Gas-Grilled Whole Red Snapper
Why does this simple recipe—just fish, salt, pepper, and fire—so often fail?
A cookbook recipe exclusively for ATK Essential members from The Complete Summer CookbookGather Your Ingredients
Key Equipment
Before You Begin
Grilling a whole fish (head and all) delivers a richer, deeper flavor than grilling boneless fillets. If your fish are a little larger (between 1 1/2 and 2 pounds), simply grill them a minute or two longer on each side. Fish weighing more than 2 pounds will be hard to maneuver on the grill and should be avoided. Serve the fish with lemon wedges or add one of the related sauces.
Instructions
1.
Heat grill with all burners set to high and lid down until very hot, about 15 minutes. Use grill brush to scrape cooking grate clean. Leave all burners on high.
2.
Rub fish with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper on outside as well as inside of each fish.
3.
Lightly dip small wad of paper towels in vegetable oil; holding wad with tongs, wipe grill rack. Place fish on grill. Grill, covered, until side of fish facing charcoal is browned and crisp, 6 to 7 minutes. Gently turn fish over using two spatulas and cook until flesh is no longer translucent at center and skin on both sides of each fish is blistered and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes more. (To check for doneness, peek into slashed flesh or into interior through opened bottom area of each fish to see that flesh is no longer translucent.) Use two metal spatulas to transfer fish to platter (see illustration below).
4.
Following illustrations 1 and 2 below, fillet fish. Serve fish with lemon wedges.
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