Last night I decided to grill up a whole branzino fish for the first time and it was definitely a winner! I was inspired to whip this up from my trip to Milan, Italy. In Italy grilled and baked branzino is a staple in their diet. I was able to walk into almost any restaurant or “tavola caldas,” very common deli like stores with hot prepared foods, and branzino was always there. Paired with Italian spices and oils, the branzino is amazing. You can also go into the grocery store and see a huge section of whole branzinos for extremely cheap, which you can’t find in the US. Every time I went into the supermarket I wanted to try one, but was too intimidated since I had never cooked or cleaned a whole fish before.

Once I got home I decided it was time to learn how to prepare a whole fish, and come to find out it was extremely easy! All you need is a sharp knife, a spoon and some attention to detail. This recipe is going to for sure be a new go to for me, not only was the fish a lot fresher, but it was cheaper to buy whole, and you get all the yummy, crispy skin!

Ingredients:

  1. One whole, wild caught branzino
  2. Olive oil
  3.  1 TB of salt
  4.  1/2 TB of pepper
  5. Whole lemon-sliced
  6. Capers

Instructions:

  1. Gut and clean the whole branzino. Youtube is your best friend here since it talks you through each step. I used this video to help guide me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRPqGWzM2YI.
  2.  Once cleaned coat the outer and inside cavity with olive oil. Sprinkle the outside and inside with your tablespoon of salt and pepper. Also add some capers to the inside of the cavity.
  3. Slice your lemon into thin pieces. Stuff 2-3 of the lemon slices inside the cavity.
  4. Put in plastic ziploc with some extra olive oil and capers to let marinade for 30 minutes or until it is time to cook.
  5. Turn on grill to moderately high heat and let it get to temperature for around 15 minutes.
  6. Spray the grill with nonstick spray and place the branzino on the grill, making sure the lemons remain inside the cavity. Close and let it cook on this side for about 5-7 minutes. When the skin no longer sticks to the grill and has crisped up, you know it is time to flip the fish. Gently roll over with tongs and cook for another 5-7 minutes. Once brown and crispy, take off the grill.
  7.  Now you must filet and debone your branzino for serving. I used this video as a guide https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqfZsGndeHE&t=90s​.
  8.  Serve with a fresh lemon squeezed over it! Enjoy!
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