The Smart Barbecue Choice | Grilled Fish

Fish is the best match for the average barbecue grill. Surprised? Most people are. Fish is not the first thing that comes to mind when you think about cooking out.

That's a mistake! Grilled fish is easy, quick, and results in probably the tastiest thing you've ever had barbecued.

The problem lies in the fact that a lot of people consider fish a delicate meat and consider their barbecue as something less than delicate. The fact is that no other food benefits from the hot and fast properties of the backyard grill than fish. When it comes to cooking, grilled fish really is a "quickie".

A good place to start with grilled fish is understanding the different types of fish to grill. There are a large range of fish on the market, both fresh caught and commercially raised.

In general, the best choice for grilling is either a whole fish or a fish that is available in a steak cut. (Fillets will work as well, but need to be grilled in foil or in a basket since their thinner size makes them prone to flaking and breaking on a grill.)

Steak cuts offer the advantage of convenience, but nothing beats the presentation of a whole grilled fish. Some widely available types of fish that make excellent candidates for the grill include tuna, salmon, swordfish, monk fish, and mahi-mahi.

When grilling fish, preparation is everything. First, if you've purchased the fish frozen, make sure it is completely thawed before grilling.

Once the fish is thawed, or if you've purchased fresh, rinse the fish in cold water and pat dry. If you're grilling a steak cut, season the fish with some salt and pepper and lightly rub each side in olive oil.

If you're grilling a whole fish, rinse, pat dry and season the body cavity or, alternatively, stuff the cavity with herbs and citrus fruit. (Orange slices and fresh ginger make an excellent choice.)

The next step to grilled fish is to make sure your barbecue grill is as hot as can be. This is not the time to stint on coals. You know the fire you made the last time you burned the food?

That's the fire to make this time. Once the fire is good and hot, put the grill in place and quickly coat the surface with some olive oil. (Oiling both the fish and the grill prior to cooking insures the fish won't stick while cooking.)

If you're cooking fish steaks, place them on the fire and turn them once the edges of the steak become opaque. This will take two or three minutes at most, depending on the thickness of the steak.

As with most grilled food, only turn the fish once. Once the other side of the fish is also opaque and the meat is flaking, remove the fish from the heat, hit it with a squirt of fresh lemon juice and serve.

When cooking grilled fish, the entire cooking time should be no more than five or six minutes.

If you're grilling a smaller whole fish, say under three pounds, the cooking time is very similar to that of a fish steak. Place the fish on the grill for approximately two to three minutes per side and until the flesh in the body cavity is opaque and flaking.

A whole fish larger than three pounds should be grilled on a slightly cooler fire for about 20 minutes per side and again until the meat is opaque and flaking. You serve whole fish the same way as a steak cut - fresh off the grill and with plenty of fresh lemon.

So get smart. Grilled fish is easy, quick and it should be a part of your next cook-out!

Image by tiramisustudio at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Weber Charcoal Grill | Barbecue Grill

The Weber Charcoal Grill has become synonymous with barbecuing because it is an amazing grill.

There are few products whose very shape becomes so iconic that the shape itself dominates the genre.

For example, what image comes to mind when I say the words "barbecue grill"? For many people, these two words conjure up a picture of a round object on a tripod base with a domed cover.

In the mind of the buying public, a generic term, in this case barbecue grill, has come to mean a single product the Weber Charcoal Grill. That's a pretty amazing when you think about it. In this case though, the association is justified.

Back in the 1950's. all outdoor grills were the same. A grill was a flat square object supported on four legs. The coals went in a single layer on the bottom. The grill went on top of the coals, nearly touching them. The flat grill top went on over everything else. That was it. You could grill up hot dogs, burgers and maybe steaks and chops, but that was all.

You couldn't really control the heat of the fire or the height of the grill from the fire and the function of the grill top was to prevent the inevitable incineration of the food from happening too quickly.

This type of grill was really only a mass produced brazier and braziers had been mankind's "barbecue grill" for ages. Sure, it was convenient, in terms of having a place to start controlled cooking fire out doors, but in terms of food quality, it was a joke.

In 1952, a guy by the name of George Stephen, Sr. got fed up up with the barbecue status quo. George worked for Weber Brothers Metal Works, a company that manufactured marine buoys. He took one of the company's buoys, cut it in half and fashioned a domed top for a cover.

The Weber Charcoal Grill was born. George started making these grills for his neighbors, and the for the neighbor's neighbors.

Soon, supply couldn't keep up with demand. In short order, the Weber Charcoal Grill became THE outdoor grill for the discriminating barbecue chef.

Why is the Weber Charcoal Grill so popular? The secret is in the grill's versatility.

Unlike traditional barbecue grills, a Weber's round shape and domed top create a reflective cooking surface that intensifies the heat of the charcoal fire.

This allows the grill to create higher internal temperatures which, in turn, can quickly sear the food being cooked.

The object in barbecuing a lot of foods is to sear the outside while the natural juices of the food remain within. A Weber Charcoal Grill does this especially well.

Another advantage a Weber has over a tradition grill is room. The rounded shape creates more space inside the grill and that increased space means more room to cook. You can cook roasts and turkeys on a Weber with ease. You can also cook more food, period.

Since the round shape radiates heat evenly, there are no "cold corners" or "hot spots" where food get over- or under-cooked.

Finally, the rounded top and bottom of the grill, along with the placement of the vents, creates an induction within the grill.

This means the hot air is circulated around the grill as cold air comes in through the bottom vents and hot air exist through the top vent. This circulation means even temperatures within the grill and these even temperatures mean evenly cooked food.

Today, the Weber remains the King of the Grill world. If you've never cooked on one, do yourself a favor. Pick up a Weber Charcoal Grill today and see how innovation can result in better tasting food.