Grilled Vermillion Snapper and Grilled Veggies
Mmmm grill, we spent our memorial day weekend around the grill, with beautiful vermillion snapper, corn on the cob, zucchini and sausages (not pictured here). We are warming up to it very quickly, loving the smokey flavors and the fact that there is no clean up, at least in the kitchen. We still need to perfect our skills with the grilled fish, there were so many opinions and theories being thrown around that the master griller (my husband) became a little frazzled.
I had read in Alice Water’s The Art of Simple Food that the scales needed to be removed before grilling and to grill it for 10 minutes for every inch of the fish’s thickest part. With voices chiming in, don’t overcook it, we ended up really undercooking it, removed some of the meat only to place the poor things back on the grill. The next day we consulted my mother-in-law, who I trust when it comes to cooking fish more than Alice Waters or anyone with an established expertise on food in America. She said not to remove the scales (which makes sense, protect the delicate fish skin, you aren’t going to eat it anyway) and to cook it for about 10 minutes on each side, depending on how big the fish is. We will try this next time.
For memorial day, we grilled sausages, corn on the cob and zucchini. Delicious. Grilled vegetables are incredible. I know that most of the people reading this are rolling their eyes, because it is common knowledge that grilling rocks. Here I have stumbled upon this great new discovery, but after years of living in crowded urban spaces, grilling was never an option, it was a fire hazard and a nuisance to the neighbors. The few barbecues I went to in Brooklyn were always the mundane hamburger or barbecue chicken, nothing that made a girl like me gush like I’m doing now.
We have a pretty tiny grill, the kind that most Americans would keep in the back of their SUV’s for a tailgate party to maybe to go camping with, but hey, it works for the two of us, takes a little more time, the food has to take its turn and we’re ok with that. With both fish and veggies, the grill should be medium-hot, I would think that it you were to grill them both together, for the same meal, it would be wise to grill the veggies first. One, because they taste better at room temperature than fish does, and two because they can resist a higher temperature than the whole fish can. Not sure about fillets, I tend to avoid fillets if I can help it.
Everyone and their brother knows how to grill better than I do, so I’m not going to bother with any recipes. But will share what I learned from Alice Waters about grilling corn on the cob. She recommends removing the angel hair, but leaving the husks on. I then slathered them with butter before hiding the corn under the husks again. Incredible, the husks create a steaming method for the corn while it is barbecuing, so it never dries out. Can’t wait for more summer corn.
Italicious 