Grilling fish can make even the most experienced grillmeister feel like he's swimming upstream. The grill is too hot or not hot enough. The fish sticks, flakes or catches fire. More often than not, the mean winds up undercooked, burned or the bulk of it falls through the grill and is forever lost.
It's the kind of fish story that makes you want to eat red meat.
But it doesn't have to be that way. Grilling fish is an ideal way to sear in juices and capture the true flavor of seafood at its best. It just takes a little practice to get it right. The benefits extend beyond all the healthy Omega-3 fatty acids you'll be eating. You also keep the kitchen cool, a huge benefit on swampy humid days. And grilling is quick. Get the prep down, and you can move from grill to table in less than an hour.
GET THE RIGHT FISH
Choosing the right fish to fire up is key, said Rich Vellante, executive chef and executive vice president of Restaurants for Legal Seafood, the family-owned, Boston-based seafood chain with more than 30 locations in the northeast.
"You want something dense, that doesn't fall apart easily," he said. "That would rule out flounder, haddock, cod. Steak types of fish, fish with a good oil content, work great, like swordfish, tuna, mahi-mahi, halibut and salmon."
The exception to this rule is another way to cook fish on the grill, en papillote (pah-pee-YOHT) style. This is the French term for cooking anything inside parchment paper. As the food bakes, it lets off steam, and is cooked from within. For the grill, aluminum foil stands in for parchment paper, and more delicate fish can be paired with herbs and veggies in individual little packs, usually spiked with a flavoring agent like white wine, citrus, coconut milk, or soy sauce. A great alternative to baking in the oven, the grill imbues the fish with a hint of smokiness. This works great for fish like sole, halibut, even flounder – varieties that would fizzle instead of sizzle if placed directly on the grill.
Another option, which works well with shrimp and chunks of meaty fish like swordfish or tuna, is kebobs. Be sure to cut all ingredients evenly, and don't pack the seafood and veggies on the skewers too tightly, which prevents the heat from getting all around each piece to cook it thoroughly. You'll wind up with overcooked vegetables and undercooked fish.
INSIST ON FRESH
Try to buy local, wild seafood – or catch it yourself. That way, you're not feeding your family the antibiotics and coloring agents that come with the majority of farmed fish. Only buy from vendors that are spotlessly clean, with all seafood iced and refrigerated. If you smell a fishy odor in the store, turn around and leave. Watch the employees – are they wearing gloves? Are they keeping cleaned and un-cleaned fish separate? Cross contamination in the cutting process can happen all too easily.
When buying, examine three factors: the look, the feel and the smell. Fresh fish looks bright, the skin is moist, the eyes are clear and the gills are bright red, according to The New Legal Sea Foods Cookbook. The flesh should spring back when touched and the texture should be firm. Perhaps most important, fish should smell like the ocean. If the eyes are cloudy and the gills brown; if an indentation remains when you touch it; or if the fish is pungent or strong smelling, then it is past its prime.
Once you get the fish, keep it loosely wrapped in the coldest part of your refrigerator and plan on cooking it the same day.
Marinating fish can pump up the flavor with ingredients like soy sauce, olive oil and white wine, and flavoring aromatics like scallions, garlic, fresh herbs and shallots. The key is not to over marinade, said Bill Dorrier, chef at Due Terre Enoteca in Bernardsville, New Jersey.
