BBQ Butterflied Sea Bass with Garlic Oil & Charred Garlic
Crisp-skinned sea bass cooked over fire and finished simply with garlic oil, fresh chives and charred garlic. Clean, fresh flavours that let the fish do the talking.
Light Avocado Oil Spray helps prevent sticking and promotes even cooking on the barbecue, while the Garlic Oil adds a rich savoury finish without overpowering the delicate fish.
GOOD PHATS: LIGHT AVOCADO OIL SPRAY & GARLIC OIL
SERVES: 4
PREP TIME: 10 mins
COOK TIME: 15–20 mins
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE SEA BASS
1 large wild sea bass, butterflied and pin-boned
GOOD PHATS Light Avocado Oil Spray
Salt
Black pepper
FOR THE CHARRED GARLIC
1 Garlic
TO FINISH
GOOD PHATS Garlic Oil
Small handful chives
METHOD
Step One: Prepare the fish
Check the sea bass for any remaining pin bones and remove if needed. Pat dry thoroughly and season generously with salt and black pepper.
Lightly spray both sides with GOOD PHATS Light Avocado Oil Spray.
Step Two: Prepare the barbecue
Preheat the barbecue until hot. You want a properly heated grill so the skin can crisp quickly without sticking.
Place the sea bass into a fish cage to make turning and handling easier during cooking.
Step Three: Cook the fish
Place the fish cage onto the barbecue with the skin side facing down.
At the same time, place the garlic halves cut-side down onto the barbecue.
Cook the sea bass skin-side down for the majority of the cooking time, allowing the skin to become crisp, golden and lightly charred. Avoid moving the fish too early as this can cause the skin to stick and tear.
Once the skin is crisp and the fish is nearly cooked through, carefully turn the cage over and cook briefly on the flesh side to finish.
The flesh should be just cooked and still moist.
Step Four: Plate & serve
Transfer the sea bass to a serving platter and arrange the charred garlic halves alongside.
Finish with a generous drizzle of GOOD PHATS Garlic Oil and a scattering of finely chopped chives.
Serve immediately.
Chef’s Tip
The skin side should do around 80–90% of the cooking. Let the heat travel gently through the fish before turning briefly to finish. This gives you crisp skin and juicy flesh.
