Whole Grilled Branzino with Fennel
Thanks to dear friends who were making a trip to A.N.S. Seafood in Elmsford last weekend and offered to pick up some fish for us, I had two very fresh branzino (aka bronzino) to prepare on Saturday evening. It’s my new favorite whole fish to throw on the grill. (It used to be red snapper.) If you’re going to try this at home, I suggest you grill it on some sort of pan (I use a perforated one like this), which makes it far easier to flip the fish. I stuffed the branzino with lemon and red onion slices and a bunch of fresh herbs, plus some fennel fronds. I gathered up bundles of herbs and tied them to the outside of the fish, as well. I carefully caramelized large fennel slices on the grill and served them atop the fish, which was an excellent accompaniment to the light, flaky and mildly sweet branzino. I served the fish with Roasted Potatoes and a simple salad, as well. As is typical, I sucked the meat and delicious juices off every bone on my plate. I can promise that you will see this dish popping up repeatedly on Kitchen 511 over the next few months.
Note: I prepped the fish first and placed it in the fridge and then prepared the fennel, which you can serve at room temperature.
Serves 4
Ingredients
Large fennel bulb, cleaned (remove outermost layer & stalks) and slice horizontally into 1/4 inch pieces (save fronds for the fish)
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly cracked pepper
2 whole branzino, cleaned with head on (I ask the fish monger to do this)
A bunch of fresh herbs, half to stuff cavity of the fish and half to be tied on the outside of fish (I used cilantro and thyme, plus some of the fennel fronds)
Half small red onion, thinly sliced
2 lemons, one cut into thin slices & one cut into wedges for serving
Kitchen twine, cut into into 4 pieces long enough to tie around each fish
Preparation
Prepare grill for medium to high heat for the fennel.
Place sliced fennel on a platter and drizzle with olive oil. Add salt and pepper. Mix well so the fennel is evenly covered with all.
Place fennel on heated grill (unless pieces are small and might fall through, then use a roasting pan or grill tray). Grill fennel until nicely caramelized (about 5-6 minutes per side), watching it closely and turning it as needed, so it doesn’t get too charred. Remove and set aside.
Rinse fish, pat dry with a paper towel and place on a platter or tray. Season the cavity of the fish with salt and freshly cracked pepper.
Add the loose herbs to the cavity, including the fennel fronds, as well as a few red-onion and lemon slices.
Drizzle the outside of the fish with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Lay each fish atop two pieces of the twine, place remaining lemon slices and herbs on top of the fish and tie the twine around it…one tied closer to the head and the other tied closer to the tail.
Add grill tray to a hot grill (heated on high) and let it heat up before adding the branzino.
Place fish on hot grill tray for 7-8 minutes.
Flip fish and grill for an additional 7-8 minutes (or until the fish is crispy on the outside and just opaque throughout.)
Serve the branzino with the lemon wedges and fennel.
