Boating Life

While this species has been known to be sold in grocery stores during your local season, you will likely have a better chance finding some in your neighborhood seafood or meat market. Amberjack when eaten fresh has been said to have tender and sweet meat. If you must freeze it be sure to remove the skin, bloodline and any remnants of dark red on your fillets.

Amberjack is a mild and versatile fish. You can bake, broil, grill or fry these delicious fish. For this specific recipe we are keeping the integrity of the flavors in tact with a simple salt & pepper marinade cooked on the grill.

Ingredients

DIRECTIONS

Prep: 1 hr 10 min.|Cook: 10 – 15 min.|Yields: 4 Servings

• Rinse fillets with cold water and pat dry.
• In a medium sized glass mixing bowl, combine the oil, salt and pepper and mix well.
• Place the dry fillets into the marinade and coat each piece of fish fully.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hour.
• 20 minutes before the fish finishes marinating preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Lightly oil the grill grate.
• The fish should be done by now. Place the fish spaced evenly out on the grill. Cook for 5 minutes on each side or until the fish is at your desired done-ness.

Chef Notes

We decided to feature amberjack in this recipe, but this recipe is so simple it can be used with many meats. Try it on steak, chicken and any fish with a low-oil content. This marinade will also work on hearty vegetables like broccoli and asparagus.

This simple dish calls for some delicious side items to ramp it up. Try making some homemade scalloped potatoes or our roasted rosemary potatoes. Steamed broccoli and our baked parmesan asparagus would also be great, for those veggie lovers out there. For the really adventurous you can make your own homemade hush puppies!

Want to try this recipe but can’t find any already caught fillets in your town. If you are a fisherman who enjoys the thrill of catching your own dinner, we recommend fresh amberjack if this species can be found near you. Read our 101 on Florida’s Greater Amberjack Season.

Ways to get Creative

This marinade is as simple as it gets and because of that there are endless possibilities. You can make the marinade go in any direction. Add garlic and parsley for a garlicky marinade. Some basil, garlic ginger and replace a portion of the oil with sesame oil and mirin will provide an Asian flare. The possibilities are endless.

Seem a little plain to you? Try adding our mango salsa as a topper. Post marinade you can roll the fillets in a breadcrumb of your choice. For the meat lovers try wrapping it in maple bacon for a sweet crunch.

If you don’t have a grill; you can bake or broil this fish as well. If you broil this fish, be careful to not overcook it, no one like hard or chewy fish.