The other day I went out in search of some stones and got a nice haul of rockfish. I was reminded of two posts from some time back. The first was from some one on BD who said that flag fish are one of his favorite fish in the sea. The second was a post from Yani, where he grilled some whole rockfish that left me drooling on my keyboard. Since I had fresh fish to work with, I figured I would give it a go. If you have not already done this, I urge you to try. It will likely change your views on rockfish.
First, clean the fish really well. I cut the heads off, since it kinds of freaks out my wife. Brush some olive oil on the skin. Sprinkle the cavity with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Then add some dried or fresh rosemary, thyme, lemon and red onion slices. I used the same preparation for the collars from a red and a bocaccio.
The key is how you grill it. Get the grill piping hot and grill the fish over
indirect heat for about 10 minutes per inch, flipping once. I gave the flag about 12 min per side and the collars about 7 min per side.
Maybe it was because I don't get fishing out as much as I used to, so I cherish a meal of fresh fish. Or maybe it was because of the libations. Who's to say? Either way, it was some of the best fish I have cooked.
Here's to tight lines and good eats.