The best way to cook a whole fish is by grilling. I learned this method in culinary school during our European culinary class—one of my favorites, of course, because who doesn’t love European food?! For our final, our groups got to pick a country to research and cook from. My group was lucky enough to get Greece, and I was fortunate to be in charge of cooking the entrée, so naturally, I chose a whole grilled branzino.

I practiced cooking branzino no less than five times to prepare for the final, so I became good at grilling fish very quickly! I aced the final, but more importantly, I mastered cooking a whole fish and still use the techniques today. It’s quite easy to do and a showstopper if you have guests over!

Tips for Grilling Branzino:

  • Prepare the branzino – you will want the fish to be drawn and scaled. Clip the fins so they won’t poke you.
  • Season and stuff the branzino with aromatic vegetables or citrus. Lemons are great along with herbs. Also brush with olive oil, this will help prevent sticking to the grill.
  • Heat the grill to high heat and prepare the grill grates. Brush the grates with high smoke point oil. Make sure it is well oiled so the fish doesn’t stick.
  • Place over direct heat and grill 5-6 minutes per side. (this is for a fish roughly 1.5 lbs) 
  • Let the skin naturally release from the grill. If you try to flip it too early it may stick.

How to Prepare the Fish:

  • Descale and remove the guts.
  • Remove the gills with your hands if there are still some.
  • Cut off the fins with sharp kitchen scissors.
  • You can usually ask your fishmonger to do all of this!
@kellyscleankitchen

How to grill a whole fish #branzino #seafood #grilling

♬ A Summer Place – Hollywood Strings Orchestra
  • SERVINGS:  2
  • PREP TIME: 20 Mins
  • COOK TIME: 12 Mins
  • TOTAL TIME: 32 Min

Ingredients:

  • 2 Branzino, drawn, scaled and fins removed
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Avocado oil for grill and skin of fish
  • 1 lemon, thinly sliced
  • 4 sprigs rosemary
  • 4 sprigs oregano or thyme
  • ½ cup lemon juice
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 2 garlic cloves, grated

Preparation:

STEP 1.

Clean the grill and preheat to high heat for 20 minutes.

STEP 2.

Season the branzino with salt and pepper on all sides. Stuff the branzino with lemon slices, rosemary and thyme. Oil the skin of the branzino, this will help prevent it from sticking.

STEP 3.

Use a towel dampened with avocado oil, or paper towels and brush the grill 8-10 times with it while the grill is hot. Once the grill is smoking, grill the fish.

STEP 4.

Cook the fish 6 minutes per side, or until it has good grill marks, then repeat on the other side. Remove once cooked.

STEP 5.

Cool for 10 minutes before serving. While cooling, in a small bowl combine olive oil, fresh lemon juice, parsley and garlic and drizzle over the fish.

STEP 6.

Filet fish and serve with the vinaigrette. 

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