Nando's Seafood Barbecue Grilling Tips, Tricks and Techniques

Tips for Grilling Fish
General Fish Tips
Checking for Freshness
Buying Fish
Seafood Cooking Chart

	Tips for Grilling Fish
Fish is cooked when the meat flakes easily with a fork and appears opaque all the way through. If any of the meat is still glossy and translucent then it is not done .
Test for doneness - skin looks opaque, fish must flake easily. Shellfish must be firm and white.
A grill basket makes grilling fish, especially smaller pieces, considerably easier for cooking and clean-up. Be sure to spray or brush the basket with oil to prevent sticking.
Fish has a tendency to dry out and break into small pieces. Keep some fresh lemon juice handy while you are grilling. You can brush this on while you grill to add flavor and keep the fish moist. Wrapping fish in tinfoil also keeps fish moist and prevents sticking. Spray inside of aluminum foil with no-stick spray to prevent sticking.
These guidelines are based on direct heat cooking over a medium hot grill. Small whole fish will need about 7 minutes on each side. A little longer if stuffed. Large whole fish will need about 15 minutes per side, again longer if it is very large or stuffed. Fillets (like salmon) will need about 6-8 minutes per side. Trout fillets may only need 4 minutes per side. Steaks (like halibut or salmon) usually need about 5 minutes per side. Kabobs are usually cut into chunks a little over an inch thick and will need about 12 minutes turning often. Remember Please: These are just guidelines to use in planning your meal. Every grill is different and will produce different results. Oh yeah! Remember to always cook fish and seafood like shrimp on a cleanly scraped grill that has been brushed with a little oil or fat. Do not "dry weld" your fish to a filthy grill! Cook fish on an oiled grill skin side down for the first part of the cooking time. The skin protects the fish from burning and drying out. It also can provide natural oils to your grill, so when you flip the fish it doesn't stick.
Recommended Nando's Products for Seafood are: Lime & Cilantro Marinade & Grilling Sauce (Amazing on all seafood!) Sun-dried Tomato Basil Marinade & Grilling Sauce (Great on Swordfish!) Lemon Cooking & Grilling Sauce (Incredible on White fish & Scallops!) Sweet Apricot Cooking & Grilling Sauce (Fantastic on Salmon!) Garlic or Medium Peri-Peri Pepper Sauces (Add the Extra Hot or Hot for more Heat!) Lemon Herb or Hot Peri-Peri Pepper Grinders (Use the Grinder right over the grill!)

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General Fish Tips

Fish is one of our healthiest, most inexpensive and easiest to prepare foods. So why last year did the average American consume just 15.6 pounds, as compared to a whopping 118 pounds of red meat?

A lot of us are confused about fish. After all, there are more than 500 different species and lots of questions about taste, cooking preparation and what is safe to eat.
When it comes to value ...
Buy frozen seafood fillets! Most seafood was put on ice (or even in a freezer) on the boat right after it was caught. Buying frozen seafood will not only save you money, but usually the texture and taste will be better since it hasn't already been defrosted.
Always defrost seafood in the refrigerator the night before using. Thaw fish fillets in milk. The milk absorbs the "frozen" taste and adds a "fresh caught" taste. Never thaw frozen fish out on a counter, as the bacteria will grow rapidly and may cause food poisoning. In an emergency, you can run the seafood under cold running water to defrost (but typically the texture and flavor will not be as good).

Tip: Unlike meats and other products, don't refreeze defrosted unused or cooked seafood. The consistency is more likely to become freezer burned, resulting in an off flavor and texture.

It's easy to cook fish!
Fish is naturally tender and contain very little connective tissue. Unlike meat, they require short cooking times at a high temperature. Most people actually over-cook fish at home, and find that the fish is dry and tasteless. Best bet is to either poach the seafood or wrap the fish in aluminum foil that has been coated with olive oil on the inside, fold over loosely, forming a tent, then cook in the oven broiler or on a BBQ.

Guidelines for Cooking Fish

W hen fish cooks, the proteins denature or unwind, then reattach to each other; as a result, the cooking process squeezes out water and the molecules shrink, pressing closer together. Because fish have very little connective tissue and fat, the flesh is quite delicate when cooked, so go easy with the spices and sauces. Best bet is marinating, which adds both flavor and moisture to the fish, but marinating should be very brief. If fish flesh sits in acidic ingredients for more than 30 minutes, the acid will begin to denature the delicate protein, and you'll have a mushy fish when it's cooked. Even the richer flesh of salmon and tuna should only be marinated for about an hour.

Beware the labels
Organic seafood! Lots of retailers and seafood companies are trying to capitalize on the organic trend by selling "organic" fish. Don't be fooled. There is no such thing. The USDA has not issued regulations on organic seafood. You will wind up paying 30 percent to 50 percent more, and get ripped off.

Is fish safe?
The question of whether to buy Wild or Farm Raised fish has made the headlines, and there is unfortunately not a standard answer across all species. Some farm-raised fish, like trout and tilapia, have been tested, and the toxicity (levels of PCBs and dioxins) is lower than those tested in open waters. Farm-raised salmon toxicity, however, continues to test at much higher levels than does its wild (mostly Alaskan) counterparts. The problem is that wild salmon is widely available over the summer months, as it is caught between May and September. For other times of the year, the best bet is to buy farmed salmon that was raised in the U.S., Chile or Canada, which has been found to have lower levels of PCBs and dioxins.

Farmed salmon actually has a pink coloring added to give it the color that comes natural to wild salmon (from eating other smaller fish). To be sure of what you are buying, read the fine print on the label. If it says coloring, or natural coloring added, you can be sure that the salmon was farmed.

Tip: The larger the fish, the older the fish, and typically those species will contain more toxins in general, due to the fact that they swam in waters longer than their smaller fish counterparts.

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Checking for Freshness and Quality of Fish

The flesh should be firm so that when pressed with your finger, it doesn't leave an indentation or mark.

The eyes should be clear and plump, not cloudy, dull or sunken.

The fish should not have a strong "fishy" odor. It should have a clean aroma akin to fresh seaweed or I've even heard of it referred to as a cucumber-like smell.

Look for bright red gills. Grey or yellow is a sign of loss of freshness.

If the skin is on, it should be firm and elastic.

The gut cavity should be clear of blood, have no cuts into the meat, and the bones should not be torn from the flesh or easily torn away.

Fish should always be packed in ice. Check the temperature. No matter what the season, or time of year, fish should arrive at 32 to 36°F.

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Buying Fish

Get your fish at the busiest fish store you can find. Chances are it will be freshest from there. Use the guidelines above. Buy it as close to when you'll use it as possible and figure 7-8 ounces per person on boneless fillets and steaks. For whole fish that you will clean or cook whole, plan on one pound per person. Frozen fish should always be thawed in your refrigerator overnight.

Shrimp:Splurge on large or extra-large shrimp — they’re less likely to dry out. Leaving the shells on also helps shrimp retain as much moisture and flavor as possible, though you can peel them first (or buy them already peeled).

Tuna Steak:Look for steaks that are an inch thick — no thinner. The same goes for salmon and swordfish steaks.

Salmon Fillet:Don’t ask the fishmonger to remove the skin from the fillet; it protects the flaky fish from the heat and minimizes sticking.

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Seafood Cooking Chart

Type of Fish or Shellfish	Weight or Thickness	Grilling Method	Approximate Cooking Time
Whole Fish* (with or without head and tail)	1/2 - 1 lb.	Indirect	6 min. /side
Whole Fish* (with or without head and tail)	3 - 5 lbs.	Indirect	30 - 35 min. total
Whole Fish* (with or without head and tail)	5 - 7 lbs.	Indirect	45 min. total
Steaks & Fillets**	1/2 in.	Direct	2 - 3 min. /side
Steaks & Fillets**	3/4 in.	Direct	3 - 4 min. /side
Steaks & Fillets**	1 in.	Direct	4 - 5 min. /side
Steaks & Fillets**	1 1/2 in. (2 - 3 lbs.)	Indirect	15 - 18 min. total
Boneless Cubes (for Kabobs) (Use firm fish)	1 in.	Direct	8 - 10 min. total
Shrimp	Medium-size(30 - 32 per lb.)	Direct	1 1/2 - 2 1/2 min./side
Scallops	About 1 in. cubes	Direct	5 - 7 min. total
Clams	Medium-size	Direct	3 - 4 min. total***
Oysters	Medium-size	Direct	4 - 6 min. total***
Mussels	Medium-size	Direct	3 - 6 min. total***
Lobster Tails****	4 - 6 oz.	Direct	5 - 7 min.
Lobster Tails****	8 - 11 oz.	Direct	9 - 13 min.

* Rub whole fish inside and out with cooking oil and seasoning before grilling
** Place heavy-duty foil under large fillets instead of putting them directly on the grill.
*** Cook until shells pop open.
**** Grill shell side down, meat side up.

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If you've have any grilling tips or facts you'd like to share with us and other Nandocas, please send these to perihot@nandosusa.com

You'll find Nando's Peri – Peri Pepper Sauces, Marinades & Cooking Sauces perfect on meat, vegetables,
pastas and seafood – but particularly tasty on chicken!

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