Grilled Dorado

Name: Grilled Dorado (Sea Bream) Recipe: Juicy Whole Fish on the Grill
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: Dorado (250 g) 4; Salt, black pepper, coriander, dried sweet and hot pepper to taste; Olive oil as needed; Potatoes, herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, lemon, lettuce leaves for the side dish

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1 h 30 mins

Fish caught just now and cooked quickly over coals is the calling card of many fishermen. On the Black Sea and Mediterranean coasts you can always get to know the local fishermen, who for a small fee will grill you a tasty fish: dorado on the grill. It takes little time, and the fish comes out flavorful and juicy.

Most often what we see in shops is farmed fish, since dorado is raised on an enormous industrial scale. Gilt-head bream, or aurata, belongs to the sea bream family and owes its name to the golden stripe near its eyes. The name comes from the Spanish dorado, “golden”. By the way, why is it “dorada” in some places when it is pronounced “dorado”?

In culinary terms, grilled dorado is a very simple dish and yet incredibly tasty. In most cases any fish can be cooked on the grill, since fish species are interchangeable. Sea bass, mackerel, and perch all work well. Grilled dorado will surely appeal to anyone on a diet: the flesh is low in fat and high in protein.

To grill fish you need a barbecue with burning coals and a grate, or an electric grill. A mangal is a brazier fitted with a lid, a grate, a spit, and so on. Strictly speaking, fish on a mangal is cooked on a grilling grate set over the heat of glowing coals. Here, a mangal usually means any device with coals on which you can cook shashlik.

For convenience, it is best to grill the fish in a double-sided grill basket with a handle. This lets you quickly control the heat and how far the fish has cooked.

Small dorado are very handy for portion cooking: one fish per serving. With a generous and varied side dish, the meal turns out filling and attractive. Fish grilled this way doesn’t “leak”, and all the juices stay inside. Besides, almost no fat is used, only a little for brushing the fish. If you like, you can grill vegetables for a side dish alongside the dorado. If you don’t have a grill, the fish bakes beautifully too: dorado in the oven; with tomatoes and peppers, try dorado with vegetables.

4 ingredientsTo the recipe

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Ingredients

4 servings

Dorado (250 g) 4
Salt, black pepper, coriander, dried sweet and hot pepper to taste
Olive oil as needed
Potatoes, herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, lemon, lettuce leaves for the side dish

Step-by-step recipe

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To make cooking easier and to avoid cutting a large fish into pieces, I recommend buying (or catching) fish weighing 250-300 grams. A fish of this size grilled over coals is just enough for one serving and makes a great lunch. Good supermarkets usually sell chilled fish of exactly this size.
Scale the fish. This is very easy, since the scales are small and come off readily with an ordinary scraper or the back of a paring knife. It is best done under running water so the scales don’t fly around. Slit the belly and remove the innards; there are few of them. In fact, dorado has very little waste. Be sure to remove the gills. Rinse the fish and pat it dry with a paper towel.
Next, make a few shallow cuts on the sides of the fish, 5-6 on each side. This technique is usually used for “bony” fish to sever the small bones, with fairly frequent scoring. Here the goal is a little different: you want the flesh to take up the salt quickly.
In a cup or small bowl, mix the salt, ground black pepper, ground coriander, and dried ground red pepper, both hot and sweet. Sprinkle the mixture over the sides of the fish and rub it into the cuts, then sprinkle some inside the cavity. In total, for 4 fish weighing 250 grams each, you will need 1-1.5 tbsp of the spice mixture. Cover the fish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-40 minutes.
Meanwhile, light the grill so the wood burns down well and leaves very hot coals. Alternatively, you can use an electric kitchen grill. But fish over coals has a special, incomparable taste and aroma. Take the fish out of the fridge and wipe it thoroughly with paper towels so the surface is almost dry. Brush the fish with a little olive oil; a silicone brush makes this easy. It leaves a thin film of fat that keeps the skin from burning but helps it brown.
Generously oil the double-sided grill basket, which opens like a book and has a handle with a lock, so the dorado doesn’t stick during grilling. Place the fish in the basket and close it. By the way, if you don’t want the tail and fins to burn, you can wrap them in foil. Before you start grilling, make sure there are no flames licking up from the coals; if there are, keep a bottle of water or a spray bottle ready to douse them.
Dorado cooks very quickly, 10 mins at most in total. So give it your full attention from start to finish and don’t get distracted. Set the basket with the fish over the hot coals. The fish heats up very fast. Turn the dorado every 1-1.5 mins so it browns evenly.
After 3-4 mins the surface of the fish will start to turn golden and take on a pleasant dark golden color. The fish is thin, so it will certainly cook through in 8-10 mins. If you listen closely, you can hear a faint sizzle, as when frying in a pan.
You can check whether the dorado is done by gently lifting the flesh away from the backbone in the cavity. If the flesh is white, the fish is fully cooked. Carefully set the basket on a wooden board or a large plate covered with a napkin. Be careful: any liquid that drips from the fish is very hot. Open the basket, taking care not to damage the skin.
Put the grilled dorado on a paper towel for a moment so the drops of fat drain and soak in. Then move the fish to a plate. Be sure to serve a wedge of lemon with the grilled fish. Fresh sliced vegetables or a cucumber and tomato salad make a great accompaniment.
If the dorado is served as a main course, you can prepare a generous side dish. Fresh vegetables, assorted herbs, and boiled potatoes all go well. A glass of good dry white wine would not hurt either.