Seafood Grilling: How To Do It Right

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The smell and taste of grilled dishes leave your sense of smell and taste a different kind of craving. Perhaps the smoky and juiciness it gives to your taste buds makes it irresistible, especially during summer. Grilled dishes are a global cooking method that is almost part of every household’s hearty meals.

There are also a lot of benefits when it comes to grilling. First off, we eat less fat since it drips off the excess fat on the grates when we grill. It also cooks off the fats; unlike when we use a pan, the fats have nowhere to go, so it tends to be reabsorbed by the meat. Right? Another one, whenever we master the grilling, we won’t be using lots of butter or oil since grilling locks in more moisture, and with that being said, there is less calorie and unhealthy stuff that our body intakes. It also allows the meat to retain its nutrients; when the meat is tossed in the fire, riboflavin and thiamine are preserved, and these nutrients play a vital role in our healthy diet. Lastly, grilling goes well with outside activities. Since cooking outside encourages outdoor activities with family, friends.

As we all know, grilling takes and requires skills, patience, and the right mix to create good, savory, tasty grilled dishes, especially if you wish to grill seafood. But it would be best if you didn’t give up that grilling aspiration of yours. There are plenty of killer tips that could help you grill perfectly. This article would give you those tips and would further discuss each of those when grilling seafood. This article would also discuss specific grilling techniques appropriate for the ingredients you’d like to grill.

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There are different types of seafood in the market, and each type is incorporated with different grilling methods as kinds of seafood don’t share the same characteristics, just like types of meats. Some varieties are complicated, and some just require simple skills. Here are some basic types of seafood that are most common when grilling.

Fish. That’s the most common seafood you’d ever want to grill but take note that this seafood is quite delicate when grilling. That’s why you must follow these tips unless you’d like to eat terrible grilled fish.

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  • When choosing what fish to grill, choose the one that’s fresh, 1 inch thick, compact or firm flesh, and smells briny like it’s in the sea.
  • It’s recommended that you store the fish in the cold in the freezer before grilling to maintain freshness.
  • It’s also good that you examine the fish the same day that you bought it.
  • Grilling fish would lose the moisture in it, unlike meats. And the juices it emits will go into the sizzling grills. Thus, you have to apply oil to it to partially seal the moisture. This way, you’d preserve the tastiness of the fish once it’s thoroughly grilled.
  • Designate a “cool” portion. Place hot coals on one side only.
  • Make sure that your grills are clean.
  • Rub these grates using tongs with a cloth and coat them with vegetable oil.
  • Flip the fish when it seemed to be cooked at least 1/2.
  • For every thickness of 1 inch, expect to have it cooked for 10 minutes if you’re using medium heat coals.
  • Use a foil to place your fish and put some parchment to separate fish from foil to avoid sticking.

Now that you know the basics when grilling fish let’s proceed to learn how to grill certain fishes.

Grilled Tuna

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When grilling tuna, high heat is a good choice level of heat. However, if you prefer a medium-rare tuna, you should sear it on high heat for a couple of minutes on each side. Move the fish on the cooler side of the grill until it becomes cooked according to your liking.

Grilling Salmon

Grill salmon skin-side down. Let it grill for 3 to 5 minutes. Using a wide metal spatula, flip it on the other side. Your indicator is that it’s cooked when it flakes apart easily through a fork.

When grilling salmon, it’s good to use high heat on this one and thick, wide cast-iron grates. This wouldn’t cause the fish to stick that much and would leave astonishing grill marks.

Grilled Trout

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Farm-raised trouts are better off when it is added with herbs and marinades. This will give it a more flavorful and savory taste. In addition, it’s also good if you serve it with vegetables.

Shrimps, prawns, and shellfish

Types of seafood like these blend well with kabobs; you can either marinate it or not, depending on your preference. Either way, both will give you a fantastic taste. You can also grill them directly. However, grilling these types of seafood should be taken with utmost observation because these should be cooked hurriedly.

Scallops and other bivalves

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These types of ingredients take you no hassle to grill. You can just place them on the grill without a sweat!

Final Words

Whether it’s deep-fried, baked, steamed, one thing is for sure, the right skills, patience, and suitable materials will guarantee you successful cooking, especially when it comes to grilling. If you wish to savor that tasty grilled dish, you have to put some effort into knowing the dos and don’ts of grilling.

Compared to most grilled dishes, grilled seafood requires your extra effort and attention. But as said earlier, this should not hinder you from creating hearty, good meals for your family, friends, or yourself. As the cliche goes, the best way to someone’s heart is through his/ her tummy.

We should also not forget that the essential part about grilling is using the right equipment and accessories. It would be best if you used quality pieces of equipment from different brands that will aid your needs when it comes to grilling. You can check this website for a broad range of grilling equipment – https://outdoorcookingpros.com