Plank grilled Devon sea trout
I am blessed with the quality of seafood along our beautiful Devon coastline, and the maritime larder is especially full at this time of year, just in time for when most people are firing up their BBQs.
I am blessed with the quality of seafood along our beautiful Devon coastline, and the maritime larder is especially full at this time of year, just in time for when most people are firing up their BBQs.
But, to be frank, most people get very scared of putting seafood on their grill, nightmares of fish sticking to the grates, the delicate fish flaking and falling apart into a mess, hacking at it with a spatula is never good. But seafood from the BBQ is so good. Wisps of smoke adding so much flavour to the fish.
So how to go about BBQing some fish without any of the palaver? You could wrap the fish in foil, which would be ok, but you’d miss the smoky flavour that is the best thing about cooking on the BBQ.
One of the ways I best enjoy cooking delicate fish such as this super fresh Devon sea trout is to place the fish or fillet onto a plank of wood – these can be picked up online or from a sawmill if you have one local to you; cedar is traditional, but oak, hardwoods such as ash, beech or birch work well, or even fruitwoods such as cherry.
Get your plank soaking wet, and place a few slices of lemon, and some fresh herbs
(I went for marjoram) on to the plank, then pop the fish on top. Season the fish with sea salt and coarse black pepper, and place a few slices of lemon on top, and stuff the fish with herbs and lemon.
Place the plank on your BBQ with a moderate heat of 180°C and cook for around 30 mins until the fish reaches 55°C. Keep an eye out that the plank doesn’t catch fire; if it does, lower the heat or move the plank away from the direct heat a little, or you can damp down with a little more water.
Enjoy with a nice green salad and some new potatoes.