When it comes to grilling thin fish fillets, what kind of grill you have makes a big difference! Grills that are flat work best for thicker cuts like salmon or tuna, but thinner flaky white fish like cod, haddock, and halibut can be grilled just as easily with some slight tweaks.
In this article we’ll talk about how to cook thick and thin fish using two different types of grill configurations. For both recipes, we’ll be leaving the fish alone until it is cooked through and then checking if it is dry or wet. If it is dry, then that means there is no water left in the body of the fish which will result in it being overcooked and leathery. If it is wet, then the fish may stick to the grill which could also result in an overly crispy outside while still raw inside.
We’ll also discuss why your grill matter very much when cooking thin fish.
Use a grill pan
When cooking thin fish fillets, such as trout or salmon, there is an easy fix! You can use a grill pan instead of a regular grill surface!
A grill pan is similar to a skillet but it has very limited openings at the top. This makes it perfect for grilled vegetables and thinner meat dishes, like chicken breast or flank steak. Because the pan is tall enough, however, you can place the fish onto the grill pan and then flip it over so that it grills on both sides.
This trick works beautifully if you are trying to cook flounder, snapper, halibut, or any other type of whitefish. The key thing to remember when using this method is to make sure your grill pan is hot before placing the fish in it, and to wait until the fish flakes easily before flipping it.
Brush the fish with oil
When cooking thin fillets like flounder or cod, there is an easy way to make sure they do not stick to the grill!
You can either brush the grilled surface of the fish with olive oil or use butter as a spreader on the grill.
Then, when the fish is cooked through, you can flip it and keep going! This works because the fat in the oil or butter helps promote browning and searing of the meat. If you don’t have any extra virgin olive oil or melted butter, that’s okay! You can use vegetable oil instead.
Cook for a few minutes on each side
When grilling thin fish fillets, you will want to make sure that they are cooked all the way through before moving onto the next step.
Thin fish fillets such as flounder or cod can be tricky because they do not take very long to cook through. If left uncooked, they would become raw in the middle due to how thick they are!
To prevent this, we recommend using an oven-proof grill pan so that you can easily turn the piece of fish over during cooking. This also helps ensure that it is fully cooked both inside and out.
When baking the fish in the oven, remember to cover the top with tinfoil to keep moisture in and prevent burning.
Serve with your favorite salad or crusty bread
When grilling thin fish fillets, like flounder or cod, there are two things to be careful of! The first is that as they cook, the thickness can easily burn in the middle.
The second is that when eating them, you have to make sure not to pull off too much skin, or it will all come away along with it. This would also hurt how pretty the fish is!
To prevent these things from happening, we recommend either broiling the fish instead or using low-stick grill brushes. Both of these work by taking out some of the heat which helps create more even cooking.
Try using different flavored oil
When cooking thin fish fillets such as trout or black cod, there is an easy way to ensure they taste good and are more likely to be liked!
Instead of just using olive oil, try using other oils in your grill recipes. Using butter or vegetable oil will give your food a lighter flavor than using olive oil.
You can also use coconut oil or grapeseed oil which have higher heat stability and do not smoke up the fire like some unsaturated fats can.
These flavors may be better for you if you are watching cholesterol or fat intake, so please do research and find what works for you.
Serve with lemon or lime
When grilling thin fish fillets, it is important to remember that you do not want your taste buds to get overwhelmed by the grill flavor. Grilling dry can sometimes result in burnt or charred flesh which has no flavor.
To avoid this, we recommend serving your grilled fish with either fresh lemons or limes, or good quality olive oil. The acid from the fruit will help cut through the fat of the fish and balance out the smokey flavor.
If you would like more grill flavor, you may also drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top of the fish before baking.
Use less salt
When baking or grilling thin fish fillets, such as trout or flounder, there is an easy way to make them taste better and stay more moist- no need to use lots of extra salty grill sauce!
Fish are naturally rich in sodium, so adding too much can be overly salty for some people’s tastes. If you like very salty foods, then add just enough grill sauce to slightly flavor the meat and cook it properly!
For grilled trout or other thin fish fillets, we recommend using half the amount of salt that the recipe calls for. For example, instead of 1 teaspoon (or 2 tablespoons) salt per 4 ounces (100 grams) of fish, use only ½ teaspoon (or ¼ tablespoon) per 4 ounces (100 grams) of fish.
t may also want to try broiling these fish instead of grilling to see if that works better for you.
Try using different spices
When cooking thin fish fillets, like salmon or trout, there are several things you can do to make them taste better and keep them from getting dry. Grilling is one of the best ways to cook most seafood, so that is what we will focus on here!
In this article, I will tell you how to grill thin fish fillets without having to worry about them being too crispy or burnt. In fact, I will show you some recipes where I have grilled the exact same thing and they all turn out differently!
The first difference comes down to the type of oil you use when basting the meat. You can use olive oil, vegetable oil, butter, or even coconut milk! This makes a big difference in the flavor of the finished product and whether it tastes good or not.
Another important part of the recipe comes next – salt! The amount of salt needed depends on the kind of fish and your personal preference, but typically 1-2 tablespoons per pound is enough to season the flesh well.
Now let’s talk about the grill! Here, you want to make sure your pan or plate you put the fish on is non-sticky. If it is, the grease may stick to the cooked fish which would be bad. You also want to make sure it does not contain metals such as iron or zinc, because these could potentially burn in the fire if contacted with the fish.