Grilling with Seafood Grilling a fish in a hinged wire basket is one of the best ways to cook it. Wire baskets are closer together for fish and farther apart for grilling meat. If you do not have a wire basket, you can use the grid on your grill, just remember to oil it first. It is helpful to have to spatulas to aid in turning the fish, which needs only one flip and is very fragile.

Fish that is more than 1 1/2" thick, close the grill and cook all the way through. A 1" thick fish needs only 10 minutes to cook, overcooking it will make for a bad grill night.

Sole and flounder are very fragile and benefit from cooking it under a salamander, a type if broiler.

Two tests can be done to determine doneness; use a wooden skewer, insert and it should have no resistance. You can also use a fork, insert in the middle and the fish should be flaky and opaque.

Flavored oil is good to baste the fish with. Fresh seafood absorbs the flavor well.

Shellfish and fish have a brief cooking time.

There are a variety of ways to cook it.

Fish Steaks: {halibut, swordfish, tuna, salmon, shark, sablefish, and sturgeon}
Thin steaks, 1/2" thick need to be grilled quickly over high heat, searing both sides. Thicker cuts can be cooked over medium heat.

Fish Fillets: {trout, snapper, bluefish, striped bass} Cook at 1" thickness and are better for grilling than a flatfish, like sole or fluke, which does better broiling.

Kebobs: Shellfish or fish thick enough to be skewed with or without vegetables can offer a variety of tastes. Make the pieces 1" thick. Make the cubes from a firmer fish fillet. Basting and marinating will help keep it moist.

Planked: Nail an un-skinned fish to a plank of wood placing it upright. Place the plank at a slight angle away from the fire but in front of it. The skin will hold the fillet together while cooking. Use old thin cutting boards and stainless nails, making sure it is marinated.

Whole Fish: Use a wire hinged basket. Flip it only once.

Half-shell Cooking: Oysters and clams can be cooked in or out of their shell. Wash them well and discard the open shell, they are sharp and can be dangerous. You can add lemon, butter, herbs or spices, and bacon. If they are shucked you can put them in a wire basket or on a skewer.

Seafood Selection and Size
It is best to provide one small fish per person. This is usually 8oz per person. Good lobsters are usually 1-2 lbs a piece. Purchase them live, have them split and cleaned. Buy 8 oz or more of shrimp. Some fish can be substituted for other fish, with similar tastes and textures.

Darker Meat Fish with light to moderate flavor: Black Sea Bass, Red Salmon, Ocean Pout, Bluefish

Light Meat with a more pronounced flavor: Spanish, King, and Atlantic Mackerel Light Meat with

Light to moderate flavor: Atlantic Salmon and Ocean Perch, Black Drum, Buffalofish, Burbot, Carp, Chum Salmon, Crevalle Jack, Croaker, Eel, Greenland Turbot, Jewfish, King Salmon, Lake Chub, Lake Herring, Lake Sturgeon, Lake Trout, Monkfish, Mullet, Northern Pike, Perch, Pink Salmon, Pollack, Pompano, Rockfish, Sablefish, Sand Shark, Sculpin, Scup/Porgie, Sheepshead, Silver Salmon, Spot, Striped Bass, Swordfish, Vermilion Snapper

Light Meat with a very light, delicate flavor: Alaska Pollock, Brook Trout, Giant Sea Bass, Grouper, Pacific Ocean Perch, Rainbow Trout, Smelt, Tautog, Walleye, White Crappie, White Sea Bass

White Meat with a light to moderate flavor: American Plaice, Arrowtooth Flounder, Butterfish, Catfish, Cobia, English Sole, Lingcod, Mahi Mahi, Pacific Whiting, Red Snapper, Rock Sole, Sauger, Snook, Spotted Sea Trout, Starry Flounder, White King Salmon, White Sea Trout, Whiting, Winter Flounder, Wolffish

White Meat with a very light, delicate flavor: Cod, Cusk, Dover Sole, Haddock, Lake Whitefish, Pacific Halibut, Pacific Sand Dab, Petrale Sole, Rex Sole, Southern Flounder, Spotted Cabrilla, Summer Flounder, Witch Flounder, Yellowtail Flounder, Yellowtail snapper