Hi all you grill/BBQ lovers. My name is Bobby Winther, and I’ve had the honor of writing a little about fish on the grill.
My interest in fish has been there for a long time. But I was terrified at first. Grill fish!? I failed a lot in the beginning, and still do today 🙂
If you want more concrete fish recipes, you can try our whole grilled mackerel. For internal temperatures there’s also our fish temperature guide, and for choosing smoking wood, our smoking wood guide.
I started out buying cheap ingredients like frozen salmon pieces and blocks of cod from the big warehouse stores… Not good! The absolute most important thing, as in all cooking, is to get good ingredients.
Fatty fish like salmon and halibut are rewarding species that turn out great on the grill. The preparation is at least as important as when cooking, say, meat or poultry, i.e. take it out in good time beforehand.
There are many different cooking techniques that make it a success. Personally I smoke a lot of fish on my Weber Performance. Yes! You read that right. It works perfectly well to smoke on a kettle grill.
An important factor is of course the temperature in your grill, and the internal temperature of the fish. Also the choice of wood for your smoking. Alder, beech, juniper, oak and birch are good options. If you want a more distinct smoke flavor, the choice easily goes to hickory.
Whole fish and fillets both work great. The fattier the species, the more flavor it carries. Why not try grilling whole fish on a grill grate! Good choices of fish are e.g. mackerel, perch and whitefish. More exotic species like red snapper work great on the grill too. A little about temperature: Personally I go for about 49-50 when I grill salmon. And around 45 when the halibut is on. Cod comes off at 50. It’s all a matter of taste, so try your way forward. It does get extremely dry and boring if it goes too far, though, as with all cooking..:)
I thought I’d share a fantastic recipe for cod loin with a kick
Cod loin/fillet with a kick
Recipe: Grilling Fish: Tips, Technique and a Cod Loin Recipe
