Our 16 Best Grilled Fish Recipes

There’s nothing better than grilled fish in the summer

By SAVEUR Editors
Updated: May 23, 2018

While the high heat of a grill is typically associated with cooking meats like chicken, beef, and pork, grills are also a wonderful tool for cooking fish. In fact, grilled fish is one of our favorite ways to enjoy seafood in the summer. If you want to go big, opt for a whole fish. The skin protects the interior, getting beautifully crisp while the meat cooks gently. Try grilling trout and serving it with homemade spatzle and a carrot puree. A delicate fish may fall apart on the grill—to remedy this, our grilled snapper with habanero and scallions is cooked on a plancha or cast-iron griddle set on top of the grill. When selecting a fish for grilling, you want to pick something that can withstand the intense heat. Meaty swordfish fillets are a good choice, especially when paired with a summery mango salsa. Find these dishes and more in our collection of our favorite grilled fish recipes.

Whole Grilled Fish with Vietnamese Peanut Pesto


grilled cumin fish

Grilled Fish with Cumin and Jalapeños (Xīnjiāng kăoyú)

During Western China's desert summers, freshwater fish from the Tarim River are barbecued, butterflied, and splayed across long, thin salt-cedar branches. The skewers are then stuck, stake-like, into the ground around a burning fire, which roasts them slowly and evenly. In this version, a hot oven or a traditional western grill will work similarly, roasting the cumin-, garlic-, and pepper-rubbed fish to a fragrant burnish. While carp and perch are more common in western China, bass and branzino are fine substitutes. Get the recipe for Grilled Fish with Cumin and Jalapeños (Xīnjiāng kăoyú) »Mathias Depardon
grilled stuffed trout

Grilled Stuffed Trout with Pebre Sauce

Grilled Stuffed Trout with Pebre Smoky trout stuffed with cheese and sausage for a full meal. Serve it with pebre, a ubiquitous piquant Chilean condiment that's somewhere between salsa and chimichurri. Recipe adapted from Federico Ziegler of the Awasi Lodge. Get the recipe for Grilled Stuffed Trout with Pebre Sauce »William Hereford
Fish Ssäm with Spicy Chile Sauce

Fish Ssäm with Spicy Chile Sauce

Ssäm, which is Korean for "wrapped," refers to the lettuce wraps that enclose spicy grilled fish in this recipe from Matthew Rudofker, executive chef at New York City's Momofuku Ssäm Bar. Get the recipe for Fish Ssäm with Spicy Chile Sauce »Farideh Sadeghin
Koji-Cured Grilled Salmon

Koji-Cured Grilled Salmon

The Japanese ingredient koji is the fungus that grows on rice, barley, soybeans, or corn after it is inoculated with a fermentation culture called Aspergillus oryzae. It resembles thin rice porridge and is full of enzymes that produce amino acids when they interact with protein. One of those amino acids, glutamate, is responsible for the taste we know as umami, which is present in miso and soy sauce and makes foods especially savory and flavorful. There are two types used for cooking: Ama-koji and Shio-koji. Ama-koji, called for here, has no salt, so you can control the seasoning yourself. In this simple recipe, it's added to salmon fillets before they hit the grill, which lightly cures them and adds an umami kick. Get the recipe for Koji-Cured Grilled Salmon »Farideh Sadeghin

Soy-and-Honey-Glazed Fluke Steaks

Soy-and-Honey-Glazed Fluke Steaks
Chef Chris Fischer fell in love with the simple, robust marinades common to many Japanese dishes after traveling to Japan for work. Here he marinates fluke steaks—have your butcher cut them for you, or substitute flounder or sea bass steaks—in a sticky mixture of soy sauce, mirin, and honey. Get the recipe for Soy-and-Honey-Glazed Fluke Steaks »Elizabeth Cecil
Lummi Island, Grilled Rockfish

Grilled Rockfish

This rockfish is lightly cured before being grilled and bathed in a rich mussel stock. Get the recipe for Grilled Rockfish »Charity Burggraaf
Grilled Swordfish with Mango Salsa

Grilled Swordfish with Mango Salsa

A bright salsa made from ripe mangoes, cilantro, red onion, and lime is the perfect foil for thick swordfish steaks. Get the recipe for Grilled Swordfish with Mango Salsa »Farideh Sadeghin
Grilled Snapper with Habanero and Scallions

Grilled Snapper with Habanero and Scallions

Chile heat brings out the sweetness of whole red snapper in this Jamaican recipe. Get the recipe for Grilled Snapper with Habanero and Scallions »Helen Rosner
Whole Grilled Fish with Lemon (Riba na Rostilju)

Whole Grilled Fish with Lemon (Riba na Rostilju)

Seka Salamun, a home cook in Tisno, Croatia, uses olive wood to impart a mild smokiness to this grilled fish. Though delicious with just a squeeze of lemon, it also pairs beautifully with classic French fish sauces. Get the recipe for Whole Grilled Fish with Lemon (Riba na Rostilju) »Penny De Los Santos

Salmon with Green Olive and Ramp Beurre Blanc

Salmon with Green Olive and Ramp Beurre Blanc
Classic beurre blanc enhanced with ramps and chopped Cerignola olives makes a creamy, velvety sauce for grilled salmon. Get the recipe for Salmon with Green Olive and Ramp Beurre Blanc »Farideh Sadeghin
Glazed Trout with Carrot Purée and Spätzle

Glazed Trout with Carrot Purée and Spätzle

Grilled trout is lacquered in a glaze that is fragrant with fennel and thyme in this adaptation of a recipe from the Grey Plume in Omaha. Get the recipe for Glazed Trout with Carrot Purée and Spätzle »Ariana Lindquist
Whole Grilled Sea Bass

Whole Grilled Sea Bass

Fish stuffed with loads of herbs and rubbed with a simple garlic butter are grilled whole, which leaves them with a smoky, charred flavor and tender meat. Get the recipe for Whole Grilled Sea Bass »Marcus Nilsson
Salmon Teriyaki

Salmon Teriyaki

In the Japanese kitchen, "teriyaki" means a dish that's glazed and grilled or broiled. Jarred versions of sweet-salty teriyaki sauce are available, but it's so easy to make from scratch, and so versatile, that we make our own and slather it onto salmon before cooking, which allows the sugars in the sauce to caramelize, for a deep, rich flavor. Get the recipe for Salmon Teriyaki »Landon Nordeman
Grilled Gremolata-Stuffed Sardines

Grilled Gremolata-Stuffed Sardines

Stuffing sardines with fresh herbs, garlic, and lemon before grilling suffuses them with zesty flavor. Get the recipe for Grilled Gremolata-Stuffed Sardines »André Baranowski
Salmon Yakitori

Salmon Yakitori

These salmon skewers are basted with a sweet sauce, then grilled over charcoal to caramelize the sauce and add a smoky flavor. Get the recipe for Salmon Yakitori »Matt Chamberlain

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