Grilled Red Mullet

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Hinged double fish basket large enough for four small fish
• •Charcoal or gas grill arranged with fierce and gentle heat zones
• •Shallow nonreactive marinating dish
• •Flexible fish spatula
• •Small saucepan or heatproof butter bowl

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the butter

   Work the softened butter with the chopped parsley, 2 teaspoons (10 ml / 10 g) lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml / 1.5 g) salt, and 1/8 teaspoon (0.5 ml / 0.25 g) pepper until evenly green-flecked and creamy. This is beurre maître d’hôtel, a parsley and lemon compound butter. Cover it and keep it cool but pliable; it must be ready before the fish reaches the fire.

2. 2

   Cisel the mullet

   Wipe the mullet carefully inside and out, then dry them thoroughly. Do not soak or rinse them once cleaned, because surface water fights the browning. Cisel, meaning cut through the skin and flesh nearly to the bone, on both sides with diagonal slashes about 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) apart across the thick shoulders and slightly farther apart toward the tail. Keep the cuts clean and no deeper than the bone; cutting through the spine makes the fish fragile when turned.

   The thickest flesh needs the closest cuts. C'est la même grammaire as scoring a thick roast: the cuts invite heat into the part that would otherwise lag behind.
3. 3

   Marinate and turn

   Season the fish inside, outside, and within the cisel with 1 1/4 teaspoons (6 ml / 8 g) salt and 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g) pepper. Whisk the olive oil, Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168), and 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) lemon juice together, then reserve one-third in a clean cup for basting. Lay half the lemon slices and parsley stalks in a shallow nonreactive dish, set the fish on top, brush them with the remaining mixture, and cover with the rest of the lemon and parsley. Marinate in the cold for 1 hour, turning every 15 to 20 minutes. Two hours is the limit, because acid eventually softens the delicate surface; if that happens, dry the fish gently before grilling. Ça se rattrape.

4. 4

   Build a fierce fire

   Prepare a grill with one fierce cooking zone and one gentler zone. Heat the clean hinged fish basket directly over the fierce side, then brush it thinly with a little of the reserved basting mixture. Lift away the lemon and parsley from the fish and blot off loose moisture without wiping away the seasoning. Clamp the mullet in the basket in a single layer, leaving a little air between them.

5. 5

   Grill and baste

   Set the basket over the fierce heat and grill for 5 to 7 minutes on the first side, brushing lightly with the clean reserved marinade twice. Turn the whole basket rather than handling each delicate fish, then cook the second side for another 5 to 7 minutes, basting once more early in the cooking. If flare-ups blacken the skin before the flesh firms, move the basket to the gentler zone and close the grill briefly; the cisel will keep carrying heat inward. If the skin clings, wait another 30 seconds before forcing it. Properly browned skin releases more willingly.

6. 6

   Test and serve

   Check through the deepest cisel near the head: the flesh should be opaque, moist, and pulling cleanly from the bone, with an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C). Transfer the mullet at once to a warm platter. Warm the maître d’hôtel butter over the gentlest heat until roughly half has melted and half remains creamy, then spoon it into a small warm bowl for the table. If it melts completely, whisk in a tablespoon of cold butter until creamy pieces return. Ça se rattrape. Serve immediately with the butter alongside. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask for rouget barbet, whole and bright-eyed, with coral-red skin and firm flesh. Red mullet is delicate and loses its particular sweetness quickly, so buy it on the day you cook whenever possible.
• •A hinged fish basket is the honest home equivalent of the double fish grill. It turns four fragile fish together, keeps the skin against the heat, and removes the most theatrical part of grilling whole fish, chasing them around with tongs.
• •Do not skip the cisel. The cuts are the dish, not brigade scaffolding: close across the thick shoulder, wider toward the tail, and always nearly to the bone.
• •Serve with small boiled potatoes or grilled bread and a dry Provençal white or pale rosé. Keep the plate simple, because the mullet and its butter already say everything necessary.

Advance Preparation

• •The maître d’hôtel butter can be mixed up to 2 days ahead, covered, and kept cold. Let it soften before warming it to the half-melted state.
• •The fish can be scaled, gutted, wiped, and ciseled up to 4 hours ahead, then kept uncovered on a tray in the cold so the skin remains dry.
• •Begin the marinade 1 hour before grilling. Do not leave the fish in the lemon mixture beyond 2 hours, or its fine outer flesh will lose its clean texture.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 270g)