Have you ever tried to grill fish on a barbeque grill?  It doesn’t work so well.  The fish breaks into pieces, and falls into the fire.  I tried an experiment over the weekend, and it’s great.

The trick is to use a grilling plate.  For this dinner party with my friends George and Tate, and my wife, I used the broiler pan from our oven.  It has ridges to support the fish, and also slits to let the heat through.  The slits make those really nice grill marks.  I didn’t even need to turn the fish over!

We bought fish that was cheap or on sale:  three different kinds, a little piece of each for everyone.  We had tuna, halibut and swordfish.  It was not expensive, because we didn’t buy a whole lot.  Just a little.

I used a Weber outdoor grill, the kind with a lid.  Just after I started the coals, it began to rain!  So I quickly poured the coals into the kettle, put the top grill in place, threw the fish (preset on my broiler pan) on the grill and placed the lid over, with the vent open.

Important:  I inserted a temperature probe, so that I could get the fish to a minimum of 120-130 degrees, but no more.  The wire came out from under the cover.

Then it began to pour!  Driving, hard rain, but I was grilling in the middle of it.  The rain prevented me from falling into the temptation of opening the lid to check.  I ran out with an umbrella to check the thermometer.  Just 10 or 12 minutes later, it had reached the proper temperature, so I quickly grabbed the broiler pan with gloved-hand, and brought it in.  I sprinkled herbs on top (a little dill and tarragon), and some sautéed chive in olive oil.  

Delicious!   This method really works: the fish was fully cooked, very moist, and highly flavorful.  I’ll definitely try it again, and I hope you do too.