Grilled White Fish with Lemon Pepper Salmoriglio
A bright, Southern Italian sauce perfectly balanced to cut through the smoky char of grilled seafood and meats.
Ingredients
- ✔ 1/2 cup Martha Stewart’s Lemon Pepper Infused Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, divided
- ✔ 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ✔ 3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced
- ✔ 1 tablespoon fresh oregano or thyme leaves, minced plus 2 sprigs
- ✔ 1 clove garlic, grated (optional)
- ✔ Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper
- ✔ 2 whole branzino (each 1 to 1 ½ pounds), cleaned, heads and tails left intact
- ✔ 1 lemon thinly sliced
- ✔ Vegetable oil, for grill
Recommended Product
Instructions
- Whisk together 3 tablespoons of Martha Stewart's Lemon Pepper Infused Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, the lemon juice, parsley, oregano, and garlic. Add a pinch of salt and set aside to let the herb flavors infuse.
- Preheat grill for direct-heat grilling over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, drizzle cavity of each fish with 1 tablespoon olive oil, then season generously with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. Stuff cavities with lemon slices and thyme sprigs. Fasten each opening with a wooden skewer or toothpicks that have been soaked in water so they don't burn. This keeps the aromatics inside and also makes fish easier to handle on the grill.
- Using a paring knife, make long, 1/4-inch-deep diagonal slashes at 2-inch intervals on both sides of fish so they cook evenly throughout.
- Rub both sides of each fish with remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper, working all into slashes as well as heads and tails—both are edible, and the tail becomes delightfully crisp when grilled.
- Brush hot grill with vegetable oil; immediately place fish on grill. Cook, undisturbed and uncovered, until undersides are charred and flesh along gills on undersides turns opaque, 5 to 7 minutes. Turn fish with 2 large spatulas. If they stick, wait a few seconds until skin sears enough to release cleanly. Grill on other side until charred and fish are just cooked through and opaque, 5 to 7 minutes more.
- To serve, cut fillet free from top side of fish and remove with a spatula. Remove bones to free other fillet.
- Transfer to a platter and spoon the salmoriglio over the hot fish.