Looking for something light, refreshing, and healthy to eat? GRILLED WHOLE FISH is must and it’s so simple to make at home! This is such a great summery dish wonderful for entertaining at a dinner party or as an everyday weeknight meal. The key is to use super fresh fish, whatever variety you can get your hands on, and let the little Mediterranean inspired herbs and garnishes accentuate the sweet, soft, and silky flesh. Grilling takes it to a whole other level giving the fish a delicious slightly charred smokey flavor that comes with great BBQ.
My family and I use to frequent going to our local Mediterranean restaurant called Mr. Greek whenever we were craving some good old grilled meat dishes, endless garlic bread, and our favorite FLAMING CHEESE a.k.a saganaki appetizer. For the main meal, I always loved ordering their special grilled branzino also known as sea bass along with my grandfather as we both LOVE eating fish. The delicate flesh and simple flavors are just a treat to eat and I remember how good my grandfather was at cleaning all the flesh off the bones like a true pro!
So the other day, my husband and I went to the fish market again and we got ourselves a nice white fish for dinner so I decided to recreate this beloved fish dish at home. Using only a few simple ingredients like good olive oil, oregano, thyme, lemon, and onion is all you really need….and a hot grill of course!
The key step here is to make sure your fish is dried well of excess moisture and very very well oiled to ensure it does not stick to the grill. I used an electric grill as that’s what we have but if you have a charcoal grill I highly recommend that to get that awesome charred smokey flavor you can’t really get on gas or electric BBQs. Grill up some lemon on the side for squeezing later on and this dish is perfect with a side of salad and some rice!
Mediterranean Grilled Whole Fish
Prep time: 5 min Cook time: 20 min Total time: 25 min Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 whole white fish
- 3 tsp salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 lemon sliced
- 1 white onion sliced
- 4-5 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- To prepare the fish for grilling, pat the entire fish dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. Drizzle olive oil over the surface and rub thoroughly to cover all sides. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, oregano, and thyme then stuff with a few slices of lemon and white onion. Let it marinade for 10 min at room temperature.
- Heat a grill to medium high heat, then place the fish on and cook about 6-7 min per side until the flesh is white and flaky.
- Serve hot immediately with a squeeze of grilled lemon and more olive oil to garnish. Enjoy!
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