Fish on the BBQ

[noelm]

Now, before we start, I am no chef, but, I am a pretty good fish cook.....This Australia Day, we will be having our usual family and friends get together, we always have a BBQ, and its usually fish on the menu (and crabs) There is a few very basic things to remember when doing ANY Seafood on a BBQ, the plate must be CLEAN, not just wiped over, but washed clean. I heat my plate up a bit, then clean it with steel wool or a metal scourer, then use some soap and a brush. All traces of last weeks sausages and half a stubbie of beer that someone tipped on before, must be cleaned off. Fish needs to be filleted, or prepared to cook whole, well in advance. Once the plate is heated, and some (tiny bit) of a neutral tasting oil is applied, lay the fish on the plate, do NOT mess around moving it or trying to lift it.....yet! Once it has cooked on one side, it can then be flipped over without sticking (I like to do the skin side first if it has skin) do not let your half intoxicated mates to "help" fish does not need turning over and over, nor does it need a litre of VB to brown it! After the fish is done, then other stuff can be cooked if necessary. Fish for Australia Day for us is Blackfish, or Tuna/Marlin steaks that are plentiful this time of year, for these, a bit of Salsa or fried tomato and onion matches perfectly as a sauce. Crabs are simply cleaned, cut in half and placed in a cold bowl, with ice in a bigger bowl under it, don't forget a big tray for crab shells and so on.

edit......the Salsa can be just a tomato, onion  and Basil with a bit of dressing/vinegar/olive oil, or my favourite, Mango and Onion (sounds strange hey?) 

Edited January 15, 2023 by noelm

[noelm]

Just thinking about Australia Day (I think I posted this before) but around our place gets chockers with people, you cannot find a parking spot within miles of the water, the beach and Lake are jam packed. Every year for the last 5-6 an Indian family set up a tent thing across the road, and we always play cricket there, the last few years there has been an NZ family too, setup a tent, get a big BBQ out of a trailer and cook for a dozen or more people. Every year now, it's a "Tri Nations" match, playing "trap" cricket, we all have a great time, a few others join in, but, they don't have a "National" team like us lot.......It's great fun seeing these people once a year, they turn up very early to get a "spot" and the Kiwi people have a mini bus thing with a trailer and park across the road. Next door to me is a small park on a bit of a hill, one time my son got a roll of thick concreting plastic and pegged it out to make a "slip and slide" for all the kids. Even though it gets crowded, it's one day a year, and I enjoy the fuss of it all, almost every regular family picks up any rubbish left behind and puts it in the council bins, can't wait!

[big Neil]

Sounds like great fun for Australia Day celebrations Noel...have a great multicultural day. bn

[Rebel]

Nothing like a good old fashion T- Bone on the BBQ.

[noelm]

No steak with bones for me...chops have bones! 

[Berleyguts]

Sounds like a good day, Noel. Multiculturalism… I like it! Not enough of it here in Port Stephens. 😢

I‘ll be working on Australia Day, like most public holidays. 🤷‍♂️

[XD351]

I keep things real simple - dust the fish in flour ( usually has some pepper and salt in it ) into a skillet with about 5mm depth of peanut oil - skin side first cook till brown and serve with salad or  occasionally chips . I nearly cry when I see a tv show massacring a flathead with all these spices - they taste just fine to me without it. 

[bessell1955]

Great to see that we, as a nation can air our different cooking preferences and still agree upon why we cook on Australia day.  This is what makes Australia the great nation that we are.