Nothing makes a fish fillet look more alluring than those deep-brown grill marks that have been seared in. Even in bad grilling weather, you may get them on your fillets by using a grill pan. Particularly useful is a cast iron grill pan; just make sure to season it well.
Cast iron cookware that has been well-seasoned helps prevent the fish from clinging to the grill pan and disintegrating when you try to turn or remove it. In comparison to pan searing, grilling fish fillets just takes a few minutes and uses less fat, therefore the dish has fewer calories.
What You Will Need
- fillets of fish
- Printed towels
- kitchen brush
- butter or cooking oil without salt
- Pepper and salt
- spices, herbs, and aromatics
- an iron skillet
- large spatula
Instructions
- The fillets should be taken out of their package and dried with paper towels.
- Melted unsalted butter or cooking oil should be applied to the fish’s both surfaces.
- Add salt, pepper, and any more herbs, spices, or aromatics to taste to season them. Stovetop fish fillets go well with a variety of ingredients, including citrus zest, minced garlic, dill, rosemary, tarragon, thyme, curry powder, pre-made seafood rubs, and blackening or Cajun seasoning blends.
- For several minutes, heat the grill pan over medium-high heat until your hand can’t be held directly over it.
- If the fillets have skin, place it skin-side up on the grill pan.
- For the grill pan marks to nicely sear in, leave them in place for one minute. When you slip a broad spatula underneath them, if they don’t immediately release from the pan, sear them for a few more seconds until they do.
- To make a crosshatch pattern, rotate the fillets 90 degrees and cook for an additional minute.
- With the spatula, carefully flip the fillets over. As the fish gets closer to being finished, most fish start to become flaky, so be careful to support the entire fillet to avoid it from falling apart.
- The flesh of the fillets should be entirely opaque from the centre out on the second side of cooking. While thicker cuts may take up to 7 or 8 minutes to flip, thinner fillets may just need approximately a minute.
Warning
FoodSafety.gov recommends cooking fish to an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit, as determined by an instant-read thermometer.
Tip
Frozen fish fillets must be defrosted before being grilled on a grill pan; otherwise, the outer layers of the meat will burn before the middle is cooked throughly and safely.
In the refrigerator, the majority of fillets defrost in around 12 hours. If they are packaged airtight, defrost them in a sink of cold water for 45 to 60 minutes. After 30 minutes, replace the water with fresh, ice-cold water.