How to Choose Fish for Grilling

Editorial guide from Empório Portugal for cooking, choosing ingredients, and creating Portuguese experiences with more safety and context.

Cultural Context

Grilling fish is a ritual of skewers on the beach and barbecues at home — sardines, sea bream, sea bass, and tuna require different cutting and salting criteria.

In the Portuguese market, appearance, smell, and the elasticity of the flesh count as much as the price.

Practical Explanation

Prefer fish with firm flesh, uniform thickness, and intact skin. For high grilling, scale well, dry, use coarse salt and moderate olive oil; turn only a few times for clean marks.

Step by Step

1. Look for bright eyes and red-pink gills.
2. Press the flesh — it should spring back quickly, without permanent indentation.
3. Choose fish of similar thickness for even cooking.
4. Ask the fishmonger for proper cleaning and cutting (butterfly or steak).
5. Dry with paper towels before salting.
6. Use coarse salt 15–20 minutes before grilling.
7. Heat the grill very hot and grease with high smoke point oil.
8. Grill skin side down first, then turn once.

Tips from Empório Portugal

• Fresh catch of the day surpasses frozen for simple grilling.
• Lemon and olive oil come in later — not before — to avoid burning.
• Small sardines require quick grilling and generous salt.

Common Mistakes

• Buying fish with a strong ammonia smell.
• Grilling wet fish — steam prevents marks.
• Too low a fire, which dries out before browning.

Possible Substitutions in Brazil

• Quality frozen fish can replace fresh after slow thawing in the fridge.
• Fish steak can replace sea bream with extra care on timing.

Frequently Asked Questions