Graked Fishies

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Salmon_with_Lime_%26_Garlic_Butter_(4437041010).jpg
By Ewan Munro from London, UK (Salmon with Lime & Garlic Butter Uploaded by tm) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Graked Fishies

What you may have thought when you saw the title I’m not quite sure. So let me try and clarify a few things.

What does graked mean? It doesn’t. Mean anything, really. It’s just something my brain cooked up as a “grilled / baked” combo that comes without fries or a drink of your choice.

What is it? This is a recipe.

Guiding Principles: Usability, Versatility, Flexibility

Main ingredient: Fish.

What’s that you say?

What kind of fish? See the Guiding Principle “Flexibility”

What do you serve it with? See “Versatility”

How much time does it take and do I need exotic spices? See “Usability”

I would have tried calling that preceding bit the FAQ section, except that I’m not quite sure if those questions are frequently asked or asked at all. Nevertheless, shall we go on with the recipe? We should? ok!

Equipment:

Grill or oven

Aluminum foil or heavy grilling pan

Tongs, pans and things

Ingredients:

Fish – 4-5 flillets

I personally have tried this with salmon, tilapia and basa. I’m pretty sure you could use this for other types of fish. No. Not goldfish!! I know they’re there already and you’re too lazy to go grocery shopping, but put that bowl down, now! If you do try it with ilish maach you’re probably a Bong and you should know that ilish is way too much effort in the eating and this link will tell you a little more about ilish.

Salt – about a 2 tsps or to taste

Pepper – ground black – about a tsp or to taste ( in the interest of design modularity and future maintainability, I shall set a global parameter here and now. All spices may be adjusted to taste. There that’s done and I can go back to being my usual lazy ass self.)

Lime juice – freshly queezed

Garlic

Oil. EVOO as Rachel would say or any other cooking oil you prefer. About a tablespoon should do it.

Method:

Clean the fish. Do not use any kind of detergent, but do use a sharp knife to get rid of the scales etc, wash and pat dry. Put in a flat dish and coat with the spices. Set aside for a couple of hours.
Now we reach a decision point.

IF using a grill THEN
   {

  • Place each fillet in a strip of aluminum foil large enough to create a pocket for the fillet. Fold in the ends so that you get an sealed pouch.
  • Heat grill up to 400F. Wait for it to get there! Impatience is the downfall of the cook.
  • Place each pouch directly on the grill and turn it down to medium-low. Close the lid

   }
ELSEIF using an oven
  {

  • preheat oven up to 375 / 400F.
  • Place pouches in flat tray or pan and insert the tray or pan into the oven.

    }
ENDIF

Let sit for about 10 minutes. Flip over. Carefully! Use the tongs! Another 6-8 minutes and you should be done. Well…

What can you serve this with? “Versatility”

Peas pulao. Sandwiches.  Pasta. Couscous. Quinoa salad. <your grain / cereal here> It may even be served by itself as an appetizer or to accompany drinks.

Alternate version:

To the spices add tandoori masala, cumin, a touch of garam masala, chill flakes etc. You could potentially substitute banana leaf for the foil. I haven’t tried that myself.

Modify at will!

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  1. mindfulmagpie

    I will give this a try in the oven, bc I just can’t seem to get the knack of turning on that tricky gas grill.

    1. TheLastWord

      The trickery here is that the fish is in a sealed pocket so the turning is not an issue! It’s the reason I make it like this, because fish is notoriously prone to coming apart into flakes if you so much as give it a gentle poke with a spatula, especially salmon.

  2. subroto

    True, fish works best with a simple(or minimalistic) recipe like the one you have given. Banana leaves are great but you need to temper the leaves across a flame to make them pliable. I find it easier to wrap the leaves with Aluminum foil, so that they are easier to handle when unwrapping.

  3. purbaray

    But then if I substitute the foil with banana leaf, the fish will be begging for a thick coat of spice with lots of chillies.
    Btw, mustard goes really well with Salmon.

    1. TheLastWord

      Control yourself! 🙂
      Btw I’m married to a Bong.