The Grilling of Fish

Poisson grillé (fish grilled over live coals) teaches one true thing before all others: the grill must be hot before the fish touches it. Heat firms the coating at once, releases it cleanly from the bars, and concentrates the juices beneath a thin golden crust. Begin over a lukewarm grate and even a beautiful fish will cling, tear, and dry while you argue with it.

The original method needed no saucier and no stockpot, but it did assume an expertly tended charcoal range, an ordinary grill already blazing above it, and a special double gridiron that turned fragile fish without breaking them. At home, a two-zone charcoal fire and a hinged fish basket do the same work honestly. I have scaled the method to four small fish, one per person. The dedicated range and second grill were brigade scaffolding and can go; the moderate clean fire, the heated basket, and the flour-before-butter coating for lean fish are the dish and must stay.

For lean white fish, flour forms the protective crust and clarified butter carries the browning. Fatty fish such as mackerel, red mullet, herring, trout, or salmon need butter but no flour. One cook, one fire, one evening. Heat and butter the basket thoroughly before the fish meets it, because that first contact decides the crust.