You need this versatile Onion Butter in your repertoire--period. You can thank our friend Jesse Griffith’s, chef/owner of Dai Due Butcher Shop and Supper Club in Austin, for the recipe, which he shared at a recent backyard cookout. Cooking fish “on the half shell,” he explained, simply means relying on the skin and scales of the fish to serve as a handy cooking vessel for tender, buttery fish–no flipping required. Seasoned with Fish Monger and topped with the buttery, caramelized onions, each filet of grilled fish becomes a feast.
Jesse used black drum filets for this recipe, but feel free to use snapper or wild bass instead. In addition to bay leaves, you can also use sprigs of thyme, rosemary, or oregano to flavor the onion butter mixture.
Ingredients
2 one-pound redfish or black drum fillets, skin and scales left on
Cut a few slashes in the redfish fillets, then season with Fish Monger and set aside in the refrigerator. In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, bay and a pinch of salt. Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until browned and very soft, about 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves. Chill the onion and butter mixture until it is spreadable, about 30 more minutes in the refrigerator.
Start a hot charcoal or wood fire, or preheat a gas grill to high. Divide the onion butter between the two fillets and spread it evenly over the fillet sides. Place the fillets, skin and scale side down, over the hot fire. Cook until the fillets are very tender at their thickest parts, about 10-15 minutes, closing the lid of the grill (or tent the fish fillets with a big metal bowl or pan) to help cook the top. Serve with wedges of lemon, lime or orange.