Salt Grilled Whole Little Fish with Spinach & Sesame

By Andrew Zimmern

Cooking whole fish over live fire doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, it’s one of the simplest and most rewarding ways to do it. This method—skewering small fish and roasting them upright by hot coals—gives you crisp, blistered skin and perfectly tender flesh every time. It’s a technique I love because it’s hands-on, intuitive, and works with some of the most delicious (and often overlooked) fish out there… little ones like mackerel, sea bream, rockfish. Serve it with grilled spinach dressed in sesame and a bright soy-lemon dipping sauce, and you’ve got a complete meal that’s as satisfying as it is simple.

Andrew Zimmern with salt grilled fish

Salt Grilled Whole Fish

Ingredients

For the Fish

8 to 12 small whole fish (mackerel, sea bream, or rockfish), scaled and gutted
Neutral oil (such as canola)
Flaky salt
Flat metal skewers

For the Dipping Sauce

2 parts soy sauce
1 part fresh lemon juice
1 medium daikon radish, grated and squeezed dry
Togarashi (Japanese seven spice), to taste
1/4 cup finely sliced scallions

For the Spinach Gomae

1 pound fresh spinach
About 2 teaspoons neutral oil
Salt
3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste
1 teaspoon mirin
Splash of rice vinegar

Instructions

Prepare the Fish

Scale the fish from tail toward the head, then rinse and pat dry. Scale fish away from your prep area, those scales get everywhere and are tough to clean up.

Lightly brush with oil and season generously with flaky salt.

Insert two skewers in a narrow “X,” going in through the mouth and out near the tail. Crossing flat skewers helps stabilize the fish and keeps them secure while roasting.

Roast the Fish

Prepare your grill. Fill a kettle grill, such as a Weber, with sand. Build a pyramid of hot binchotan in the center of the sand. Binchotan burns hotter with less smoke and stays hotter longer than traditional natural wood charcoal. You can either use a charcoal chimney to light the binchotan then transfer carefully to the grill and build the pyramid, or start with unlit charcoal and use a fire starter such as a tumbleweed to light the charcoal in place.

Stand the fish upright over the heat (a sand base helps hold them in place). Rotate as they cook, moving them around hot spots until evenly charred and crisp. Look for light charring and blistered skin, that’s your signal to rotate.

Cook until the skin is blistered and lightly charred and the flesh flakes easily from the bone.

Tip: Cooking on the bone adds flavor and helps retain moisture.

Grill the Spinach

In a large mixing bowl, toss the spinach with the oil and a pinch of salt.

Cook in a large grill basket until just wilted. Remove and let cool slightly. Grilling spinach allows excess moisture to evaporate, so you don’t end up steaming it.

Make the Sesame Dressing

Grind the sesame seeds until about half are powdery and half remain whole. Mix in the soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and vinegar to form a thick paste. Toss the spinach with the dressing until evenly coated.

Make the Dipping Sauce

Combine soy sauce and lemon juice in a 2 to 1 ratio. Add the grated daikon, togarashi, and scallions. Stir to combine. This is a ratio-based sauce, adjust to taste without overthinking it.