Grilled Fish

Grilled Fish

As Summer sets in we embrace our long days and short nights. Braaied/grilled meats or fish served with salads and accompanied by chilled drinks are often the favourites at casual lunches and dinners during South African Summers. 

One of my favourite Summer dishes is grilled fish.

The inclusion of fish in one’s diet is in general a good source of protein, it is good for the heart and it is said that if one wants to improve brain power, include some omega 3 fatty acid in your diet – fish is loaded with this! 

Preparation of fish can be a bit of a daunting task when one has to de-gut the freshly caught fish and remove the scales etc. This recipe is dedicated to a great fisherman in my family, who didn’t just catch the best fish, but also de-gutted it and scaled it for me … this always made my preparation of fresh fish really easy. 

Fresh fish can be bought at your local fish markets or fish monger, and they will usually do all the preparation and cleaning of the fish for you. All that would be required of you is just to wash it thoroughly before cooking. 

Grilled fish is really simple to prepare and incredibly delicious. Grilled fish is certainly a healthier option to fish fried in deep oil, but either way, fish is delicious. 

I find that grilling fish is best done with a whole fish instead of slices of fish. The skin keeps the fish intact and retains some moisture when cooked properly. 

In my recipe for grilled fish, the preparation is done at least 12 hours earlier and the fish is placed in the fridge to marinate. Any good fish such as steen brass, snapper or salmon is suggested or use any whole fish that you prefer and it will taste just as good grilled.

Recipe for Grilled Fish served with a Mango Salad

Ingredients

1 whole fish of your choice 

1 to 2 teaspoons of dry fish rub or fish spice

4 teaspoons of Tandoori paste

½ onion sliced

¾ lemon sliced

½ green pepper sliced

3 hot chilli sliced (red or green)

3 cloves garlic chopped

Chopped Coriander

100g butter cubed

Salt and pepper

4 tablespoons of coconut oil

Method

1. Wash the whole fish that has been degutted and scaled. Pat dry with a dish towel or paper towel. Make a few slits on the outsides of the fish. 

2. Place the fish on a layer of heavy duty foil. Open up the fish and rub the dry fish spice generously over the inner cavity of the fish. 

3. To prepare the filling for the fish, in a bowl, place the sliced onion, chilli, green pepper, garlic, cloves and chopped coriander. To this add 2 to 3 teaspoons of the tandoori paste, fine salt and ground pepper and combine this lightly.

4. Stuff the fish gently with the filling in layers. Place the pieces of cubed butter and then the slices of lemon over the filling inside the fish. 

5. Using the remainder of the tandoori paste, smear the outsides of the fish well. 

6. The fish can now be sealed well with the heavy duty foil. Place this in the refrigerator and allow to marinate for at least 12 hours or overnight.

Grilling process

1. To grill the fish, a charcoal or gas grill can be used. For convenience, I have used an electric grill. 

2. Preheat the grill. The grill rack should be brushed generously with oil before placing the fish on the rack. This aids in preventing the fish skin from sticking onto the rack. 

3. When your grill is hot enough, remove the fish from the foil and smear oil on both sides of the fish.  Place the fish on the grill rack and cook for about 10 minutes before flipping over. The flesh of the fish should be white when cooked.

4. To flip the fish over, using a greased grill fork and spatula, slide the grill fork under the fish to loosen the skin of the fish from the bottom and place the spatula on top, then flip gently. If your grill and fish are oiled properly, this process of flipping the fish should be a breeze. 

5. Allow the fish to grill for a further 8 minutes on the other side before removing. The skin of the fish should be nicely charred. Be careful not to dry out the fish too much.

6. Your grilled fish is ready to be served with some freshly made, chilled mango salsa. 

Recipe for a fresh Mango Salad

Ingredients

2 large ripened mangoes chopped (mangoes should still be firm)

1 red onion chopped fine

2 green chilli chopped fine

½ green pepper chopped fine

A few sprigs of fresh coriander chopped

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. To make the easy flavour filled mango salad, in a bowl add chopped mangoes, red onion, chilli, green pepper and coriander. 

2. Add lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, mix through gently and serve chilled!