish so you can cook it skin side down.
â– 4 fish fillets with skin, each about 10 ounces, such as wild-caught Alaskan sablefish
â– Vegetable oil in a spray bottle
â– 2 small lemons, halved
â– About 6 tablespoons seasoned shallot butter, see recipe
â– Chopped fresh chives, for garnish
Preheat a gas grill to medium-hot or prepare a charcoal grill and let coals burn until covered with gray ash. Turn off burners on one side of the gas grill or arrange coals at sides of charcoal grill. The idea is to have two areas for cooking: one directly over the heat and the other away from the heat. Heat the grill grate before adding the food.
Spray the fish’s skin side and the lemons’ cut side with oil. Put the fish, skin side down, on the heated grill grates. Baste generously with some of the butter mixture. Put the lemon halves, cut side down, on the grill. Cover the grill and cook without turning for 5 minutes.
Baste the fish again with the butter mixture. Check the lemons; they are done when soft and lightly charred. If the lemons are done, move them to the cooler portion of the grill.
Continue to cook the fish until it nearly flakes easily, about 3 minutes more.
Carefully transfer fish, using a thin metal spatula, to a serving platter. Add lemons to the platter. Spoon any remaining butter mixture over all. Sprinkle with chives. Serve.
