Expert Reveals The 2 Essential Tools For Grilling Fish

Typical summertime grill fare tends to run to burgers, hot dogs, chicken, and even steaks when the budget allows, but fish is something that some may hesitate to throw on the grates. These fears are not entirely unfounded as it's easy to make mistakes if you lack the proper know-how. Occasionally, celeb chefs do weigh in from time to time to offer helpful hints such as clean your grill first (this comes from Bobby Flay) or wrap your fish in foil (this one's from Michael Symon). Still, when Mashed wanted to know just what utensils are de rigueur for proper fish grilling, we went straight to one of our own go-to grill experts, Dustin Green, who serves as director of the Weber Grill Academy as well as head grill master at Americas.

We asked Green straight up for the absolute essentials needed for fish grilling. While we did not stipulate any limit as to number, nor even provide a budget he had to stick to, he nevertheless kept things simple. According to Green, there are just two tools you really need (besides the grill and standard kitchen stuff, that is) — a spatula well-suited to fish-flipping and a good thermometer to check the temperature. However, he doesn't recommend using tongs when grilling fish, telling us, "Most fish are delicate to begin with, so most times you won't use tongs to flip."

According to Dustin Green, the key to grilling fish is to not overcook it — "Fish, if overcooked, is not very good." However, he says, "If cooked properly, it is delicious." So what's the perfect moment to take the fish off the grill? While you may be able to tell if you have years of grilling experience like Green, for the rest of us the meat thermometer will help. That piece of equipment is the key to grilling fish. 

If you are able to afford one, Green recommends the kind with all the bells and whistles like remote temperature probes and smart temp monitors that connect to a phone app. If such a purchase is not in the (credit) cards, though, even a basic meat thermometer will help you cook your fish to the proper temperature (which, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, is 145 degrees F).

Meanwhile, since tongs on your fish might cause it to break apart, you're going to need an alternate utensil for gentle grill grate removal. "I recommend slotted spatulas for seafood," Green says, and the ones he favors tend to be made of stainless steel (which stands to reason, as plastic ones might melt when they come in contact with hot metal). You'll also need a spatula that's large enough to fit underneath an entire fish fillet, so don't stint on size.