Groupers can be rather large fish -- they range up to well over 20 pounds, and if you find one that large you will likely want to slice it into fish steaks and grill them. Quite tasty. However, if you have a smaller grouper, weighing 2 1/2 - 3 pounds (1.2 - 1.5 k) this baked grouper recipe is quite tasty, and you may find yourself making it often. It will also work well with other whole white-fleshed fish.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Marinating: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- A cleaned grouper weighing about 2 1/2 pounds (1.2 k), or 2 1/2 pounds grouper steaks if you must
- The juice of 2 lemons
- 1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
- A clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup (75 g) unsalted butter
- 2 large onions, peeled and finely chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Put the grouper -- be it whole or in the form of fish steaks -- in a bowl with the lemon juice, parsley, garlic, and a light dusting of black pepper. Let it marinate for a couple of hours.
When the time is up, preheat your oven to 360 F (180 C). Spread the chopped onions over the bottom of a roasting pan large enough to contain the fish (in a single layer if you're using steaks). Lay the fish atop them, season it with salt and pepper, dot it with the butter, and roast it, spooning the drippings over it occasionally.
The cooking time? Figure 10 minutes of roasting time for every inch (2.5 cm) of thickness of the fish at its thickest point. In other words, if the fish is 2 inches thick, roast it for about 20 minutes; a more empiric test for doneness is to stick a toothpick into the thickest part of the fish, near the backbone. If the flesh is no longer translucent and flakes easily, it is done.
Variations: This recipe is quite easy, and therefore easy to vary. You might add black olives, or chopped tomatoes, and could also add other herbs of choice. A wine? White, and I might go with a Chardonnay from Friuli Venezia Giulia's Collio or Colli Orientali.
Yield: 6 servings roast grouper.
When the time is up, preheat your oven to 360 F (180 C). Spread the chopped onions over the bottom of a roasting pan large enough to contain the fish (in a single layer if you're using steaks). Lay the fish atop them, season it with salt and pepper, dot it with the butter, and roast it, spooning the drippings over it occasionally.
The cooking time? Figure 10 minutes of roasting time for every inch (2.5 cm) of thickness of the fish at its thickest point. In other words, if the fish is 2 inches thick, roast it for about 20 minutes; a more empiric test for doneness is to stick a toothpick into the thickest part of the fish, near the backbone. If the flesh is no longer translucent and flakes easily, it is done.
Variations: This recipe is quite easy, and therefore easy to vary. You might add black olives, or chopped tomatoes, and could also add other herbs of choice. A wine? White, and I might go with a Chardonnay from Friuli Venezia Giulia's Collio or Colli Orientali.
Yield: 6 servings roast grouper.
