This grilled whole fish just plain gets it!
There are of course many ways to cook a whole fish. In this post I will show you how to do it over fire. The grilled whole fish you see in the photo was cooked in tandoor on skewers but you could also cook the fish directly on the barbecue grate or in a fish basket. All of this methods get amazing results.
About this recipe.
Grilled whole fish is one of the most challenging things to cook in a tandoor oven. You need to skewer the fish just right but don’t worry there… I explain to you how to do that in the step by step photos below.
So if you have a tandoor oven, try this grilled whole fish in it.
I know that most people don’t have a tandoor oven so I used my new Doori tandoor oven which is less expensive than a clay tandoor and portable. Great for the beach!
If you intend on using your barbecue to cook this grilled whole fish recipe, that is easier and tastes about the same too.
How do you prepare this grilled whole fish?
No matter which cooking method you use, preparing the fish and marinade is the same.
If you want to cook this on your barbecue grate, I recommend looking at this recipe post where you do exactly that with step by step photographs.
To prepare the fish, scrape a sharp knife down the fish skin several times on each side to get all of the excess moisture out of the skin. This will help produce crispier, tastier skin when you serve it.
Score the fish on both sides about 5 to 10 times to help the fish cook through and to ensure the marinade gets right into the flesh of the fish.
How do you make the marinade?
Making the marinade is easy. Just whisk all of the ingredients together and apply inside and outside the fish. When and how you do this depends on if you are cooking this grilled whole fish on your barbecue or in a tandoor oven.
Whole fish marinated in tandoori spices is really fun to serve. It looks the part. I like to use sea bream or sea bass but you could really use the whole fish of your choice. I’ve even used this recipe with fresh water trout.
How do you cook the fish in a tandoor oven?
Tandoori Style Whole Fish
Ingredients
- 1 – 2 whole Bream or Bass
- 1 tablespoon garlic and ginger paste
- 50ml white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon cumin and coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon tandoori masala paste
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon plain yogurt
- 1 lemon quartered
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Instructions
- Make shallow slits on each side of the fish. Blend all of the remaining ingredients to make your marinade.
- Season with salt to taste and then rub the marinade all over the fish and marinate for about 30 minutes.
- Skewer the fish and place over a prepared barbecue and grill on both sides until cooked through. Serve with a squeeze of lemon and your favourite chutney. I served this with your favourite raita or chutney
Dave
Wednesday 14th of March 2012
Hi Dan,I will be trying this one tonight I have a sea bream in my fridge I bought yesterday.I was going to tandoori it but stumbled on this recipe when browsing your recipes,let you know how it went. Dave
Jo
Thursday 8th of March 2012
Does anyone know what the missing ingredient in dry spices is???