To Grill or Not To Grill

Grilled Fish to Perfection!

Just made the hair come up on the back of your neck didn’t I? One ton of remnants from past failed attempts sitting at the bottom of your grill say “Are you crazy”? Perfect grilled fish is an urban myth. Right up there with perfectly grilled boneless skinless chicken breasts! People tell stories around campfires about the “fish that fell through the grill”. I’m sticking with steaks! At least with them all I do is over cook them!

Well let’s shatter some myths and start to enjoy what the perfect bodies of the world tell us is the perfect food! No, not Twinkies! Fish! And I don’t mean fish sticks; I’m talking about luscious chunks of Halibut and Sea Bass and Grouper!

Why does fish stick to the grill? Same reason everything else does….grill neglect! Most of you are guilty of simply lighting the fire and plopping whatever down to blaze away again and again…without ever cleaning! And you thought layers of Burgers and Salmon and Chicken just made whatever is on there now taste more complex! I cover thorough cleaning and grill prep in another post totally dedicated to just that, so refer to that post before wasting your hard earned coin on another $25 chunk of Halibut!

Let’s assume that you did the responsible thing and followed all the steps to a clean grill, and your personal inferno is now heating up to the right temperature. Remove those luscious translucent filets of (fill in with your favorite fish) from the refrigerator, and let’s keep it simple until you start to earn your “Golden Spatula’ award. Assuming that you have oiled your grates prior to heat-up, and the grill is now at the ideal medium high temp, gently place the gilled gold on the grill. If you watch the side of the chunky swimmer, you will notice that as the heat penetrates the flesh it starts to turn from translucent to opaque. Once that visible line approaches the halfway point, take your spatula and gently nudge the filet over. If it doesn’t release from the grates, it’s not quite ready…wait 30 seconds and try again. Once you have flipped the flipper stay with it till the end, just a few more minutes. Use your spatula to remove your fish from the grill, and don’t forget that it is still cooking for a couple of minutes after you remove it.

Now comes the hard part…with a steady hand, twist a little Sea Salt, and Cracked Black Pepper on with a follow-up of fresh squeezed lemon. And…….serve! Doesn’t need to be any more complex than that! Raise a glass of Wine, toast your friends; and they in turn will toast your new-found confidence in all things grilled. Bon Apetit! Chef Craiger

Swai Fish Tacos! What’s a Swai??

Does the word Taco conjure images of foods better left consumed after a bender? You know that moment in time where all taste and discretion has completely left you? Well let me offer up to you the Fish Taco! Now at this point, you know I am not talking about hard shells in a package with crumbled fish sticks… I am talking about fresh corn tortillas lightly grilled, and then stuffed with all things fresh and wonderful. I have been experimenting with several different denizens of the deep lately, and my most recent was Swai, which is a Vietnamese river fish similar to Catfish. So why Swai and not Catfish? Why not? Always looking for something new to try. Swai is a sweet whitefish that does a decent job of taking on marinades and rubs, and therefore transfers the savory goodies onto you in the form of a reasonably healthy and inexpensive meal. Once off the grill and nestled in Corn tortilla land, top it with some fresh Cilantro, a little tangy slaw, some Cotija cheese and a little spicy jalapeno yogurt drizzle, and you will find yourself eating way more than you expected.  Now just add a nice warm glass of Milk, and ……whoops I was thinking ahead to the Toll House cookies……. okay so just add a nice chilled Corona, and make sure to use the lime on the beer AND the taco! Bon Apetit!

Alison, has that Janice Joplin raspiness, and only 17? Eve is done and so is my wine. time to toddle off to La La Land. Night peeps!

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