Grilled Red Fish on the Half-Shell
What do you do on a cold, windy Friday when the trout aren’t biting? You drift the banks for red fish in hopes they will bite.
As fishing luck would have it, two fish reached the end of the line (no pun intended) and made it into the boat. They are a beautiful bronze color as they come out of the water . . .
They came home and became grilled “red fish on the half-shell”. I’m sorry I don’t have photos of every step, but I didn’t think about posting until I got ready to serve the red fish.
The plate was so beautiful, I had just had to share it with you, and oh the fish was delicious.
The way this fish was prepared is as follows:
Fillet the red fish on one side only, leaving the skin and scales intact. This serves as the “half shell” for the grill.
While your grill is heating up (or even better overnight) coat the white flesh with Italian dressing. Sprinkle with Cajun seasonings and let it sit.
Once the grill is hot, put the fillets on the grill, scale side down, and close the grill. The fish will cook completely in about 15-30 minutes depending on heat of fire and thickness of fillets. About halfway through cooking, I like to sprinkle mine with lemon juice and then add a sprinkling of fresh-ground sea salt and fresh-cracked black pepper all over the top.
The fillets are done when the meat flakes with a fork and comes clean off the “shell” or skin.
Grilled red fish may be served with any side you desire. Tonight, we had sliced fresh avocado and grape tomatoes, topped with fresh lime juice, salt and pepper; and jasmine rice with yellow curry sauce. If you find the red fish flavor is a little too strong for you, just add a little more of your favorite seasoning and some lemon juice.
Grilled Red Fish on the Half-Shell
- Fish
- Italian dressing
- Cajun seasoning
- lemon juice
- sea salt
- black pepper
- Fillet the red fish on one side only, leaving the skin and scales intact. This serves as the “half shell” for the grill.
- While your grill is heating up (or even better overnight) coat the white flesh with Italian dressing.
- Sprinkle with Cajun seasonings and let it sit.
- Once the grill is hot, put the fillets on the grill, scale side down, and close the grill.
- The fish will cook completely in about 15-30 minutes depending on heat of fire and thickness of fillets.
- About halfway through cooking, sprinkle with lemon juice and add a sprinkling of fresh-ground sea salt and fresh-cracked black pepper all over the top.
- The fillets are done when the meat flakes with a fork and comes clean off the “shell” or skin.
You can come cook for me anytime…..OH and bring your fresh caught fish with ya! That looks and smells amazing. Yep. I do, indeed, catch (no pun intended) the aroma of that meal. Great presentation and picture. Thanks for sharing the recipe too.
My pleasure, Katybug. When you coming down?
Omigosh, that looks so good! I’m coming to your house for dinner, girlfriend!
Trish
Come on down, girl. The door is open! And the fish are plentiful!
Sooner than you might think!!
We do the grilled red fish a lot at the camp. Nothing better … from the bayou to the the pit.
Love the blog. You do it well!
Oh man,that looks so good.I was cooking for my mom and girlfriend on the grill tonight.Thanks for telling me how to do it.
Ah, I can’t wait until you come down, stay at Camp Dularge, catch a big red, clean it right there, and slap it on the grill!!!! Then, you can tell me in person how you like it! Welcome to the bayou and thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment, Trent!
Can you share your recipe for the jasmine rice and curry sauce? Looks so good!
Hey Lisa in Houston! I am happy to inform you that is a ready-mix by Archer Farms from the Target Store!!!!! Yep, Dotter bought it, thought it looked good, and gave it a whirl! We liked it!
Thanks for this nice read. I surely liked every little part of it. I have you bookmarked and will be reading more.
Welcome to the bayou! It’s great to have you! Come back often because we give away Community Coffee products for those who comment on current posts! Thanks again for the kind words!
Bayou Woman,
Thanks for the recipe. Brought some reds home from Grand Isle and wasn’t quite sure how to season reds since all I have is fresh water fish here. Will try it tonight and let you know. Also, I really liked the comment to Henry back in Jan. I’m a Community Coffee man, always have been and always will be. Matter of fact my oldest daughter is in the Navy stationed in Bremerton, WA right now and I have to keep sending care packages with Community Coffee and Tony’s just so she can survive (according to her).
Shorty
Hey, Shorty, and welcome to the bayou! It’s so great to have you here. I really hope this way of grilling reds works for you. Were you wade fishing or fishing from a boat or bridge? Just curious! Had some friends that drove down to the island last Saturday for a visit, and I’m long past due for another visit myself. I wish Community could ship her a care package! If they still sponsored my blog, I would certainly ASK them to send her a package! Please come back soon, Shorty, we post about lots of things including fishing, cooking, and life in the wetlands! BW
This red fish sounds delicious I’m cooking it tonight.
Great! I hope it turned out well!