Fire It Up - Andrew Schloss [130]
Brush the grill grate and coat with oil. Grill the skewers directly over the heat until the fish looks opaque on the surface, but is still filmy and moist in the center (130°F on an instant-read thermometer). Drizzle with the reserved seafood butter and serve with the grilled lemon wedges for squeezing.
RICH, DARK BONELESS FISH STEAK
Raw Charred Tuna with Green Tea Ponzu Sauce
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Like prime rib of beef, tuna is red, tender, meaty, and better cooked rare than well done. But tuna flesh is more porous than beef and it cooks quickly, so it is a challenge to get a great crust while maintaining a rare interior. We have found a simple solution–stick the fish right in the fire. We had grilled steaks directly on coals and the results were always spectacular, but doing the same thing with tuna was a revelation. Not only did we get an amazing crispy crust and a completely luscious raw tuna core, but the flesh soaked up wood flavor like a sponge. Every bite was moist, crisp, sumptuously rare, and saturated with the aroma of wood smoke. You will need either a wood fire or one made from hardwood (lump) charcoal for this preparation. Charcoal briquettes, which are made from sawdust, produce a powdery ash that soils the surface of the fish. Wood charcoal, made from solid pieces of wood, doesn’t create the same problem. All you need to do is blow the film of ash off the coals before laying on the fish. We use a leaf blower because it’s fast and fun, but anything that creates a breeze (a hair dryer, folded newspaper, or sheet of cardboard) will work. It is also important to make the coal bed as even as possible. Air spaces can cause flare-ups, which will burn the surface of the fish rather than brown it.
INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons pickled (sushi) ginger, finely chopped
2 thin scallions (green and white parts), finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 ¾ pounds tuna steaks, 2 inches thick
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon Mustard Wasabi Rub
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1¼ cups Green Tea Ponzu Sauce
DIRECTIONS:
Light a hardwood charcoal fire for direct high heat, about 475°F.
Combine the pickled ginger, scallions, and garlic in a small dish. Insert a knife with a thin blade horizontally into the tuna steaks three or four times, creating slits that go directly toward the center of the tuna steaks. Stuff the slits with the ginger mixture. Coat the tuna steaks all over with sesame oil.
Combine the rub and sesame seeds on a sheet of foil or plastic wrap and coat the edges of the tuna steaks (not the tops and bottoms) with the mixture.
Make the charcoal bed as even as possible and blow off excess ash with a hair dryer, leaf blower, or fan. Put the steaks directly on the hot coals and grill until the bottoms are lightly charred, about 1½ minutes. Turn with long-handled tongs, picking off any coals clinging to the surface, and grill 1½ minutes on the other side. The center should remain raw. Remove to a cutting board.
Slice against the grain into ¼- to ½-inch-thick slices and serve with the ponzu sauce.
RICH, COLORED WHOLE FISH
Spanish Mackerel Grilled with Apples and Beets
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Mackerel are not just about bling, although their ostentatious turquoise-blue-black-silver skin might lead you to believe otherwise. (The French word for mackerel, macquereau, also means “pimp”). The proof is on the plate. Mackerel flesh is sweet, and so rich in omega-3 fatty acids that it is difficult to ruin by overcooking. The skin is sleek and completely edible once scaled. So why is mackerel so cheap? For one thing, it is highly perishable, and it is important to buy