• 1 1/2 lb. sea bass fillets, 1 - 1 1/2 inches thick
• 2 T hot mustard
• 2 T honey
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 cup white cooking wine
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 or 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• pepper

1. Combine all non-fish ingredients, and pour over fish
2. Cover and let sit while making a hot fire in a small kettle grill
3. Spoon some marinade over fish
4. When coals are white spread evenly
5. Put fillets, skin side down, on grill directly over coals - the smoke should be quite impressive
6. Cover grill immediately.
7. Spoon marinade over fish after a minute or two
8. Grill until just done, about 4-8 minutes per inch thickness of the fillets.

No need to flip them over since your grill is covered. Cooking time is quite sensitively dependent on how hot your "hot fire" is. There's no substitute for experience here.

Serves 2 hungry carnivores, maybe three, with side dishes.

Notes:
1. Marinade measurements are just guesses - I've never actually measured.
2. You CAN afford to use good, extra virgin olive oil. We get ours by the gallon at a Palestinian grocery for about 15% of what it costs in big chain grocery stores by the pint or quart. I expect you'd find it similarly priced in little Greek or Italian groceries. Patronize small family businesses whenever you can!
3. Try not to overcook the fish, but don't serve it when it's still cool in the middle. (Yes, I did this once...)
4. Variations of this marinade and method work well for a wide variety of grilled fish fillets (e.g., for salmon, substitute ground ginger root for the mustard).

© 1997 Redbird Café/ Jim Netter

You may write Jim at mail@redwingmusic.com or read his poetry here in this site!