We all love nice and juicy grilled steaks, but when was the last time you threw fresh fish on that barbecue of yours? We've found that although people enjoy both barbecuing and eating fish, some may not actually barbecue fish themselves because they don't quite know how to. That's why we wanted give you 5 tips on how to barbecue your fish.
TIP #1: Coat before cooking
First and foremost, we're going to point out the obvious. Fish is much more delicate than other meats and so, you can't just slap your fish on your grill and cook it like an 8 once steak. First, make sure you place a bit of oil or marinade on your fish and lightly on the grill as well. If you just throw the fish on the grill without taking this precaution, your fish will likely stick to your grill and fall apart as you try to pull it off later. Remember that fish is flakey and can be pulled apart really easily; and that's when you lose what would have been your delicious fish in between the grills and into the depths of barbecue hell.
Bonus Tip: We offer our Brander Porcelain Coated Flat Grilling Tray which would help with this. You can just simply coat the tray and place it on the grill with your fish on it. And with the perforated holes in the tray being small enough, you don't have to worry about your fish falling down into the barbecue pit.
TIP #2: 8 to10 Minutes per Inch
Just like steak, the thickness of a cut of fish will effect the time needed for it to cook. The general rule of thumb is that each inch of fish should add 8 to 10 minutes of cooking time at medium heat. Of course there are other variables to keep in mind though, so be careful on just relying on ONLY time to cook anything.
TIP #3: Almost cooked means cooked
Due to the delicateness of fish, the heat in the protein will continue to cook as you plate it (or dress and garnish it if you're feeling fancy). Not to mention during the time you should let it sit to cool down and soak up the juices. That being said, take your fish off the grill just before it's fully cooked because not doing so will cause your fish to be overcooked - you've got to stay ahead of the game here.
TIP #4: Skewers
Skewer style is a great way to cook fish. Just cube the raw fish, plop it into a delicious marinade of your choosing, and skewer when they're ready. We recommend our Double Pronged Skewers because with two prongs, they'll hold that flakey fish together on the barbecue much more nicely. Cooking fish this way can give you much more favorable flavours from your marinade, as more surface area will have been covered and soaked it in. This sounds delicious, we know, but we saved the best tip for last.
TIP #5: Poele your fish
Po-what? Poele-ing your fish is a French gourmet cooking technique in which you place your fish in a pan of hot liquid (usually oil or a marinade) to get the outside of your fish nice and crispy. As it sits in the boiling liquid, use a spoon to scoop the liquid and pour it over the fish nice and evenly. This is a technique that will get the outside of your fish nice and evenly crispy.
You can then finish the cook on your grill (it helps if you have a barbecue with a side burner for the poele). The mix of textures this will provide - crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside - will wake your taste buds right up.
Last but Not Least
There you have it - 5 tips on how to grill your fish. Now that you're one step closer to makin the best use of that barbecue you invested in, give this Grilled Fish Taco recipe a try. While you're at it, subscribe to our news letter for more grilling tips, tricks, and recipes every week.