Why you are cooking this tonight
Most Australians under 40 have never grilled a whole fish. Which is a crime against geography, because we are a country made almost entirely of coastline and we own the best-equipped backyard barbecues on the planet. Whole fish is the most dramatic, most foolproof, most casually impressive thing you can cook on a grill. It takes 15 minutes. It feeds four without ceremony. It looks like you hired a chef.
Snapper is the hero. Pink snapper, if your fishmonger has whole ones, between 1 and 1.5 kg each. The flesh is white, flaky, slightly sweet, and forgives overcooking by about 90 seconds, which is 85 more than a fillet.
Pair it with a charred corn salsa that has more acid and heat than you think is polite, and suddenly your Friday night barbecue is the event in the postcode.
What you need
For the fish
1 whole pink snapper, 1 to 1.5 kg, scaled and gutted (ask your fishmonger, they will not charge extra). Rinse under cold water, pat dry thoroughly inside and out.
2 limes, one sliced into wheels, one halved.
1 small bunch of fresh coriander, stems and leaves.
3 fat garlic cloves, sliced.
3 tbsp olive oil.
1 tsp fine sea salt (extra flaky for finishing).
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper.
For the charred corn salsa
3 fresh corn cobs, husks and silks off.
1 small red onion, very finely diced.
1 long green chilli (jalapeño if you can find them), finely chopped.
1 small bunch of coriander, leaves and stems, roughly chopped.
½ bunch of mint leaves, torn.
Juice of 2 limes.
2 tbsp olive oil.
½ tsp salt.
1 tsp honey (optional, to balance the acid).
1 avocado (optional, diced, folded through at the end).
How to cook it
Step 1. Prep the fish
Pat it bone dry with paper towel. This is the single biggest factor in getting crispy skin on a grill. Wet fish equals steamed fish.
With a sharp knife, score 3 to 4 diagonal slashes into the thickest part of each side, about 1 cm deep. This lets the heat get to the centre and the seasoning get under the skin.
Rub olive oil over both sides of the fish. Salt and pepper everywhere, including inside the cavity.
Stuff the cavity: lime wheels, coriander, garlic slices. Press it closed. A few bits of coriander poking out is a good look.
Step 2. Heat the grill
Gas barbecue or a ridged chargrill pan, preheated hard, 10 minutes. You want it screaming. Brush the grill bars clean. Oil them briefly with a scrunched-up oil-soaked piece of paper towel held with tongs. Hot, oiled grill equals fish that releases when it wants to.
Step 3. Char the corn (while the grill is heating)
Do this first because the corn needs to cool a little before you chop it. Whole cobs, straight onto the hot grill, 10 minutes, turning every 2 minutes, until you have proper black patches on every side. Pull them off, let cool 5 minutes, then stand each cob on its end and run a knife down to strip the kernels off.
Step 4. Grill the fish
Lay the fish on the grill at about a 45-degree angle to the bars. Now close the lid if it’s a gas barbecue, or leave open and knock the heat down to medium if you’re on a chargrill pan.
Seven to eight minutes on the first side. Do not touch it. Do not poke. Do not lift to check. Be patient.
After 7 or 8 minutes, slide a fish slice or a wide spatula under the fish. If it releases cleanly, it’s ready to flip. If it resists, give it another minute. Never wrestle a fish off a grill.
Flip. Six minutes the other side.
Step 5. Check doneness
The fish is done when the flesh is opaque and the meat near the backbone flakes cleanly. Slide a knife tip into the thickest part, lift gently. If the flake is white and firm, it’s cooked. If it’s translucent, another two minutes. If it’s falling apart, it was done three minutes ago and you should hurry.
Step 6. Finish the salsa
In a wide shallow bowl: corn kernels, red onion, green chilli, coriander, mint. Lime juice, olive oil, salt, honey. Toss. Taste. More salt, more lime, more chilli to your preference. Fold in the avocado last if using.
Step 7. Serve
Lift the fish onto a long platter. Spoon half the corn salsa over and around. Flaky salt. Extra lime halves on the side. The rest of the salsa in a bowl on the table.
Eat communally. One person serves. A spoon for the sauce, a fish slice for the fillets. Pull the top fillet off, eat it, then lift the spine carefully to expose the second fillet underneath.
What to pour with it
Two things that go wrong
The skin sticks to the grill. Grill wasn’t hot enough, or fish wasn’t dry enough, or fish was flipped too early. Hot grill, dry fish, patience. Those three things. If the skin does stick, don’t panic. Serve the fish presentation side down, top with salsa, nobody notices.
The fish is overcooked. Two minutes separates perfect from sawdust. Next time, pull it off sooner and let carry-over cooking finish it on the platter. Whole fish stays hot for ten minutes off the grill, so undershoot rather than overshoot.
Variations worth knowing
Whole barramundi
In place of snapper. Same method, same timing. Barra is oilier and more forgiving but has more bones, so eat carefully.Breamif snapper is out. Smaller, more delicate, cook for 5 minutes a side.Coral trout or red emperorif the fishmonger is in a generous mood. Both outstanding on the grill.Swap the corn salsa for a charred tomato and herb salsain peak summer. Same method, different vegetable. Also excellent.
Leftover plan
Strip the remaining meat off the bones while the fish is still warm. Cover, fridge. Next day: warm corn tortillas, fish tacos with the leftover salsa and a bit of sour cream. Friday dinner becomes Saturday lunch. This is how you win weekends.
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Ingredients
Method
- Char corn cobs (in husk) directly on the BBQ grill or over a gas flame, turning, until husks are blackened and corn is cooked, about 12 minutes. Cool, peel, slice kernels off.
- Combine corn kernels, capsicum, onion, chilli, coriander, lime juice, olive oil and salt. Toss. Add avocado just before serving.
- Score the snapper diagonally on both sides 3 times each, just into the flesh. Season inside and out with salt and pepper.
- Stuff the cavity with lemon slices and thyme. Brush the skin with olive oil.
- Heat the BBQ or grill to medium-high. Oil the grill bars. Grill snapper 7-8 minutes per side, turning once carefully.
- Test by lifting the flesh near the bone with a knife: it should be opaque and flake easily.
- Serve whole on a board with the charred corn salsa, lime wedges, and warm tortillas if you like.