I love whole fish, and I'm one of those people who grosses my friends out because in a restaurant I decapitate a whole fish, even eating the eyeballs. North American's aren't generally fans of whole fish, getting annoyed by the process of having to take the time to debone plate side and prefer the fillet. However, in the Caribbean and in Asia (which are the two places where my family comes from) the only way to eat a fish is whole, whether grilled, poached, escabeched or fried, it's always the whole fish head and tail intact! In restaurants often the preparation is only for fish fillet which is a true shame because the natural flavors of fish really stand out when you cook it with the bones, therefore the extent of seasoning and glaze that is found on fillet isn't necessary and you really get to appreciate the true flavor and essence of the fish that you are eating.
An advantage of whole fish (when purchasing it and preparing it at home) is that you don't have to be at the mercy of the fish monger (or inexperienced teenager with the summer job at the fish counter) because it's VERY easy to tell when a whole fish is fresh. Of course you first want to smell it, it shouldn't have a smell or it should smell very faintly of the sea, if it smells like "fish" pass up on it right away. Then look at the eyes, make sure they are clear and not cloudy, some fish (like snapper) will have very red eyes when fresh. Then take a look at the gills that are right between the head and the body, those gills should still have blood and be bright red, if they are dull colored or too brown once again pass up on that fish. Then you need to ask your fish monger to clean and gut that fish for you, you don't want to be in your kitchen at the sink pulling scales off the fish and cleaning out fish guts (I've done it and trust me it's not a fun task, I even had scales in my hair)...Once you get that fish home, only refrigerate for 2 days maximum before making it.
You can definitely make whole fish in the oven but my favorite way to make whole fish is on the grill. I recently grilled a whole branzino with a side of couscous and salad, the recipe is below.
Ingredients for the whole fish 1 to 1 1/2 lbs
1 lemon zested and cut into round slices
fresh herbs of your choice
Salt, pepper, dried oregano, and fennel seed to taste
2 tablespoons of olive oil or extra virgin olive oil
Mix the salt, pepper, fennel seed,oregano and lemon zest in a small bowl.
If you desire (to make it easier to get the fish away from the bones when eating) you can make 2 inch diagonal slits across the body of the fish on both sides.
Place fresh herbs and all but 2 lemon rounds into the center pocket of the fish. Coat the fish with olive oil and then rub in the seasoning mixture on both sides.
Turn on the grill and make sure the temperature reads to 375 degrees. Make sure that grill is really well oiled because if it isn't half of your fish will remain on the grill (yes I've done this before and the presentation at the end isn't cute at all).
Place fish on the grill, grill for about 10 minutes on side one and 8 minutes on side 2 (general rule is 10 min per inch of thickness so if the fish is 2 inches thick (which most 1 to 1 1/2 lb fish are) then grill first side for 10 minutes and the other for 8, longer for thicker fish and remember that the second side always cooks quicker than the first.
Recipe for Couscous
You can really make any couscous combination for fish, I made a couscous with zucchini and onion and garlic and golden raisins with a seasoning of cumin and turmeric salt and pepper...what you need to know is that couscous takes on the flavor of whatever you add to it, and that the liquid to dry ratio is approximately 1 to 1 (one cup of couscous to one cup of liquid) also remember to saute your ingredients, add the couscous and then add the boiling liquid (I use chicken stock) and turn off the couscous in the sauce pot and cover it as soon as you add the liquid and let it stand for approximately 7 minutes covered without peeking! I always have a bit of reserve hot liquid on the side in case the couscous is a tad dry after I fluff it with a fork after the 7 minutes, I add a couple of tablespoons of the liquid and cover again for 2 minutes and fluff again.
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