Obviously I love to cook, but grilling does not come naturally to me. Mostly this is because I’ve always had a fear of fire (I won several fire safety poster contests as a child and did not light a match until I was 16 years old). However, like most reasonable human beings, I do love to eat grilled food, so I’m lucky that my fearless friend and roommate has taken on the challenge of learning to properly grill with charcoal.
It’s our third season with the grill, and we’re really hitting our stride. While the summer has been slow to get started meteorologically, we have been outside in all kinds of temperatures, wearing all kinds of waterproof layers, in the name of charred food. We’ve grilled veggies, we’ve smoked chicken wings (these were absolutely incredible and I’m just tweaking the technique before posting here), we’ve grilled fish. It’s all been shockingly successful.
One thing we’re still working on is how to get a second chimney going while the first batch of coals is already in use, when you are doing so on a rooftop terrace surrounded by flammable items. Often one chimney will do the trick, but sometimes you need more heat or time or both. Our first attempt to thwart this issue was using a contraption I put together made out of an upside-down metal card table with an oven rack fashioned to the top (turns out I am my father’s daughter in many more ways than one). It was fairly successful, though some flaming coals did settle outside the metal coal catcher / table top and onto the tar roof on a windy day, where we quickly stepped on them, bucket of water at the ready. We’ll spend the rest of the summer getting this part right, I’m sure.
But back to food.
Swordfish is a favorite fish of mine, and it takes to the grill so, so well. There are really few things more delicious than a perfectly cooked swordfish steak (and, contrarily, few worse than a dry, pasty, overcooked one, so don’t do that). I’ve seen a lot of swordfish recipes that are vaguely Italian, and in particular Sicilian, and I love those flavors but was excited to try something different with this Mexican preparation. The original recipe calls for catfish steaks, but those are tough to find (and fillets too delicate for this dish), and swordfish, the suggested substitute, is quite honestly a more delicious fish anyway.
You must try this. The fish marinates for a little while before hitting the grill for a few minutes. Like I said, do not overcook. It’s then topped with a quick avocado-chipotle salsa that’s a little spicy and a little rich and also a little unexpected. The entire thing tastes very impressive for something that took such an unimpressively short time to create. So clean off those grill grates and get going, friends.
Ingredients
- 3 to 6 (1/4 to 1/2 oz.) stemmed, dried chipotle chiles or canned chipotle chiles en adobo
- 3 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 8 oz. (about 5 medium) tomatillos, husked and rinsed
- Salt, about 1 teaspoon
- Eight 3- to 4-oz. swordfish (or catfish) steaks, each about 1 inch thick
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus a little more for the grill grate
- 2 small avocados, peeled, pitted and chopped into 1/4-inch dice
- Sprigs of cilantro for garnish
- Lemon, for serving
Instructions
- First make the sauce. For dried chiles, toast them on an ungreased griddle or skillet over medium heat, turning regularly and pressing flat with a spatula, until very aromatic, about 30 seconds. In a small bowl, cover the chiles with hot water and let rehydrate 30 minutes, stirring frequently to ensure even soaking. Drain and discard the water. (Canned chiles need only be removed from their sauce.)
- While the chiles are soaking, roast the unpeeled garlic on the griddle or skillet, turning occasionally, until soft (they will blacken in spots), about 15 minutes. Cool and peel. Roast the tomatillos on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler until blackened on 1 side, about 5 minutes, then flip and roast the other side.
- Scrape the tomatillos (and their juices) and garlic into a food processor or blender, and process to a smooth puree. Add the rehydrated or canned chiles and give a few quick pulses to combine but leave them chunky. Transfer to a bowl. Add enough water (about 3 tablespoons) to give the sauce a medium-thick consistency and stir. Season with about 1/2 teaspoon of the salt.
- To marinate the fish, lay the steaks in a baking dish. Mix together 1/4 cup of the tomatillo-chipotle salsa mixture with the oil, then brush half of it over the fish. Flip the fish and brush the other side with the remaining marinade. Cover and refrigerate for several hours, if time permits.
- Combine the remaining chipotle salsa with the avocados, taste and add more salt if needed, stirring vigorously to make the sauce slightly creamy. Cover and leave at room temperature.
- Light a gas grill or prepare a charcoal fire, letting the coals burn until they are covered with a gray ash and are medium-hot. Position the grill grate about 8 inches above the coals and lightly oil.
- Remove the fish from the marinade and lay it on the gill. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Grill, covered, until nicely seared and half-done, 4 to 6 minutes. Flip the steaks, sprinkle with salt and grill the other side, 4 to 6 minutes more.
- Transfer the fish to a warm serving platter, spoon the salsa across the fish an garnish with sprigs of cilantro.
Notes
Adapted from Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen
