Living in the Pacific NW I have access to a wonderful variety of fresh seafood. Just about anything I desire is fresh and available throughout the year. Most grocery stores carry a range of selections that include shellfish (clams, mussels and oysters) and all manner of edibles that swim (salmon, halibut and even squid.) I certainly enjoy grilling most of em! So I can’t begin to tell you how disappointed I am when I see someone lay a beautiful piece of fish on a sheet of butter-coated aluminum foil that’s placed over the grates of their grill. Uh — folks, that’s called “frying.” All I can say is you are missing out on something wonderful if you don’t grill the fish on the grates with direct heat – because the taste of properly grilled fresh fish will deliver a savory goodness in every bite! I encourage you to take a little time to learn about your grill and experiment grilling fish and I hope you’ll find that grilling fish is as tastefully rewarding as grilling your favorite burger, chop or steak!

This week I’m visiting the good folks and grilling enthusiasts at Char-Broil headquarters in Columbus, Georgia. One of the benefits of visiting here, besides the great people, is the outstanding choices for local barbecue they serve. Yuh-um-mmy! To repay my hosts for their warm hospitality, I decided to treat them to a sampling of my favorite grilled seafood from the Northwest. I called Wild Salmon, a fish market located in Fisherman’s Terminal in Seattle – if you’ve ever watched the TV show called “Deadliest Catch” many of the boats featured in the show use this as their home port. The knowledgeable fish mongers there hooked me up with an overnight shipment containing 5lbs of freshly caught wild Sockeye salmon, 2lbs of fresh halibut and 1lb of meaty spot prawns – all fresh off the boat.

As I prepped each item I was mindful of the limits of my kitchen facilities…I’d be cooking outdoors in a ‘tailgating’ situation.

Spot Prawns
The spot prawn has a sweet, delicate flavor and firm texture.

A favorite way to prepare prawns for grilling is a marinade of 4 Tbsp olive oil, 4 Tbsp minced garlic, 3 Tbsp packaged curry powder and a dash or two of dry white vermouth. I let them marinate for about 2 hours.

Grill ‘em HOT and fast – just until the shell turns pink and use tongs to turn and grill until pink on the other side…

…remove and toss with parsley butter. I recommend you eat spot prawns cooked this way in the shell as they have a texture similar to that of a soft-shelled crab. You will taste all the sweet flavor of the curry and tang of the garlic in each meaty bite!

Wild Halibut
Halibut has a white, flaky and firm flesh that is low in fat with a delicately sweet flavor and lends itself to just about any kind of recipe from broiling to grilling.

I prepped the fish by first rinsing under the tap and drying it with a paper towel. Lightly coating the skin side with canola oil spay and seasoning the flesh with 1 Tbsp each of freshly ground sea salt, freshly ground pepper and dried ginger. Oh and a dash of dry white vermouth.

On a HOT, clean grill that I oiled with a paper towel soaked in olive oil and held with tongs – I placed the fillet skin down and covered the top with aluminum foil – to hold heat and cook the top. I won’t tell you exactly how long to cook the halibut because there are too many variables. [i.e. Thickness and temperature of the fish when ready to grill. Outdoor temperature and grill type.] The total cooking time for this piece was about 18 minutes.

I plated the halibut and splashed it with lime juice and served it with basil. I would enjoy an Asian-style spicy-hot sweet & sour sauce with this – but didn’t have one – served with Thai brown rice.

Wild Sockeye Salmon
The #1 eating salmon in the world has a full flavor and is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D. Wild sockeye salmon is recognizable by the ‘natural’ bright orange flesh that contains the antioxidant pigment (astaxanthin) and is a wonderful fish for grilling.

I prepped the two fillets (total 5lbs) by rinsing, drying and spraying the skin with canola oil before seasoning the flesh with sea salt, pepper, a dash of olive oil, a dash or two of dry white vermouth and stripped tarragon leaves that I tore to release their oils.

The salmon marinated for about 2 hours before grilling and was about room temperature when I placed it skin-side down on the HOT clean grill that I’d oiled as with the halibut. I covered the salmon with aluminum foil to hold the heat near to the flesh and cooked it for just under 18 minutes. The tarragon gives up a deliciously sweet fragrance that also lightly permeates the flesh. The skin gets all crispy and toasty tasting.

I plated the grilled salmon with herbs and lemon. The aroma drew even the most ardent fish “avoider” who was compelled to try it and ask for seconds. For those who were able to step out of their comfort zone the crispy skin was delicious!

Seafood requires some handling that’s different than red meat. Most seafood has a natural moisture content and can be cooked to a ‘tipping point’ after which it gets dry and tough almost immediately. I find it’s best to cook on a HOT grill that’s been turned down to MEDIUM just as I place the fish on the lightly oiled grates. I do use aluminum foil – not between the fish and the grates -but to cover the fish on an open grill. I believe it holds heat next to the flesh and helps to speed the cooking. I also am not afraid to remove the fish from the grill, cover and hold for a few minutes before checking to see if it’s done to my liking. If not done, I can always add a bit more time on the grill – but if it’s over cooked, I can’t undo it!

Because I think seafood is best when grilled at higher temperatures it was very fortunate I grilled this menu on the new Commercial Series Grill with Quantum infrared inside. The infrared heat is perfect for searing the fish and sealing in moisture. And the heat control of the Quantum burner allowed me to adjust and reduce heat as necessary with almost instant response. I’ve been very pleased cooking in The Big Easy Oil-less Infrared Turkey Fryer and my third experience cooking with this new Quantum infrared heat was very satisfying. I’ll go one better. It was great – because my food was prepared the way I wanted and my guests enjoyed it with smiles on their faces, some good words and they asked for seconds – even those who confessed they “don’t like fish so much.” I certainly give most of the credit to the fresh wild caught fish and the rest to the Commercial Series with Quantum infrared!

Happy Grilling!

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