Forget the Burgers and Steaks, Grill These Delicious Seafood Recipes Instead

Serve salmon with rice, lettuce, cilantro, and a crunchy topping like bean sprouts or cucumbers, so people make their own ssam (Korean-style lettuce wraps). “It’s pretty, fresh, and great for those who aren’t eating gluten. And because they make their own bites, it’s more convivial,” says bestselling cookbook author Kim Sunée, who created this recipe.

This crowd-pleaser has everything you want in a fish taco, including a spicy mayo and fresh add-ins like avocado and lightly charred corn.

This Mediterranean-inspired dish brings branzino to life with a vibrant preserved lemon sauce and a fresh herb garnish. It’s a restaurant-quality meal that’s surprisingly simple to re-create at home.

Chef Jacob Wetherington wraps local rock cod with olive leaves and foraged bay laurel, and garnishes it with fresh fennel flowers.

Watching the fish-tossing action at Seattle’s iconic Pike Place Market can work up an appetite. Market Grill comes to the rescue with a juicy and napkin-worthy combo of wild-caught Alaskan fish, caramelized onions, and rosemary-lemon mayo tucked into a toasted baguette.

One year, chef and cookbook author Joanne Weir led a culinary tour to the Cinque Terre in Italy. “We went out on the Mediterranean, where we drank prosecco and ate seafood cooked on a tiny grill… I relished the fresh grilled calamari and halibut skewers as I baked in the sunshine and gazed at the crystal blue waters from which the seafood had just come. A few people decided to go for a swim. I won’t mention whether bathing suits were involved. What happens in the Mediterranean after 18 bottles of prosecco stays in the Mediterranean.” This is her ode to the skewers from that day.

Wild king salmon requires the right mix of exuberance and restraint. Chefs Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton of Ox restaurant in Portland hit the sweet spot, brightening its richness with tart sumac and a luscious yogurt sauce, and crisping the skin to create cracklings. The recipe is adapted from their book Around the Fire with Stacy Adimando. You’ll need a rimless baking sheet to ease the salmon off the grill.

Firm, meaty rainbow trout is one of our most sustainably raised fish, and most of it is grown on clean “farms” in Idaho. Because it’s dense, with a fair amount of oil in the flesh, it’s less likely to stick to the grill than other fish. 

Sunset reader Mickey Strang likes to serve this quick salad with classic accompaniments—crusty, buttery sourdough bread and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Gris.

Inspired by the flavors of both a Bloody Mary and Italian salsa verde, this easy, bright sauce works with almost any fish.

A side of salmon, hot off the grill and laid on fig leaves from a backyard tree if you have one, makes a spectacular main course. If you’re daunted by the prospect of flipping such a large piece of fish, cut it into three sections before grilling (they’re easier to turn) and arrange them end to end on the platter.

This beautiful make-ahead recipe is perfect for backyard parties. You can prepare and tie up these bundles in the morning and store them in the refrigerator until cook time while you tend to other party preparations. Not only do the banana leaves add flavor, but they also make for a stunning presentation. If you can’t source banana leaves, aluminum foil can be substituted—but it won’t add that intoxicating banana-leaf aroma.

These tuna sandwiches with Cajun spices are a fun lunch idea that shakes things up for the normal sandwich fare.

We couldn’t believe how outrageously yummy these halibut skewers are. Crusty Italian bread and halibut are seasoned with fresh rosemary, then woven with pancetta and grilled until golden.

The Dijon and dry white wine give this sauce a vibrant flavor that pairs well with the richness of grilled salmon.

Romaine leaves are sturdy enough to stuff, and they even hold up on the grill.

A sandwich for dinner makes perfect sense when it’s as elegant as this one, with hot-off-the-grill swordfish and the tang of preserved lemon and olives. If you can’t find the tapenade ingredients, blend store-bought mayo with minced garlic, lemon zest, and chile flakes for a tasty substitute.

Ebi Sumibi-Yaki, or grilled blue prawns, is a simple yet flavorful dish. Marinated in light soy sauce and olive oil, the prawns are grilled and finished with a rich butter sauce. This dish brings out the natural sweetness of the prawns.

Few dishes are as dramatic as an enormous paella, rich with saffron-scented rice and a variety of shellfish. Building it layer by layer at the grill is pure theater. We won’t lie; this dish isn’t easy on the wallet and requires a lot of time—about 2 hours from start to finish. However, the end result is well worth the extra effort! Serve it with generous spoonfuls of allioli, a garlicky Spanish mayonnaise (similar to French aioli). You’ll need a 17- to 18-in. paella pan (or use two 12-in. cast-iron frying pans).

Chef Bella Toland added tender yellow corn sprouts to this platter. Grown indoors on the island year-round, they’re a few weeks old and taste just like corn. This version excludes them but is just as delicious.

Grilling watermelon adds a smoky note to the fruit and gives it a slightly meaty texture that matches well with shrimp. Cooking takes only a couple of minutes, so have both sets of skewers ready before you start. You’ll need 12 flat metal skewers (12 in. long) or 18 skewers (8 in. long)–or use bamboo skewers of the same size, soaked in water for 30 minutes.

Serve these kebabs with a sweet rosé, plus crusty bread and grilled or roasted small potatoes to dip into the extra aioli.

Marinate shrimp in a combination of fresh herbs, juices, rum, lime zest, salt, and sugar for a fresh, tropical take on the classic mojito cocktail.

Serving these skewers with rice noodles, butter lettuce, mint, cilantro, and red onion makes for a light and refreshing (and filling!) meal.

A quick turn on the grill brings extra summer flavor to this riff on classic Italian bread salad.

Make tacos with this cilantro shrimp—serve with tortillas, slaw, and lime. Maybe even pair the entree with chips, salsa, and guacamole.

A dialed-in version of a coastal classic. If you’ve never made your own barbecue sauce before, this is your chance to taste the profound difference between corn syrup supermarket stuff and the real deal, made with good spices and exacting technique.

Chef Chris Cosentino is known for adventurous dishes like this one, a meet-up of mild grilled calamari (squid), fresh produce, and exciting seasonings. He grills the calamari over almond wood plus regular charcoal briquets; for the home cook, he recommends easy-to-find mesquite hardwood charcoal. To make the dish as fiery as Cosentino likes it, use 2 tbsp. black pepper and 2 tsp. Aleppo pepper, and don’t seed the serrano chile.

Chef Christian Graves loves how well the grilled flavor of the mussels pairs with the coolness of the cucumber and the spicy hit of the chiles. He prefers ‘Corno di Toro’ chiles for his recipe, but you can also use Fresnos.

Big, meaty calamari steaks are sweet and mildly flavored, so they benefit from the bold, salty flavors of olives, anchovies, and capers. You’ll find the steaks–we like those from large Humboldt squid–in the frozen seafood section of your grocery store. This seafood dish packs in a salty, citrusy flavor that is exquisitely complemented by hearty white beans and fresh herbs on top.

Grilling calamari allows the naturally rich flavor to emerge. A bright marinade, made with garlic and chile flakes, add bold flavor to the seafood dish.