You may have grilled fish fillets and/or fish steaks before, but have you ever tried grilling a whole fish? Today I’m going to show you how to grill a large whole fish. Grilling a large whole fish is really impressive looking, and they turn out wonderfully. It looks like they would be hard to grill, but it is actually very simple. Let me show you how easy it can be.
When I want to grill a large whole fish, I usually go with a salmon, just because I really like it on the grill. However you could go with a striped bass or a snapper as well. When I grill a whole salmon, I go with one that is around 7 to 9 pounds with its head removed. If you are going to go with a salmon and type will do. The types that are available usually depend upon your location. Atlantic, Coho, Sockeye, and Chinook are all great choices.
I like to keep things simple when I grill a large whole fish. For basting I’m going to just go with lemon, dill, garlic, and butter. I will get more into the basting sauce in a minute, but here is everything you will need if you are following along with my recipe.
1 whole salmon, 7 to 9 pounds, head removed
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
2 lemons, sliced thinly and seeded
1 garlic clove, minced
6 tbsp butter, melted
coarse salt & black pepper
Now that you have your large fish, let’s clean it up a bit. If you bought a fish with the head on you can leave it on, or cut it off. When grilling a large fish it can be a tight squeeze to fit it on the grill if you leave the head on. Using a kitchen shears, here is the one I use, cut the fins and gills off the salmon. Also trim the jagged edges off of the tail. You can do this by cutting a v-shape. Rinse under cold water and blot dry with paper towels.
Once that is done make several deep, diagonal cuts to the bone on each side of the salmon. I usually do about 4 or 5 slashes on each side. Season the inside cavity of the salmon with some coarse salt and black pepper. Place about half the sliced lemon and dill sprigs into the cavity as well. Stick the remaining lemon and dill springs into the slices on both sides of the fish.
Stir the chopped dill and minced garlic into the melted butter; we are going to use it to baste the salmon. I like to use this cast iron basting set because I can easily keep it warm on the grill. Brush both sides of the fish with this mixture and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. For ease of moving the salmon on and off the grill I suggest you make a cardboard template of the fish to move it. What you will need is a large piece of cardboard trimmed slightly smaller than your fish. Wrap the cardboard with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Slide the salmon onto this cardboard support.
Set up your gas or charcoal grill for indirect grilling over medium heat. If you are using charcoal place a drip pan in the center and the coals on the opposite side. Once the grill is ready place the salmon, which should be on the cardboard onto the grill away from the heat. If you are using a gas grill just place the salmon away from the burner you have on.
Grill the salmon for about 45 minutes to 1 hour basting several times throughout cooking with the garlic dill butter sauce. To test that it is done you can look at the meat next to the backbone, it will be opaque not translucent. Another test would be to press the fish with your finger, the meat will break into clean flakes when it is done.
Once done transfer the salmon to a large platter and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Take a knife and run it along the backbone to separate the top fillet. Lift it off the bones in sections. Remove the bones and serve. That is how to grill a large whole fish. It is really that simple. You can also experiment with all kinds of basting sauces, seasonings, and marinades to make it uniquely yours.
image courtesy of jules:stonesoup/flickr