Coconut-Smoked Mahi-Mahi

Dave DeWitt Leave a Comment

Smoking with coconut gives the fish a sweet flavor with tropical overtones. Serve with Curried Pineapple Serrano Salsa.

Ingredients

Habanero, Coconut, Mahi-Mahi, Pineapple, Serrano, Brown Sugar, Curry Powder, Ginger

Instructions

Mahi-mahi is the Hawaiian term for the fish also called dorado in Spanish and dolphin in English. This recipe also works well with “fishier” fish such as kingfish, bluefish, and mackerel. Yes, you can substitute steaks for the fillets, but be sure to adjust the cooking time. Smoking with coconut gives the fish a sweet flavor with tropical overtones. This recipe is designed for a water smoker or a charcoal grill with indirect heat, a water-filled pan beneath the fish and the coconut placed on the coals. Use a fish grill basket with handles for easy turning. Serve with lemon cashew rice, spring asparagus spears, and Key lime pie.

Marinade

  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil

  • 2 tablespoons rice wine

  • Juice of 1 lime

  • 2 teaspoons ground habanero chile

  • 1 teaspoon minced ginger

  • 1 fresh coconut, broken in pieces, reserving the milk

  • 4 mahi-mahi fillets, or substitute snapper or grouper

Curried Pineapple Serrano Salsa

  • 1 ripe pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut in 1/4-inch slices

  • 3 serrano chiles, stems removed, chopped

  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

  • 1 tablespoon orange juice

  • 2 teaspoons curry powder

  • 2 teaspoons brown sugar

  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

In a bowl, combine the oil, rice wine, lime juice, chile, and ginger to make a marinade. Place the fish in a non-reactive dish, pour the marinade over the top and marinate, covered, at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes.

Prepare a fire in a water smoker or a charcoal grill and when hot, place the coconut pieces on the coals. Pour the reserved coconut milk in the pan along with the water. Smoke the fish for 1 to 2 hours or until the fish flakes, keeping a very low heat. You may quickly baste a couple of times with the marinade, if desired, to keep the fish from drying out.

To make the salsa, grill the pineapple slices or heat in a pan for 5 to 10 minutes until the pineapple is browned. Dice the pineapple. Combine all the ingredients for the salsa, except for the cilantro, and allow to sit at room temperature for an hour to blend the flavors. Toss

with the cilantro.

Place the fish on individual pates, top with a little salsa, and serve the remaining salsa on the side.

Yield: 4 servings

Heat Scale: Medium

Trinidad Wood-Grilled Shark Steaks

Dave DeWitt Leave a Comment

Here is a tasty option for cooking shark, or, for that matter, any firm fish that is big enough to have steaks cut from it, such as swordfish. We prefer to grill over hardwood rather than charcoal briquets, and two of the best woods to use are pecan and hickory. Mesquite can be substituted, but it imparts a strong flavor to the fish. Dave collected this recipe in Trinidad, where a dish called Shark and Bake is a specialty. Serve with conch chowder, curried cauliflower, potatoes, peas, and a fruit chutney.

Ingredients

  • 4 shark steaks

  • 1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

  • ½ teaspoon crushed black pepper

  • 1/8 cup sherry

  • 1 habanero chile, seeds and stems removed, minced

  • 1/4 cup olive oil

  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Combine the shark steaks, lime juice, black pepper, sherry, and habanero in a non-reactive bowl and marinate for 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Remove the steaks and pat them dry. Combine the olive oil and salt and spread the mixture over the steaks. Place the steaks in a hinged wire basket (for easy turning) and grill over hot hardwood coals, taking care that the dripping olive oil does not cause flames to burn the steak. Grill for about 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the steaks, or until the fish flakes easily.

 

Grilled Salmon Steaks with Green Chile Lime Sauce

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

Here is a simple salmon recipe that’s quick to prepare but tastes great. You can literally whip it up while you are starting the grill. Feel free to flavor this with a little light smoke–say apple or other fruitwoods. Serve with a creamy rissoto, arugula, and tomato salad and a chilled white wine.

Ingredients

For the Salmon:

  • 4 salmon steaks

  • Olive oil

  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Green Chile Lime Sauce:

  • ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

  • 3 roasted and peeled New Mexico green chiles, stems and seeds removed

  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped

  • Juice of 1 lime

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

  • 1 teaspoon lime zest

Instructions

Brush the steaks with the oil and season with the salt and pepper. Place all the ingredients for the sauce in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.

Grill the steaks over a medium fire for about 8 minutes, turning several times, or until the fish flakes on the outside.

To serve, pour some of the sauce on individual plates, place the steaks on top of the sauce, and top with additional sauce.

Chile-Infused Red Snapper, Veracruz-Style

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

This is one of the most delicious Mexican coastal fish recipes. It is served in Veracruz, the area of Mexico most influenced by Spanish cooking, but is popular all over the country. Often the snapper is dusted with flour and pan fried, then covered with a sauce, but we prefer ours beach-style. We grill it over wood or natural charcoal (gas is acceptable, too) and then serve it with the sauce on the side. Charring the tomatoes on the grill adds a smoky dimension to the sauce. This elegant and colorful fish is served with white rice and additional pickled jalapeños.

Ingredients

The Snapper

  • 1 3 to 4-pound whole dressed red snapper

  • 1 lime, cut in half

  • 1/4 cup ground chile de arbol, or substitute New Mexican ground red chile

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • Olive oil

  • Chopped parsley for garnish

Veracruz Sauce

  • 6 small tomatoes

  • 1 small onion

  • 3 cloves garlic

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

  • 2 bay leaves

  • 4 canned picked jalapeño chiles (jalapeños en escabeche), seeds removed, cut in thin strips

  • 1 tablespoon juice from the pickled jalapeños

  • ½ cup sliced pimiento-stuffed olives

  • 1 tablespoon capers

  • ½ teaspoon sugar

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

With a knife, lightly score the fish on both sides. Sprinkle lime juice over the whole fish, inside and out. In a small bowl, combine the chile and salt and mix well. Sprinkle the fish with the mixture inside and out.

To make the sauce, roast the tomatoes and onions on the grill until charred evenly. Remove and chop. In a small pan, saute the garlic in oil until lightly browned. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, add the remaining ingredients and simmer until thickened. Season with salt and pepper, and remove the bay leaves.

Place the fish on the grill indirectly over a low fire, baste with olive oil, and cook about 1 hour per side, turning twice and basting with the oil. The fish should flake easily, and the internal temperature of the fish at its thickest part should be 385°F for medium.

Place the fish on a serving platter and pour the most of the sauce over it. At the table, carve the fish and serve it with some sauce spooned over each portion. Garnish with the parsley. Serve with heated corn tortillas, and the additional sauce on the table.

 

Belizean Rubbed and Grilled Fish Burger

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

This particular “burger” is a fired-up re-creation of a fish sandwich Nancy devoured in the tiny town of San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, Belize, in 1985. The restaurant was called Elvies Burger Isle, and the diners sat outside under a tamarind tree on picnic benches. If ever there was a simple to prepare, quick and easy fish recipe with significant heat, this is it. Serve with french fries, crisp cole slaw, and to toast Elvie, a frosty tamarind cooler.

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon ground habanero chile

  • 1 teaspoon garlic salt

  • 1 teaspoon ground thyme

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 4 small white fish fillets, such as snapper, trigger fish, or grouper

  • 4 rolls

  • Your favorite salsa or hot sauce

Instructions

In a bowl, combine the chile, salt, garlic, thyme, allspice and nutmeg. Brush the fillets with the oil and dust with the spice mixture. Allow to sit at room temperature while you prepare the grill.

Cut the rolls in half length-wise and brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Grill the fish in a grill basket over medium heat until done, about 5 minutes per side, or until the fillets flake.

Grill the rolls to slightly warm. Place the fish on rolls and top with a sauce of choice, even if it’s store-bought.