Cooking Fish on a Charcoal Grill

Grilled sea bass on a weber grill.

Let's take a break from pork, beef, and chicken for a moment.  I want to talk about grilled fish, it’s simply amazing.  You can do it on a charcoal grill very easily. I know this can be intimidating for some.  I was intimidated too when I first started grilling fish.  I used to only cook fish in foil because I was so concerned with it sticking and getting burnt to a crisp.  I’ll show you my method and tricks I have learned cooking fish on my charcoal grills.

First things first when you buy fish, always buy fresh if you can.  This little step can elevate your fish game.  Frozen fish works too, but if I can I always buy fresh.  Frozen fish doesn’t have the same texture when thawed as fresh.  During the freezing/thawing process water expands and contracts.  Since fish is mostly water this breaks down the flesh and gives it a mushy texture.  Support your local fish market if you have one, they usually have the best selection and freshest fish.  Here’s a pro tip, get to know the people that work there, they can often share information related to the fish as to what’s freshest! 

Prepping fish for the cook.

On to prep.  Fish prep for me means trimming and brining fish.  The process is a little different than pork, chicken and beef but the net result is going to be the same.  To trim, you take off the bits you aren’t interested in eating or may cook too fast like a thin or stringy piece of the fillet.  I make sure the fish is scaled if the skin is still on.  You can run the dull side of a knife against the scales to do this.  Just work at them until you’re satisfied you got them all.  Pro tip, hold the fish with a paper towel while you do this.  I’ll add kosher salt to all sides of the fish I'm about to cook and let that sit refrigerated for about an hour.  One thing that I do differently after brining is I will pat the fish down and remove any excess moisture that may cause it to stick to the grill.  Season the fish by applying a thin coat of cooking oil and some of your favorite seasoning, my favorite right now is a Citrus Herb by Weber.  

Grilling fish is really best done directly over the fire.  See my direct vs indirect  post for more details.  My biggest fear that I had when I started grilling fish was it sticking to the grill.  There are a few tricks I’ve learned that help minimize this, and you’ll be able to relax and enjoy the results rather instead of scraping bits of salmon off your grill.

First trick - Get the grill hot.  Start with an appropriate fire for the amount of food you’re cooking.  Making a direct cooking zone big enough to cook your fish.  Keep the fire as even as possible (pro tip, charcoal briquettes work great for this).  The goal for this trick is to get the cooking surface really hot to sear off the fish promoting its ability to release.

Second trick - Oil the grill.  Take a paper towel and spray some cooking spray on it.  Use a pair of tongs and quickly wipe the grill where you intend to cook the fish.  This will aid in keeping it from sticking.  Don’t skip this step and do not spray your cooking spray over an open fire either!  Yikes.

Trick #2, brushing the grill prior to searing.

Third trick - Hang around while cooking fish over direct heat.  Depending on the thickness the fish will cook very fast.  Each cook will be different, you’re looking for that right time when the fish will release from the grill on it’s own.  It will give you clues like changing color and transparency.  Salmon for instance will become an opaque pink instead of the orange translucent color, you’ll notice will start flaking too.  There are too many types of fish for me to create a definitive rule on this.  The safe temperature for fish is 145F, watch out though carryover cooking in fish is a big deal.  You could pull it off at 145F but it will “rest up” to 150-160F.  I usually pull mine a few degrees early, it takes some practice but it is easy to get the hang of.  Be sure to use all your senses while cooking.  

Last trick - Get yourself a fish spatula.  Or two!  They can be a super handy tool that will help you handle delicate fish on a grill or frying pan for that matter.  Don’t underestimate this tool, It helps in a big way.  Being able to get a sharp edge under the fish while cooking is critical in making your cook stress free.

I hope you find any of these tricks useful, my time grilling fish hasn’t always been pleasant and there is a lot of wasted, stuck-to-the-grill fish to thank for this article.  

Get out there and grill!