Grilled Sea Bass
Seafood on the BBQ doesn't need to be problematic.Grilling fish over smouldering charcoal is easy, if you follow the foolproof steps found in this recipe.
Equipment
- Charcoal BBQ (alternativily use a gas BBQ or under a hot grill)
Ingredients
Dry brining
- 3 whole seabass, descaled and gutted
- table salt, as required
- granulated sugar, as required
Stuffing
- 1 large lemon, thinly sliced
- 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
- dill leaves, as required
Instructions
- How to pick fresh whole fish.
- Score the fish at 3cm intervals.
- Dry brine the fish by sprinkling salt liberally on all sides of the fish. Also, add a light dusting of sugar, this stage firms up the fish, making it easy to move on the grill.
- After 20 minute you will see the fish will lose moisture, at this point rinse out in cold water.
- Fire up the BBQ, I highly recommend using a BBQ chimney starter.
- The three steps to grilling fish:1. Clean your grill grates2. Oil the grill grates3. Preheat the grill grates, ensuring they are super-hot before you place the fish on the grill.
- Place the fish on the super-hot grill grates, resisting the temptation of flipping too early.
- The fish will release from the grate when it's ready to flip. Use a fork to get in-between the grill grate to aid the flipping. If the fish is stuck to the grate, wait for a minute and try again.
- Flip and cook the other side, you may want to use a spatula at this point for aid.
- Cook until crisp on both sides. The internal temperature should read around 62°C
- Chalo kawa!
- Perfectly cooked flaky fish.
Any questions
- How long does the fish take to cook?
- Would you apply the same dry brining rules when marinating the fish?
- Can you use a double-sided rack to cook the fish?
After dry brining for 20 mins, you said rinse with cold water… Doesn’t that re introduce moisture?
Also do you put the stuffing right before grilling or earlier than that?
A really good point, after washing carefully dry with kitchen paper.