Wednesday, July 20, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Summer ahoy!Fresh approach to grilling pairs fish and fruitThe Associated Press George Reis, chef-owner of Ocean restaurant, Birmingham, Ala., is an enthusiastic champion of grilling fish and fruit as a refreshing twist on summer dining. With the home cook in mind, hes worked out some easy and visually appealing combinations of seasonal fruit and fresh seafood. He also serves up a few tips on choosing and preparing seafood, including: A palm test for scallops. Many packers plump them up with nitrates and water, but this means the scallops dont get a nicely caramelized crust when theyre grilled because they have too much moisture. Buyers should ask for dry-packed scallops or do the palm test. When you place a scallop on your palm, if its a dry-packed, natural scallop, it will stick to your palm when you turn your hand upside down. Water-pumped ones are slick and will fall right off. For grilling, fresh fish work best. Frozen or previously frozen fish are more likely to stick to the grill and fall apart, because freezing and thawing causes the water to leach out. A clean, preheated grill is a must. Heat from gas or coal base should be medium-high. Right before grilling your fish, brush the grill with olive or vegetable oil. Lightly brush the fish with a little olive oil, too, or coat with a light oil spray. To keep a whole, skin-on fish from sticking, lightly dust it with flour, then brush or spray with oil before grilling. Information about how to choose fish that is healthy both for you and the environment is available on the Web at www.seafoodwatch.org where you can also download pocket guides to good fish choices for your region of the United States. | |
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