Lemon-Stuffed Grilled Branzino

Working with whole fish can seem intimidating, but Barbara Lynch's recipe takes the guesswork out of cooking. You'll scale and gut four whole branzino fish and remove the heads and tails. Then, stuff the cavities with lemon slices and herbs, while rubbing the outsides with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkling with salt and pepper before heading to the grill. The most important part is leaving the fish undisturbed on the grill grates until they naturally release and the skins are nice and crispy. Once the fish is cooked, the tender flesh will be fully infused with the aromatic flavors of lemon and thyme.

Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen

This recipe is an exceptionally easy, tasty lesson on grilling branzino. For greater ease, have your local fishmonger scale, gut, and remove the heads and tails at the store, which will make stuffing the cavities of the already cleaned fish much simpler so you can get cooking right away.

Once the fish is ready to go, ensure the grill is adequately preheated before grilling the branzino directly on the grate over high heat. Cook the branzino, moving it as little as possible, until the skin is brown and crispy, about seven minutes per side. You should only need to flip the fish once; otherwise, you may risk rupturing the delicate skin.