Grilling is one of the most delicious culinary experiences you can do. Not only are there many ways to grill almost any meat or fish, but grilling vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and onions in butter or olive oil is now popularized as grilled cheese!
Grilling outside is very common these days due to the availability of electricity. Having an electric grill (also called a gas grill) makes cooking more efficient as it does not require natural gas to work.
In this article, we will talk about how to cook fish on your electric grill! Hopefully you’ll be able to make some new favorites for lunch or dinner. If you have never cooked fish before, no worries! There are several easy types of fish that don’t need too much attention to cook well.
Types of fish
There are five main types of fish; whitefish, salmon, tilapia, catfish, and sea bass. All except for sea bass contain less than half a percent of mercury, which is the number one pollutant found in our food supply. Sea bass contains up to three times higher levels of mercury than other oily fish.
How to cook fish on an electric grill
To start off, you will want to wash your fish ahead of time. Make sure to dry thoroughly before putting it into the pan or onto the grill. This will prevent overcooked skin or drying out of the flesh.
Know the difference between seasoned and not seasoned
When grilling fish, whether it is fresh or frozen, there are two important things to know before cooking- how to season your grill and what kind of grill you should use for the best quality cooked meat.
If you have never grilled fish before, start with broiling or baking first as that will be our beginner level article! Broiling and baking can both be done in an oven or directly onto a stove top so we will not go into those concepts here.
The second tip comes from changing the color of the fish. Some people like them lighter and others darker, but one thing everyone agrees on is that white flesh fish tastes better than dark colored ones. That is why most people say you should always cook white meat fish such as flounder, tuna, or salmon until it is almost fully cooked and then finish cooking it on the grill.
Once it is completely cooked, take it off the grill and let it rest and warm up slightly
How to Season Grilled Fish
After taking the fish out of the grill, cut off any leftover pieces and put these aside. Then, wash your grill very well using either a brush or paper towels to remove all burnt bits and stray food particles. Once cleaned, spray the grill lightly with oil to prevent sticking and burning.
To season the grill, choose either olive oil, vegetable oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, or baste the fish with butter.
Use the right oil
When grilling fish, you want to make sure your grill is very hot before adding the fish. This will ensure that the heat penetrates all of the areas in the fish properly, and it also helps promote browning and flavor development.
Many people use olive or vegetable oil to cook the fish with, but this is not ideal when cooking raw meat. If you are using an indoor grill then stick to olive oil, if you have an outdoor grill then use canola or peanut oil.
Avoid oils with too many additives as these may burn off while the food is cooking.
Know the difference between cold and hot oil
When grilling fish, whether it is fresh or frozen, you will need to know how to cook it. Grilling temperature depends on what kind of fish you are cooking and if it is cooked enough.
When baking or broiling meat, temperatures vary depending on what cut you use. For example, a steak would be grilled higher than white-meat fish like tuna because they contain more muscle tissue which cooks faster. Thin fillets such as flounder can even be baked or broiled instead of pan fried since they do not require too much heat to brown properly.
With most types of fish, thinner ones burn before getting dry and crispy. To prevent this, we must learn our grill’s temperature! Cold oil won’t hurt your food but plain old olive oil isn’t going to help it either.
Hot oil will give your food an extra flavor that some people may not enjoy. Some oils are healthier for you than others; just make sure yours is nutritional yeast spray or salt and pepper.
Use the right temperature
When cooking fish, you want to make sure that it does not burn or overcook. Grilling meat is known for developing strong flavors so adding salt and grill flavor to the fish will taste good!
The best way to ensure this happens is by using an appropriate grill temperature. A common mistake people make when grilling fish is baking it instead of broiling it. By baking rather than broiling, the flesh actually burns which produces poor quality cooked fish with bitter tastes and excessive calories.
When broiling, the heat source needs to be at least 500 degrees Fahrenheit (273° Celsius) in order to achieve crisp skin. This takes longer to establish then high temperatures so most manufacturers have designed dedicated grilled pan appliances that meet this requirement.
Know the difference between smoking and grilling
Grilling is probably one of your favorite cooking methods, as it brings out the best in most foods. When baking or toasting food, it can turn dry and boring.
Grilling also creates lots of delicious flavor molecules that come rushing into contact with each other due to the grill’s exposure.
However, before you get too close to the fire, there is something important to know about how to cook fish on an electric grill. That is, how to grill fresh fish without burning or drying it!
There are two main reasons why this happens. The first is raw meat always tastes better than cooked, which may be what some people want depending on the type of fish they like. The second is that smoked flavors sometimes taste bad when eating raw vegetables or fruits next to the meat.
Use the right pan
One of the most important things when grillin’ fish is choosing the right cooking vessel or plate. You want to make sure you have a sturdy, well-sealed surface that will keep the moisture in the fish so it doesn’t dry out and cause your fish to taste salty or even raw.
A classic way to cook fresh fish is broiling it until just barely cooked through and then serving it with lemon and olive oil. When baking or grilling fish, try using a heavy duty glass or ceramic oven-safe dish. If you don’t have one yet, check out our favorite lids here!
Another good option is leaving the skin on the fish and either starting it over an open flame (like on a gas stove)or roasting it in a preheated 450° F oven for 5 minutes before putting it onto the grill.
Know how to read the grill
The temperature of your grill will play an important role in what kind of fish you can cook! Grills that have digital displays are very helpful as they tell you exactly where each part of the grill is at.
This helps ensure that your grill does not burn your meat or seafood, and also gives you some basic information about whether the food needs more heat to finish cooking. For example, if the chicken has been sitting for too long it may need to be cooked a bit longer than normal.
For most people, a good general rule of thumb is to start with high temperatures and then lower them as needed. This way your food will always taste better because it was cooked slightly less than wanted.
Know the difference between high and medium heat
When grilling fish, there are two main types of grill temperatures you have to know about. These are high and low temperature cooking zones.
Most people get this concept wrong. They think that lower is better when baking or broiling food, but that isn’t the case when it comes to grilled foods.
High heat means heating your pan or grill piece up very hot, creating lots of brown crispy bits in the meat. This is great if you like this taste! However, these extra calories and fat content may be undesired depending on what kind of fish you are using.
Medium-high heat works best for most cooked overfish, including salmon, trout, and cod. The texture and flavor will be more pleasant than buttery or dry white flesh, just make sure they are tasted before they are consumed.
Electric cooktops are one of the easiest ways to achieve this since you can regulate the temperature easily.