Best 5 Grilled Whole Fish With Lemon Emulsion Recipes

GRILLED WHOLE FISH WITH LEMON EMULSION

Steps:

• Preheat a grill pan or grill to medium heat.
• Working with one fish at a time, use a sharp boning knife, to make a slight incision at the top of the dorsal fin just below the head. Continue making a slight incision, pushing the knife against the bone all the way down the spine and stopping just above the tail. The head and tail should remain intact. Turn fish over and repeat process on opposite side.
• Lay each fish parallel and make an incision from the top base of the head, scoring right down behind the gill. Repeat process on tail end. Turn fish and repeat on opposite side.
• Brush fish with olive oil and season with salt and pepper outside and inside the cavity. Lay fish inside a grilling basket and close. Place in basket or place fish, skin-side down, on grill and cook, moving occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes. Turn and continue cooking until skin is charred and crispy and flesh is opaque, 10 to 12 minutes more.
• Serve whole, garnished with chives and oregano and served with emulsion, or serve filleted by removing head and tail and reserve to use with fish. Using a thin knife, remove the rear of the dorsal fin, starting from where the base of the head was all the way to the tail, and place the knife at the base where the head was, lifting up the center bone. Once fish is opened, remove center bone using the knife or a small fork, remove bones from where the ribs would be, one at a time. Check to make sure all bones are removed.
• Arrange fish opened and butterflied on serving plate, drizzled with emulsion and garnished with chives and oregano. Place head and tail at either end of the fish to give the appearance of a whole fish.

GRILLED WHOLE FISH WITH LEMONGRASS, CHILES AND COCONUT

Steps:

• Season cavities and outside of fish with salt and pepper. Rub skin all over with coconut oil.
• Thinly slice 1 lime and 1 shallot. Cut another lime into wedges and save for garnish. Fill each fish cavity with lime and shallot slices, a handful of cilantro stems (discard the rest) and the lemongrass.
• Prepare the sauce: Coarsely chop the remaining shallot and juice the remaining lime. In a mini food processor, combine shallot, 1 tablespoon lime juice, the cilantro leaves, the mint, the chile, the garlic, the fish sauce and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Pulse until herbs are chopped, then add coconut milk and oil. Continue to pulse until a coarse, chunky sauce forms. (Don't overdo it; you want a relish-like texture, not a purée.) Taste and add more salt, fish sauce and/or lime juice if necessary. (Alternatively, chop everything really finely by hand and stir in the coconut milk and lime juice.) Sauce can be prepared up to 4 hours ahead. Refrigerate until needed.
• Light or heat the grill to medium-high heat. Place fish in basket and grill until blistered and just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. (Poke the fish along the spine; it should be tender but still juicy.) Serve, garnished with lime wedges and mint leaves, with sauce on the side.

GRILLED WHOLE FISH

Steps:

• Preheat grill for direct-heat grilling over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, drizzle cavity of each fish with 1 tablespoon olive oil, then season generously with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper.
• Aromatics help keep whole fish moist while grilling. Stuff 1 fish cavity with lemon slices and dill and the other with lime slices, basil, and Thai chiles. If using just 1 filling, double amounts called for.
• Fasten each opening with a wooden skewer or toothpicks that have been soaked in water so they don't burn. This keeps the aromatics inside and also makes fish easier to handle on the grill.
• Using a paring knife, make long, 1/4-inch-deep diagonal slashes at 2-inch intervals on both sides of fish so they cook evenly throughout. This also allows any seasonings on skin (see step 5) to penetrate.
• Rub both sides of each fish with remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper, working all into slashes as well as heads and tails -- both are edible, and the tail becomes delightfully crisp when grilled.
• Brush hot grill with vegetable oil; immediately place fish on grill. Cook, undisturbed and uncovered, until undersides are charred and flesh along gills on undersides turns opaque, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Turn fish with 2 large spatulas. If they stick, wait a few seconds until skin sears enough to release cleanly. Grill on other side until charred and fish are just cooked through and opaque, 5 to 7 minutes more.
• Serve fish with lemon and lime wedges and more herbs. To serve, cut fillet free from top side of fish and remove with a spatula. Remove bones to free other fillet.

GRILLED WHOLE FISH RECIPE

Steps:

• As you choose your fish, pick fresh fish on ice at your grocery store. Choose fish with clear eyes (fish that have cloudy eyes are less fresh). If you can smell the fish, it should smell like the sea and not fishy. Have the fishmonger clean the fish, also removing the gills and tail.
• Dry your fish with paper towels and use a knife to cut 3 slits on each side of the fish. Each slit is about 1 inch deep.
• Add salt and pepper all over the fish (on the skin, slits, and inside of the cavity).
• Add minced garlic in the cavity and the slits.
• Add the lemon wedges and green onions in each of the slits and the cavity.
• Finish stuffing the fish with leeks, scallions, shallots, rosemary, and parsley.
• Use the soaked toothpicks to keep the stuffing inside the cavity.
• Add a generous amount of vegetable oil all around the fish.
• Heat your charcoal. I like to use natural chunk charcoal and fill about 50-60% of my chimney starter. This fills about 40-50% of my small charcoal grill with about 2-3 inches distance from coals to the fish.
• Once your coals have a nice white coat from heating up, they're ready to pour onto the grill. If the coals aren't covered in white yet, they may not get hot enough on the grill and if you heat them for too long before pouring out, their life is shortened. Cover the grill for a few minutes so it warms up.
• Scrub the grill grates on the top and bottom with a metal grill cleaner.
• Whole fish directly on the grill: Place the fish directly onto the grill and sit tight (don't try to move the fish around before it crisps and cooks or you'll end up breaking the skin). Each side takes about 6-8 minutes with the lid covering the bbq. Once the first side crisps and is easier to lift, you can carefully turn it over. Once the whole fish registers with an internal temperature of about 145°F or the meat is firm and opaque, then it's finished. Whole fish in foil: Wrap the fish with foil and place it onto the grill. Each side takes about 6-8 minutes with the lid covering the bbq. After about 7 minutes, carefully turn it over. Slightly open the packet and use a thermometer to check the fish. Once the whole fish registers with an internal temperature of about 145°F or the meat is firm and opaque, then it's finished.
• Serve the fish fresh off the grill with some rice and garlic noodles.

ROASTED OR GRILLED WHOLE FISH WITH TOMATO VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Rinse fish with cool water and pat dry. Season generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Season the cavity with salt and pepper. Tuck thyme, rosemary and parsley sprigs in cavity of each fish. Add fennel fronds, basil leaves and lemon slices. Drizzle olive oil on both sides of fish, then place on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Leave at room temperature. (May season and refrigerate fish up to 2 hours in advance. Bring to room temperature before cooking.) Heat oven to 450 degrees.
• Make the vinaigrette: Put shallot in a small serving bowl. Add vinegar and a good pinch of salt. Leave to steep 5 minutes, then whisk in olive oil. Season tomatoes with salt and pepper and spoon them into the olive oil mixture. Add basil and stir gently. Leave at room temperature.
• Place fish on top shelf of oven and roast, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes, until fish is firm when probed and flakes at the thickest part. Take from oven and let rest 5 minutes. To serve, use a small knife, soup spoon and spatula to remove top fillets. Pull spine away to reveal bottom fillets. Transfer fillets to a platter or individual plates. Spoon a little tomato vinaigrette over each portion and pass the rest at the table.
• Alternatively, if you are grilling the fish, prepare a bed of hot coals. Make sure the grill is cleaned with a wire brush and lightly oiled. Lay the fish directly on the grill and cook for 7 to 8 minutes. Do not attempt to turn fish until the skin has browned and crisped or it will stick. Carefully turn fish and cook for another 7 to 8 minutes, until fish is firm when probed and flakes at the thickest part. To serve, proceed as in Step 3.