Baking and Grilling

Using a whole fish like trout, barramundi or snapper, you can bake or barbecue on a grill plate. This is easy to accomplish on a barbecue. After a quick rinse and pat dry, just wrap the fish with a few herbs in foil. Place on the grill plate of the barbecue for 10-25 minutes each side (depending on the size of the fish and the heat of your plate), unwrap and serve with rice or couscous.  The skin of the fish peels off as you take the foil wrap away. The ocean tout that I have in the photograph has just been unwrapped! The wrapped fish can also be cooked in the oven baking 180-200C.   I have seen fish wrapped in a wet newspaper and successfully baked in the oven. The newspaper dries during the baking and is peeled off at the end taking the fish skin, leaving the perfectly cooked flesh of trout or snapper. The advantage of grilling or baking fish is that it allows the crisp and dry finish that  people love. To produce a crisp finish, you must not wrap the fish. I often use a commercial Moroccan seasoning and add a little lemon to allow me to make a paste. I rub this on the fish and place it on a baking tray or under the grill. After ten minutes it is ready. Watch carefully so that it does not burn.  The longer you allow it to cook, the dryer and crisper it will become. If you want a crisp, dry result, forget my ten-minute-approximation and simply watch to see when the fish is just beginning to burn. People find this dry finish very tasty. Flathead fillets are easy to cook in this way. Many different pastes and seasonings can be used. Here are a few:


Moroccan Paste

Masala Paste

Asian Paste

Salmon Moroccan Salad