Grilled Chili Lime and Garlic Butter Seabass

It is spring time, and while any time of year can be grilling season, there is something to be said for getting back outside and not seeing your breath while bundled in layers to quickly check on your charred creations.

Seabass is one of those cuts of fish that usually top the bill in price and allure at your top end seafood restaurants. It is a medium density fish that has a good flake, melt in your mouth tenderness, and a snow white consistency both before and after it is cooked.. From seafoodsource.com: “Chilean sea bass are not really bass but Patagonian toothfish, a large, slow-growing species first harvested in the early 1980s by Chilean longliners working the continental shelf in depths of 5,000 to 6,000 feet.”

Given the quality, taste, and consistency of Chilean seabass, you don’t need to do a whole lot to it to make it pop. A little olive oil and salt and pepper can hit the spot. I had some fresh limes and wanted to give it a little extra spring zest.

If you do a lot of grilling and cooking, you probably know that fresh ground salt, pepper, and pretty much any spices that will go into a grinder, add a great level of freshness. I recently discovered Gravity Electric Pepper and Salt Grinder Set I found on Amazon. This was my first time using them and I really appreciated the speed in which they were able to work at, and best of all, being able to operate with one hand.

I was torn between sea bass and salmon and my kids love salmon so I split the difference. I found that about a single 1 lb pound piece of a thick cut sea bass made 2 filets perfect sized for my wife and I. I decided to stick with the chili lime butter on both.

I complemented the fish with asparagus basted with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and some roasted new potatoes with an her. Spice mixed (grilled in butter in a foil pan on the grill.

This recipe is a simple classic, but feel free to experiment with various herbs and flavors as you use it over time to dial in the best flavor profile for you and your family.

Recipe

Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 15 mins Total Time: 25 mins Servings: 2 Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 stick of butter

• 1 lime

• Salt (preferably fresh ground)

• Pepper (preferably fresh ground)

• Fresh pressed garlic cloves

• 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder

• 1 lb of thick cut Chilean Seabass (you can substitute other fish. I also tried some Faroe Island salmon)

Directions

1. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil the grate.

2. Rinse seabass with cold water and dry with a paper towel. Place on a clean plate.

3. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan and whisk in the pressed garlic, chili powder, juice squeezed from lime, and ground salt and pepper to taste (I used about 1/4 teaspoon of each)

4. Brush both sides of sea bass fillets with the butter mixture

5. Cook on the preheated grill, turning and rotating every few minutes to make cross-hatch grill marks (your goal is to aim for 4 turns/rotations to maximize sealing in the juice). Brush on additional chilI lime butter as you make each turn.

6. Continue cooking fish until it is opaque, shows good grill marks, and springs back when pressed lightly. I aimed for 140 degrees with an instant read meat thermometer. (Note: The cooking time may vary based upon the thickness of your seabass filet. I went with a very thick cut at roughly an inch and a half and it took between 12-15 minutes. It is best to leverage a meat thermometer if you are unsure)

7. Remove the fish from the grill and plate.