Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Citrus and beer steamed tilapia - on the grill

Well, I am not sure where the warm weather went, but there for a few days we had a hot spell and I was determined to cook everything on the grill that I could.
One of my favorite things to do is to cook using foil packets, and one of the best things to do in those packets is fish. In this case I went for tilapia because it was cheap, it looked nice and fresh and it just sounded good.
This was an easy prep and a short cooking time on the grill, which was really just a bonus to how good it tasted.
This is from an Epicurious recipe that I modified. They called for flounder. I called for tilapia.

Before cooking.

Citrus and beer steamed tilapia - on the grill

(two servings)

2 small shallot bulbs, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 thin slices of lime
2 thin slices of orange
2 tablespoons butter
2 tilapia fillets
4 sprigs fresh thyme
cayenne or black pepper
salt
6 tablespoons beer (I used Sam Adams, because that is what I had - white wine works, too)

two pieces of aluminum foil, each twice as long as the pieces of fish (maybe 14-inches long)

Arrange foil pieces over a shallow baking dish or pie pan, sort of lining the pan to create a bowl-like space for your ingredients, leaving an overhang that will be sealed up to create your packet.

Divide shallots and garlic equally and sprinkle into the foil "bowl."
Put two slices of lime and one slice of orange into each packet.
Put 1 tablespoon of butter into each packet.
Set a piece of tilapia on top of this and season lightly with pepper and salt.
Arrange thyme sprigs on top of fish.
Pour 3 tablespoons of beer into each packet.

Gather excess foil and roll to seal the edges.
When your grill is heated on medium-high heat, put the packets (seam side up) on the rack and cook 10 minutes.

After cooking.

I think if you don't like beer, you can definitely use white wine.
If beer or wine is not an option, a little broth of some type probably would work. Or maybe clam juice. I figured there is so little alcohol in the beer and what is there cooks off anyway.

The beer and butter make for a nice little sauce that steams the fish beautifully.
The cayenne adds just a touch of heat. And the citrus is, well, citrusy and lovely.

I served this with grilled white corn and red potatoes that I also had roasted on the grill.
My only regret was that I did not have a lovely, crusty piece of bread to sop up that extra cooking sauce.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

That sounds really great. We will add that to our "must try" Jill recipes! BTW, I'm looking for new things to make for lunch that I can bring to work. Maybe that could be a new category? ;) love ya Jill!

Jill said...

Hmm... Usually I just have leftovers or I get lunch out from a favorite sushi place or sandwich place.
I will have to think about that.