Grilled Trout

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Gather all your ingredients. You can use any fish from the salmon family for this recipe; I'm using trout. Fresh, chilled fish is better than frozen, of course — it holds on to far more of its nutrients. Choose a piece of medium thickness so it cooks through without drying out. A trout steak works well too. Any vegetable oil will do, and you can swap the garlic for garlic powder.

2. Step 2:

   

   Rinse the fish well and remove any membrane. I'm using skin-on trout fillet, so I also carefully picked out the bones. If you're grilling a steak, you can leave the bones in.

3. Step 3:

   

   Add salt to the vegetable oil. Again, I'll note that coarse sea salt is best for fish.

4. Step 4:

   

   Add the minced garlic or garlic powder. I press the clove through a garlic press, but you can mince it with a knife or grate it on a fine grater. At this point you can also work other favorite spices and seasonings into the marinade oil. Dried dill, oregano, and allspice are great here. In my opinion, though, fine fish like this doesn't need extra flavorings — it's delicious as is!

5. Step 5:

   

   Coat the fish with the marinade and cover it with plastic wrap or a lid.

6. Step 6:

   

   Let it marinate anywhere from 30 minutes to 12 hours. Then wipe the bits of minced garlic off the fish with a paper towel, or they'll burn as it grills.

7. Step 7:

   

   Get the coals hot if you're using a charcoal grill. You can use ready-to-go briquettes, or light some wood and wait for it to burn down into glowing coals. Lay the fish on the grill grate and cook, turning it fairly often so it doesn't scorch. Keep in mind that trout is a fatty fish, and the oil dripping off it can flare up the coals. Total cooking time is about 20 minutes.

8. Step 8:

   

   Serve the fish right away, while it's hot and fragrant. It doesn't need a side dish, but you can serve it with fresh seasonal vegetables or a vegetable salad. Enjoy!