Pat Branning’s Carolina Cooking: Grilling Fresh Cobia
Pat Branning’s Carolina Cooking
Painting by Shannon Smith – Smith Killian Fine Art of Charleston.
During the summer months we see the arrival of a multitude of migratory fish in and around the waters in Beaufort. Fishermen welcome the arrival of Cobia, often found near beaches, sandbars, bridges, Port Royal Sound and the Broad River. The Broad, Chechessee and Beaufort rivers join to form Port Royal Sound and that is where Cobia find deep saline water. They range in size from 10 to 80 pounds – one catch could feed the family for a long, long time.
One delicious way to eat this fish is really quite simple. Lightly rub the fillet with olive oil, sprinkle it with lemon pepper and garlic powder and get the charcoal grill going very hot. Put the fillet on indirect heat for about 7 minutes, turn it and do another 7 minutes on indirect heat. You have to have a grill that ‘s large enough and one that can be covered. Since you can literally get fish off the grill in a matter of minutes, it’s the perfect after work meal.
Before you start, get prepared. Few things can be more frustrating than trying to pull your catch off the grill in one piece. Of course, there’s no shortage of equipment, gadgets or plain old advice intended to help you get around the problem. Through lots of trials and errors, I’ve found that dipping paper towels in vegetable oil and rubbing the oil over the grill grates with long handled tongs, is an effective way to prevent sticking.
The hardest part of grilling fish is knowing when it’s done. When fish is cooked the meat will flake easily with a fork and will appear opaque all the way through. If any part of the meat is still glossy and partially translucent then it’s not done. If your fillet is evenly cut, the job is a lot easier, but if not, and you end up with one part much thicker than another, consider cutting the fish in two. Put the thick half on first and when it’s about halfway done, put the thin half on. This way you will get the fish cooked to perfection without burning any of it.
Flip it gently and leave it there until it is ready to leave the grill. With fillets you can tell they are ready to flip because the edges are flaky and opaque.
Bring it off the grill, squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the fish, allow it to rest and serve with some delicious homemade Lowcountry Aioli or Carolina Remoulade.
Lowcountry Aioli
4 cloves fresh garlic
1 teaspoon Italian herbs
1 egg yolk
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup olive oilCombine the garlic, herbs, egg yolk, and salt in a food processor and process until smooth. Drizzle in the olive oil gradually, processing until the mixture thickens. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. This is also delicious on sandwiches as a substitute for mayonnaise.
Carolina Remoulade
1 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion
1 tablespoon capers
1 dill pickle, finely chopped
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon cayenne pepperWhisk the mayonnaise and lemon juice together in a medium bowl. Add the onion, capers, dill pickle, parsley and cayenne pepper and mix well. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week. Serve with this deliciously charcoal grilled fresh Cobia.
Pat Branning, the former women’s editor for WSB, Atlanta, is food editor for The Beaufort Tribune. She and her husband, Cloide, work together to help the underserved and uninsured in health care through a nonprofit organization called Wellness4America. Her new book of Lowcountry recipes, “Shrimp, Collards and Grits, recipes from the creeks and gardens of the South Carolina Lowcountry”, is available at bookstores in Beaufort and on Hilton Head. The website is www.mycarolinacooking.com.
Click here for more information about Pat Branning’s new cookbook.
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- Pat Branning’s Carolina cooking: Enjoy fresh fish in no time at all
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- Pat Branning’s Carolina Cooking: Redfish
- Pat Branning’s Carolina Cooking: It’s just peachy in South Carolina
