Grilled Whole Fish With Lemon Emulsion Recipes

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.

Steps:

• Preheat grill for direct-heat cooking, or build a fire and burn down wood until only red coals and gray ash remain.
• Rub a thin film of oil over cavities and skins of fish. Generously season all over (including cavities) with salt and pepper. Divide half of lemon rounds and thyme sprigs evenly between cavities. Secure cavities with skewers.
• Place fish in a grill basket; scatter remaining lemon rounds, halved lemons, and thyme around them. Place basket on grill grate and cook, turning once, until fish are charred in places and just cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes, depending on size. Fillet fish and cut into portions. Serve with grilled lemon halves and dressing.

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.

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.

Steps:

• Place lemon juice and mustard in a medium bowl. Using a small blender, blend until combined. With the blender running, slowly add olive oil. Add oregano and blend just to combine. Season with salt and pepper.