Grilled Striper with Creme Fraiche and Cucumber Tartar Sauce
Simply grilled striped bass fillets with a creamy cucumber tartar sauce
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs striped bass fillets
- 1/2 lemon, to squeeze over the fish when done cooking
- flaked sea salt for finishing
Grilled Fish Marinade
- 1/2 cup chopped chives
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1/2 large shallot, minced
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper
Creme Fraiche and Cucumber Tartar Sauce
- 1 hothouse cucumber, sliced in half, seeds removed
- 8 oz creme fraiche
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup chopped chives
- 1/4 cup drained capers
- 1/4 cup chopped pepperoncini
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Grilled Fish Marinade
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and stir until well mixed.
Creme Fraiche and Cucumber Tartar Sauce
- This is best made in advance. Mix all the ingredients together and rest in the fridge until ready to serve. This will keep for a week in a sealed container.
For the Fish and Preparation
- Step one - find yourself a great friend who is amazing at fishing.
- Clean your striper filets, deboning if needed - a pair of tweezers works well with this. You can run your hand down the back of the fish to feel for the flexible bones. If they don't pull out easily, do it after cooking - they will slide out easily then.
- Coat the fish with the marinade while you preheat your grill to medium high heat. The fish can sit in the marinade for up to several hours in the fridge, but even a 20 minute rest helps with the flavor.
- When the grill is hot, coat the grates liberally with a neutral oil (I use canola on a paper towel, and run it over the grill with tongs). The fish can stick to the grill, so this is an important step, as this marinade isn't very heavy on the oil.
- Grill the fish, skin side down if you have skin on filets, then flip after 5 minutes or so, finishing with another 5 minutes on the other side. This is a fish you want to cook all the way through - depending on the thickness and the heat of your grill, you may need to adjust the cooking time. You want the fillets to bounce back when touched, and they should flake easily.
- Remove from the grill when cooked, and finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice (I used half a lemon for ours). Sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt and serve with the cold tartar sauce.
Notes
This recipe is from Cru in Nantucket, a relatively newer restaurant in the Nantucket scene that has literally become legendary - especially for recipes like this. Their cookbook features many fresh fish recipes, and this is a classic. The cookbook is called Cru Oyster Bar Nantucket Cookbook - pretty easy!