Grilling Fillets

[the squirrel]

Hey guys and gals, Would you be so kind and share some of your recipes for grilling walleye's, crappies ect. I have done the tin foil with some butter, salt, pepper and even a little onion and it turned out ok. Just can't get the correct amount of butter so not to burn yet not overwhellming the fillet and the amount of time. Do you like to turn your fillets or just leave on one side with the tin foil cracked open a little.

Thanks,

Squirrel

[the squirrel]

I know this probably belongs on the sharing recipes forum. But I didn't know if it gets enough traffic.

[sparcebag]

I dont use foil unless I want fish steamed,A fish grilling basket that holds fillets works for me,any seasoning ya want just turn the basket and grill the other side.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I persoanlly make a small tinfoil boat... open ended on top.. and cook them on the grill that way.. season to taste. cook till flakey.

[fishnhooks]

Squirrel,

You might want to post this on the sharing recipes forum anyways. I know that I frequently check it out and find some really good ideas/advice from others there. We have alot of good cooks on here

[BillP]

I like to grill bluegills but not fillets. I scale, head and gut them like I was going to pan fry them. But I leave the fins and tail because they stay together better. I rub them with "zesty Italian" salad dressing or a special marinade but never marinade for long. A few minutes on each side, low heat with the cover down, and they are ready to eat. The problem is keeping them from sticking to the grill and I am working on that. I have had some success spraying a lightweight no stick grill with "Pam for the grill" and laying it on top of the BBQ grill. The "squeeze them between two grills things" hold them together but then you have to get then unstuck from that.

[wayne123]

I use a grilling basket, ussually over a open fire. I put some salt on them and lots of black pepper. I put a little oil on the fillets so they do not stick to the grills. Half way throught the cooking you can rub a stick of butter on them. Put as much butter as you want and you can make them as crispy as you want. I ussually do this if we have a few fish but not enough for a meal.

[Tom Linderholm]

A couple other options on grilling thin fish.

* If doing the pouch, try basting a little mayonaisse over the top. There are alot of different flavored mayo's on the market or flavor your own as simple as a little lemon and some dried dill.

* Have you ever tried rolling fish? Take your walleye fillet and lay it flat on a cutting board, layer 2/3 of the fillet with whatever you like, stuffing, grilled vegetables, puree's like sweet potato or parsnip. Now starting on the filled end roll it up tight all the way and stick some tooth pics in it. Cut the roll in half, season, and grill. This should hold up a little better on the grill, or you can also bake with a little parmesan on top.

Just some thoughts.

[BLACKJACK]

BillP, that grilling the whole fish sounds like an idea to try. I like whole fried sunfish, when you spit them apart and take them apart, you get more fish and less fried fish than if you fried a fillet, since its only fried on one side.

Have you tried oiling the grill or basket to cut down on the sticking? And maybe less heat?

I've had luck with sunfish fillets by scaling and filleting, so you have skin on one side, then putting a layer of tin foil on the top rack of my gas grill. Put the fillets, skin side down, on the foil, baste with melted butter and lemon and your favorate dry seasoning and cook until flaky. I end up eating lots of samples right at the grill!

[BIG_EYE]

Fillet fish but leave skin on(with scales), spred meet side with butter, dash with lemonpepper, and grill skin side down directly on the grill until fish flakes apart. The skin and scales keep the fish from burning and comes right off when fish is done. Enjoy!

[kaz2611]

I will make knife slits in thicker portions of larger fillets this enables the fillet to cook more evenly.

[walldoggie]

A recent customer of mine told me about planking which i had never heard of in my 20+ years of fishing. So here it is. Take a 1/4" thick cedar board soak it in water for and hour or two to let it absorb the water. The start the grill place the cedar plank on.. Take the fillet (with skin on) put skin side down and cook till done, depending on thickness and all. the soaked cedar plank kindof smokes and broils and steams the fish all at the same time. It taste pretty good and is something different.

Rob

[snowfighter]

I do what I call blacken fish, get your grill hot and oil one side of the fillet and season the other side with your favorite spices put oiled side down on the grill and cook until done, (do not turn) the bottom will be brown and the top nice and flakey.

[Borch]

If you get the HD channel for channel 2 out of the twin cities there's a grilling show called BBQ Univerty thay is awsome. There grill everything including fish. At least on of his recipes uses the cedar plank. You can also goggle it as there have a web site as well with several recipes.

BTW,

Their green lightning shrimp is awsome!

Good Luck!

[BobT]

I suppose the idea of using an aluminum pan, foil, or special basket comes from a mythological fear that the fish will fall through the grates.

My favorite method is similar to snowfighter's. I place the seasoned fillets directly on the grates over the hottest part of the grill. Takes just a minute or two per side and you'll have the best fish you've ever tasted from a grill. The high heat will rapidly sear the outside of the fillet, trapping the moisture inside. I like to use season salt and pepper and then sprinkle with lemon but just about any seasoning will suffice. I have also experimented with barbeque sauce, mmmmmmm.

Bob