Kamado Joe grilled fish might sound intimidating to some. After all, grilling fish directly on the grill grates is not one of those read about it and you’re now an expert skills.

Grilling fish on the grates takes practice to earn that coveted grill master merit badge.

In the mean time, read on and I’ll tell you my Kamado Joe fish grilling secrets.

Kamado Joe Grilled Fish

Today’s cook is a Kamado Joe grilled fish recipe, — we have two nice swordfish steaks that were marinated overnight in olive oil, kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Without a doubt, we’re going for a batch of swordfish fish tacos.

What follows are my secrets for grilling fish directly on the grill grates.

Kamado Joe Grilled Fish – The Fish

Above all, selecting the proper fish is secret number one.

●   use thicker fillets, 1 inch or so
●   look for those meaty fish fillets, such as, salmon, swordfish, halibut, or mahi-mahi
●   delicate fish like flounder, sole, or tilapia, are not suited for grilling on the grill grates, use a fish basket instead
●   prepare the fish with a simple marinade of olive oil, kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper
●   marinate the fish for several hours to overnight. The oil will help to keep fish from sticking
●   you’re probably buying what is fresh and not necessarily what the recipe calls for

Simple Fish Marinade

For up to four pieces of fish
●   1/3 cup olive oil
●   Kosher salt for seasoning, to taste
●   fresh ground black pepper, to taste
●   gallon size zip top bag

Liberally coat the fish with olive oil. Sprinkle with Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. Place fish fillets into the zip top bag, remove air, and seal. Refrigerate several hours to overnight for next day grilling.

Kamado Joe Grilled Fish – The Tools

In addition, you’ll need a fish spatula, — or two.

We use two.

The Weber 6673, which is available on Amazon for around $20.00. The Weber 6673 fish spatula has a wide head with an angled edge to help slide under the fish. Likewise, its long handle keeps your hands from getting too close to the grill heat.

It’s also stainless steel so it won’t rust if left outside in the rain or overnight. Check out the current price for the Weber 6673 fish spatula here on Amazon.

Moreover, many happy customers have rated Weber 6673 fish spatula at 4 out of 5 stars. Likewise, we’re very happy with our purchase.

We also have a Winco FST-6 6.5-inch fish spatula. We use it as an assist to help keep the fish on the larger spatula as we gently flip the fillets during the cook. This fish spatula was just over $5.00 when we bought ours on Amazon.

Amazon says the Winco 6.5 inch fish spatula is stainless steel. Check out the current price for the Winco 6.5 inch fish spatula here on Amazon.

This Winco 6.5 inch fish spatula has nearly 1000 customer reviews, a very popular item! Consequently, this product has mostly 4.5 out of 5 star satisfied customer review ratings. Similarly, we’re happy owners of this product.

Kamado Joe Grilled Fish – Grill Prep

To begin, the Kamado Joe grill preparation checklist.

●   we’re cooking over direct heat, no heat deflector needed
●   clean that firebox for good airflow, make sure you have enough lump charcoal
●   preheat your Kamado Joe to somewhere around 500 °F (260 °C)
●   note that we have the grate in the lower position
●   pop open the dome and clean the grill grates, scrape off any residual proteins from prior cooks — high temperature should help
●   rub down the grill grates using a folded paper towel dipped in ordinary vegetable oil. Do this at least 10 times or more, dipping that paper towel back into the oil to keep it well saturated. The grates must be hotter than the smoke point of the oil. You should see that oil smoke as you rub it on the grates
●   we are creating a non-stick cooking surface, similar to what your ancestors did when seasoning their prized cast iron cookware. In other words, we are seasoning the grill grates
●   close the grill dome and let the Kamado Joe warm back up and stabilize to 400 °F (205 °C)

Kamado Joe Grilled Fish – The Cook

●   the grill is ready at a steady 400 °F (205 °C), direct heat setup, cleaned and seasoned grill grates
●   angle the fish across the grates, not parallel with the grates
●   allow an estimated 8 minutes of total cooking time per inch of fish
●   add smoking wood if desired. Fish picks up smoke really quick, but this is a short cook. The smoke will add a nice touch and not overwhelm the fish. For more on wood smoke and smoking wood, check out this book, titled Wood Smoke And Smoking Wood: A Guide To Better Backyard Barbecue on Amazon, its all about wood smoke and smoking wood and better backyard cooking
●   cook with the grill dome closed
●   when you put the fish on the hot grill grates, they should sizzle
●   check the fish at 3 minutes, gently nudge the fillet with your fish spatula. If it begins to break free of the grate, it’s ready for that gentle flip. Doesn’t want to release, wait another 30 seconds and repeat. Ready? Gently work the fish spatula under the fillet, if necessary, use another fish spatula to assist, then gently flip
●   cook the fish for another 3 minutes, repeat the nudging technique outlined above. The fish should easily break free

Kamado Joe Grilled Fish – Is It Done

●   just like a steak, fish will continue cooking when you pull it from the grill
●   pull the fish from the grill, some fish will break up into bigger pieces when finished. Lots of online material suggests the fish should easily flake, dense fish does not always easily flake
●   you should see a nice opaque color, slightly past translucent
●   those non-stick preparations work their magic, no sticking fish here

●   the USDA says that the safe internal temperature for cooked fish is 145 °F (63 °C), or until the fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork. When cooking fish, cook it until the center reaches 145 °F (63 °C) on an instant-read or meat thermometer. Check out the USDA temperature chart here.

Kamado Joe Grilled Fish – The Plating

At last, check out those grill marks.

That grilled fish was fabulous, it was moist and flaky with a kiss of smoke. In addition, it was the centerpiece of a delicious fish taco mid-day dinner cooked outdoors.

Check out my Outdoor Eats page for more Kamado Joe recipes tips and tricks.