Fresh cod fillets are flaky and sweet and a favorite in my family for baking or broiling. In summer, I love thick cod steaks, cooked on the grill. Unlike fish more commonly cut for steaks—tuna, swordfish, shark, and others with firm texture—the softer flesh of cod can be a challenge to the griller, sometimes sticking to the rack or flaking apart. These problems are lessened by tying the steaks with twine, marinating in garlic oil, and searing on a hot clean grill. But even if you lose the perfect appearance or a flake of fish tears off, cod steaks are so sweet and delicious when grilled, it’s worth it. I serve cod with any (or all) of the cold sauces listed below; grilled lemon slices (see below) are a nice garnish too. Follow this basic procedure for any fish steak—tuna and the other firm-fleshed ones, or salmon, halibut, or bass.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 2 or more
Ingredients
For Serving
Preparation
Step 1
To keep the steaks from falling apart, fold the long, thin end pieces—the belly flaps—inward to form a compact round of flesh. Tie a length of kitchen twine in a loop around the outside band of skin of the fish, securing the flaps within; pull to tighten, and knot it securely.
Step 2
Sprinkle both sides of the steaks with salt, coat with garlic oil, and place in a dish with a few garlic slices and the herb stems strewn over them. Marinate for an hour or two at room temperature, or longer if refrigerated.
Step 3
Preheat the clean rack of a grill over high heat until very hot. Just before putting on the fish, rub the grill with an oiled towel or a piece of pork fat. Wipe excess garlic oil off the steaks, and set them on the grill.
Step 4
Sear the steaks without moving them for 4 to 5 minutes. Brush the tops with garlic oil. If the fish isn’t sticking, check the cooked undersides and flip the steaks over as soon as the grill marks are golden brown. If the flesh sticks, grill another minute to sear, then turn the steaks over, using a sharp-edged broad metal spatula if necessary, to separate the flesh from the grill.
Step 5
Grill to mark the second side, 3 to 4 minutes; brush the top side with a small amount of garlic oil, and lower heat to medium. If the flesh is not sticking, you can make crosshatch grill marks if you wish: lift the steak after 3 minutes, rotate it 90 degrees or so in relation to the grill rack, then lower it on the same side.
Step 6
When the second side has grilled for 4 minutes or more, check for doneness by feel and sight: when the exterior flakes and the center of the steak is opaque but moist (push aside the flesh with a knife blade to see inside), remove steaks to a platter.
Step 7
Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with garlic oil. Serve right away with sauce on the side, or top with spoonfuls of salsa verde, or drizzle salmoriglio, or dress with just a plain slice of lemon and some extra-virgin olive oil.
First Make Garlic Oil and Other Tips for Grilled Seafood
Step 8
Here are my basic preparations for all fish or shellfish before grilling. They’re useful for either gas or charcoal grills, although every grill differs in heat output and cooking times:
Step 9
First, make plenty of garlic-infused oil, ahead of time, to flavor all fish and shellfish, including clams, mussels, and oysters in the shell.
Step 10
For one cup of oil, drop 1/4 cup of sliced garlic in 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Let the oil infuse for 1/2 hour to 1 hour before using; then remove the garlic slices. The oil can be refrigerated for a week or more.
Step 11
Marinate the seafood in garlic oil: pour just enough oil over to coat; toss and turn to oil all surfaces. Toss in some of the garlic slices if the garlic oil is freshly made, or a few newly cut slices, as well as fresh herb stems or branches—such as thyme, bay leaves, or rosemary. Marinate all fish for an hour or two if possible before grilling, or even overnight (refrigerated, of course).
Step 12
Clean and scrape the grill rack well, and get it intensely hot over high heat or hot piled coals before putting on the fish.
Step 13
Grease the hot grill rack lightly before putting on food, with an oiled paper towel, or a piece of cured pork skin from prosciutto end (page 129).
Step 14
Sear fish without turning until deeply marked by the grill, anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes. Thorough searing minimizes sticking.
Step 15
For large fish or steaks, initially cook over high heat, then, halfway through, lower heat to medium; for smaller pieces, lower the heat (or spread the coals) and cook only over medium heat.
Step 16
Keep garlic oil handy, and drizzle or brush on seafood sparingly while grilling—usually on turning the pieces. Avoid spilling any oil onto the lava rocks or coals and starting smoky, bad-tasting flare-ups.
Step 17
Grill simple garnishes and accompaniments for seafood at the same time. I grill rounds of lemon on the rack alongside my fish or shellfish, until nicely caramelized, 5 minutes or more, turning them occasionally. Another favorite: brush slices of country bread with garlic oil, and mark well on both sides (over a cool section of the grill), to serve with the fish.
Serving Suggestions . . .
Step 18
Cooked Carrot Salad with Pine Nuts and Golden Raisins (page 45), Scallion and Asparagus Salad (page 35), or Eggplant all’Uccelletto (Poached Eggplant with Vinegar, Garlic, and Mint; page 252) would be an ideal accompaniment for grilled cod.
First Make Garlic Oil—And Other Tips for Grilled Seafood
Step 19
Just a few steps from my kitchen is the door to a shady terrazzo where we relax and eat many of our summer meals. On one wall is a beautiful old-fashioned brick fireplace for cooking meats over wood coals. But often, I have to confess, I do my everyday grilling on a convenient gas grill with adjustable burners. And usually I grill fish or shellfish—it’s always quick, and my family loves it.
Step 20
Here are my basic preparations for all fish or shellfish before grilling. They’re useful for either gas or charcoal grills, although every grill differs in heat output and cooking times:
Step 21
First, make plenty of garlic-infused oil, ahead of time, to flavor all fish and shellfish, including clams, mussels, and oysters in the shell.
Step 22
For one cup of oil, drop 1/4 cup of sliced garlic in 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Let the oil infuse for 1/2 hour to 1 hour before using; then remove the garlic slices. The oil can be refrigerated for a week or more.
Step 23
Marinate the seafood in garlic oil: pour just enough oil over to coat; toss and turn to oil all surfaces. Toss in some of the garlic slices if the garlic oil is freshly made, or a few newly cut slices, as well as fresh herb stems or branches—such as thyme, bay leaves, or rosemary. Marinate all fish for an hour or two if possible before grilling, or even overnight (refrigerated, of course).
Step 24
Clean and scrape the grill rack well, and get it intensely hot over high heat or hot piled coals before putting on the fish.
Step 25
Grease the hot grill rack lightly before putting on food, with an oiled paper towel, or a piece of cured pork skin from prosciutto end (page 129).
Step 26
Sear fish without turning until deeply marked by the grill, anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes. Thorough searing minimizes sticking.
Step 27
For large fish or steaks, initially cook over high heat, then, halfway through, lower heat to medium; for smaller pieces, lower the heat (or spread the coals) and cook only over medium heat.
Step 28
Keep garlic oil handy, and drizzle or brush on seafood sparingly while grilling—usually on turning the pieces. Avoid spilling any oil onto the lava rocks or coals and starting smoky, bad-tasting flare-ups.
Step 29
Grill simple garnishes and accompaniments for seafood at the same time. I grill rounds of lemon on the rack alongside my fish or shellfish, until nicely caramelized, 5 minutes or more, turning them occasionally. Another favorite: brush slices of country bread with garlic oil, and mark well on both sides (over a cool section of the grill), to serve with the fish.
