Grouper is a highly favored type of saltwater fish among seafood for its unique deliciousness: white, firm, and sweet meat. Let’s get cooking to immediately prepare this grilled dish with 2 super easy and quick methods: butter lemon grilling and aluminum foil grilling.
1. Butter Lemon Grilled Grouper
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Preparation
1 hour
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Cooking
1 hour
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Butter Lemon Grilled Grouper Serves 4
Grouper 1 fish (1 kg) Ginger 1 root Shallots 1 bulb Chili 1 piece Cooking oil 1 tablespoon Margarine 50 g Lemon juice a little Sugar a little Seasoning powder a little
How to Make Grilled Grouper with Butter and Lemon
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Prepare the grouper
Buy the grouper and use a scaler to scrape the scales in the opposite direction to clean them. Then use scissors to cut and remove all the internal organs, avoiding breaking the gallbladder to prevent the fish flesh from becoming bitter.
Clean the fish with salt water. During washing, use your hands to rub the fish skin and flesh to remove any blood and slime.
Use a knife to make deep diagonal cuts of 1.5cm on both sides of the fish, with each cut spaced about 3cm apart.
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Prepare the other ingredients
Peel the ginger, mince it, and squeeze out the juice, keeping the ginger pulp.
Peel the shallots, crush them, and chop them finely.
In another bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of seasoning powder, 25g of butter, and 1 minced chili, you can increase the amount of chili if you like it spicy.
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Marinating fish
To keep the fish meat fragrant and prevent it from being fishy when grilling, rub ginger water all over the surface of the grouper, while stuffing minced ginger and shallots into the belly of the fish.
Then, evenly rub the spice mixture on both sides of the fish and in the cuts to allow the fish meat to absorb the seasoning. Marinate the fish for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
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Grilling
After the grouper has absorbed the seasoning, place the fish on the grill and grill it over charcoal. During the grilling process, turn the fish every 10 minutes so that both sides and the inside of the fish cook evenly and do not burn. The grilling time can vary from 1 hour or more.
While grilling the fish, mix 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, 25g of butter, and a little lemon juice. When the fish is nearly cooked, drizzle the mixture over both sides of the fish and grill for another 15 minutes.
Tip: The grilling time depends on the size and weight of the fish
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Finished product
After the fish is cooked, serve it on a plate and garnish with lettuce, cherry tomatoes,… The grilled fish has a golden-brown color, with the fragrant smell of butter and a crispy skin. The grilled grouper with butter and lemon has a very unique flavor, blending the distinctive sweetness of grouper with the richness and slight sourness from lemon. You must definitely try this dish!
2. Grilled grouper in foil
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Preparation
1 hour
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Processing
45 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Grilled grouper in foil For 4 people
Grouper 1 fish (1 kg) Garlic 3 cloves Shallots 1 bulb Chili 1 piece Common spices a little (sugar/ salt/ seasoning powder/ monosodium glutamate) Oyster sauce 1 tablespoon Cooking oil 1 tablespoon Fish sauce 1 tablespoon
How to Prepare Grilled Grouper in Foil
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Prepare the fish
Clean the fresh grouper by scraping off all the scales. Then use scissors to remove the innards and surrounding blood vessels, avoiding breaking the fish’s gallbladder as it will make the fish taste bitter.
Wash the fish thoroughly with salt water or vinegar, then rinse 2 – 3 times with clean water.
Use a knife to score both sides of the fish so that the cuts are about 1.5cm deep for better seasoning absorption.
Chop the shallots, garlic, and chili finely. Then mix with 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, and a pinch of monosodium glutamate, stirring well until the seasonings are dissolved.
Rub the seasoning mixture evenly over both sides of the fish, don’t forget the flesh in the scored cuts and the belly of the fish.
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Wrap the fish
Cut a piece of foil approximately 30 x 50 cm and lay it out on the table. Gently place the fish diagonally in the center of the foil, gather the two opposite corners of the foil and fold them towards the fish, then wrap the remaining two ends of the foil.
Tip: The size of the foil depends on the size of the fish. When wrapping in foil, avoid tearing or leaving gaps in the foil as this will cause the fish to burn.
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Grilled Fish
Place the fish in the oven and grill at 250 degrees Celsius for 40 – 45 minutes until fully cooked.
Tip: preheat the oven 20 minutes before grilling to stabilize the temperature.
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Final Product
After the fish is cooked, take it out of the oven, wait for it to cool down a bit, then unwrap the foil and enjoy. When you open the wrapping paper, the smoke rises along with the fragrant aroma of onions, garlic, and grilled fish that will surely make you want to taste it right away. What are you waiting for? Get into the kitchen and make this dish now.
How to choose fresh and delicious grouper
- There are many types of grouper on the market such as: pearl grouper, tiger grouper, and spotted grouper,… Each type has different weights and shapes, but basically, fresh and delicious fish has the characteristics below.
- Fresh sea grouper feels firm when held, has a solid texture, is not bent, has elasticity, and when pressed down on the concave part, it will spring back immediately.
- Fresh grouper meat has a greenish tint, is elastic, with flesh close to the bones, and the bones are solid.
- The fish has dark red gills, is not slimy, has no foul smell, the gill covers are close to the gills, and the fish’s mouth is tightly closed. The belly does not bulge, and has a white or light pink color, which is a sign of good grouper.
Tips for cleaning grouper quickly and without a fishy smell
- Before scaling the fish, soak it for 1 hour in 1 liter of cold water and 2 tablespoons of vinegar; this way, the scales will easily come off when scraped.
- When removing the fish guts, to avoid the fishy smell of the blood, make sure to remove all the blood vessels inside the fish’s intestines, especially near the bones.
- After cleaning the grouper, since it is a sea fish, washing it with salt water will make the meat taste better than washing with fresh water.
Dishes to serve with grilled grouper
- Grilled grouper can be served with rice or vermicelli, accompanied by sweet and sour garlic chili sauce or ginger garlic chili sauce.
- Eating grilled grouper wrapped in rice paper is also a great match! You can serve it with cucumber and various types of lettuce, and herbs like basil and mint,…
So you have pocketed 2 delicious recipes are grilled grouper with lemon butter and grilled in foil. Hurry up and show off your cooking skills! Wishing you success!
*Refer to the recipe and images from the YouTube channel VTC14 channel and Văn Tiếp
