BBQ'd Red Snapper and Trevally

When it's fishing season you know we are going to BBQ/Grill plenty of fish. And this past week I have done my share. My last grilling experience was grilling Red Snapper (Fafaet/Babui on Guam) and Trevally (Skipjack/Tarakito on Guam).

I recently went bottom fishing out to the Southern Banks of Guam about 50 miles out and that is where the snapper came from. The trevally was a result of kayak fishing in the Coco's Lagoon, located in Southern Guam. There is no short supply of fish on Guam.

My wife, Lupe, loves fresh fish. Especially when it's BBQ'd. So I fired up my Santa Maria style grill and got down to business.

Here is my grill made by my son-in-law Barry Quinata of Umatac, Guam.

It's a real simple process that turns out a fantastic flavor.

Here are the steps:

Scale and gut the fish.

Make two diagonal slices on each side of the fish so that the seasoning can permeate into the flesh a lot easier.

Olive oil the fish. This helps to "non-stick" the fish as well as add a little crispness to the skin.

Lightly salt, pepper and garlic powder the fish inside and out.

Make sure the grill is very clean and well oiled (just maintenance)

To add another layer of "non-stick" I cut a coconut tree branch, strip the leaves and cut up the main stalk into smaller pieces so that I can lay the fish on those to guarantee there will be no sticking to the grill. If there are no coconut trees around your area, any "green" branches will do, such as willow, etc. You can see this process here.

Grill the fish on one side, then the other, squeezing fresh calamansi lemon as it cooks.

The calamansi are the smaller lemons in this photo.

When done to perfection, serve it up with white rice and lemon finadenne. But the sides are all up to you.

Again, here is the picture of the finished product that I served my wife. I poured the lemon finadenne' over the top.

Fish, cooked over a wood fire, is outstanding. Especially if it is not overcooked and still moist.

Until next time....