Grilled Whole Fish

Note: For best results, use as many different salted pork parts as available, though you can always make it with just a few. Straight up salt pork and slab bacon with some good sausage will be quite delicious. Farofa is fried manioc (yucca) flour. It can be found in Brazilian markets ready-to-eat, or make it yourself by toasted rough-ground yucca flour in a bit of oil in a skillet over medium heat until golden brown.

1 pound dried black beans, picked over
Kosher salt
1 pound salted pig parts – ears, trotters, salted pork fatback, slab bacon (see note), cut into 1/2 to 1-inch pieces, rinsed of excess salt
1 pound linguiça, longaniza, or South American chorizo (or a mix), cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
1/2 pound carne do sol or corned beef, cut into 1/2 to 1-inch chunks (optional)
1 large onion, diced fine
1 green bell pepper, core and seeds discarded, diced fine
6 scallions, white and light green parts only, sliced fine
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 large tomato, finely diced
3 bay leaves

To Serve:
Cooked rice
Orange wedges
Sauteed kale or shredded cabbage
Hot sauce
Farofa (see note)
Directions
Dissolve 1/4 cup kosher salt in a gallon of cold water. Add the beans and allow to soak overnight (at least 8 hours). Drain and rinse.

In a medium bowl, stir together tomatoes, red onion, green pepper, red pepper, cilantro, parsley, vinegar, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Let molho stand at least 30 minutes, or refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Return to room temperature before serving.

About 30 minutes before grilling, remove fish from refrigerator and let come to room temperature. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread the coals evenly over half of coal grate. Alternatively, set half the burners of a gas grill to high heat. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Combine soaked beans, pork parts, sausage, beef, onion, pepper, scallion, cilantro, tomato, and bay leaves in a large saucepot. Cover with water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook, topping up with water as necessary to keep beans completely submerged until beans are completely tender and liquid is a deep black, about 6 to 8 hours. Season to taste with salt (you probably won’t need any more, depending on how salty your pig parts were). Serve with rice, orange wedges, greens, hot sauce, and farofa. Feijoada is excellent reheated.

Salting the tomatoes in advance concentrates their flavor.
White wine vinegar acts as a quick-pickling brine, helping to preserve the vegetables’ texture and color longer than citrus juice does in pico de gallo.
1 large tomato, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 3/4 cup)
Kosher salt
1/2 large red onion (4 1/2 ounces/130g), diced (about 1 cup)
1/2 green bell pepper (4 1/2 ounces/130g), stemmed, seeded, and diced (about 3/4 cup)
1/2 red bell pepper (4 1/2 ounces/130g), stemmed, seeded, and diced (about 3/4 cup)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (30ml)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (15ml), plus more for oiling fish
Freshly ground black pepper
2 (1- to 1 1/2-pound; 450 to 680g) whole fish, such as branzini, mackerel, or trout, scaled and gutted

Directions
Season tomatoes with 1 teaspoon salt and toss to combine. Transfer to a fine-mesh strainer or colander set in a bowl and allow to drain for 20 to 30 minutes. Discard liquid.

Thoroughly pat fish dry with paper towels. Season inside and out with salt and pepper. Rub fish all over with olive oil.

Set fish over hot side of grill and cook until bottom sides are browned, about 5 minutes. Using a carving fork (the tines of which can slide down between the grill grate) or a thin metal spatula, carefully attempt to lift fish from below; if it resists, allow to cook for 1 more minute and try again. When fish lifts easily from grill, turn onto other side and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 135°F (57°C), about 5 minutes longer; if skin begins to char before fish is cooked through, transfer fish to cooler side of grill to finish cooking. Let rest 5 minutes.

Serve fish, spooning molho on top. (If you want to serve the fish off the bone, follow our article and video on carving a whole cooked fish.)

Special equipment
Fine-mesh strainer, grill, thin metal spatula or carving fork

As any good social media editor would, I snapped a photo and posted it on Instagram. The response was resounding: I want to go to there. So I pinged Daniel and Sasha in hopes of developing a recipe so we can all go to there whenever we please. Daniel, a capoeira master and general Brazil fanatic, was more than happy to oblige.

The resulting recipe is more of a technique than a recipe. It starts (and practically ends) with a shrink-wrapped package of queijo coalho skewers—an easy find at one of the numerous Brazilian groceries in Queens. Those elsewhere in the country can order the cheese online, where you may find it either precut and pre-skewered or in solid-block form. Drying and oiling the fish before grilling reduces the chances that it will stick.
Molho à campanha is a lot like Mexican pico de gallo, except it uses vinegar instead of citrus juice and adds more peppers to the mix of tomato, onion, and cilantro. It’s most commonly served alongside charred steaks, but it’s just as good spooned over grilled whole fish as in this recipe.

After five minutes over the flame, the cheese my friend ordered had turned a perfect golden brown on both sides, its surface slightly blistered from the heat. As he offered us our skewers, the vendor produced a small bag of toppings to choose from. A thin, pungently tangy white garlic sauce (molho de alho), drizzled from a squeeze bottle across the surface? Yes, please. A sprinkling of dried oregano? With pleasure.

I savored the garlicky, piping-hot brick of just-soft cheese between sips of a caipirinha, the perfect citrusy contrast to the greasy, fatty skewer. I felt like my third eye had been opened to the possibilities of beach snacks. Forget Chex Mix and cheesy popcorn—I’d be thinking about these skewers every beach day for the rest of my life.

Halloumi will also work in a pinch; when grilled, it takes on nearly the same texture as coalho. Just add garlic sauce and oregano, and you’re all set for a backyard barbecue or a trip to the beach.

Carbs are the base upon which your (probably pretty expensive) meats and cheeses are enjoyed. Crusty bread, untoasted and toasted, crisp rye crackers, homemade sourdough crackers, water crackers – the list goes on. While the point of the carbs on a charcuterie board is a blank canvas for the flavors of the meats and cheeses, a really good selection of crusty toasted baguettes and crispy crunchy crackers can turn an ordinary grocery store meat and cheese board into something extraordinary.
Bright Notes. These are your fruits, olives, mustards, pickles, herbs, and jellies. They shouldn’t be an afterthought, actually, they should be the star of the show! These guys are what people really find themselves enjoying after the first couple of bites, because they offset the richness of the meats and cheeses with complex flavors and mix-and-match combinations. We like to go crazy with different mustards and always include some nice cornichons and olives.
Soppressata: a dry Italian salami made from pork that comes in different flavors like black pepper or spicy. Salty, rich, and flavorful. You can get this sliced thin at the deli or cut slightly thicker slices at home.
Saucisson sec: a thick dry cured French sausage usually made from pork, saucisson sec is similar to salami or summer sausage. It’s meaty, mild, and comes in a variety of flavors like red wine or garlic. You can get this sliced thin at the deli or cut slightly thicker slices at home.

Carbs are the base upon which your (probably pretty expensive) meats and cheeses are enjoyed. Crusty bread, untoasted and toasted, crisp rye crackers, homemade sourdough crackers, water crackers – the list goes on. While the point of the carbs on a charcuterie board is a blank canvas for the flavors of the meats and cheeses, a really good selection of crusty toasted baguettes and crispy crunchy crackers can turn an ordinary grocery store meat and cheese board into something extraordinary.
Bright Notes. These are your fruits, olives, mustards, pickles, herbs, and jellies. They shouldn’t be an afterthought, actually, they should be the star of the show! These guys are what people really find themselves enjoying after the first couple of bites, because they offset the richness of the meats and cheeses with complex flavors and mix-and-match combinations. We like to go crazy with different mustards and always include some nice cornichons and olives.
Soppressata: a dry Italian salami made from pork that comes in different flavors like black pepper or spicy. Salty, rich, and flavorful. You can get this sliced thin at the deli or cut slightly thicker slices at home.
Saucisson sec: a thick dry cured French sausage usually made from pork, saucisson sec is similar to salami or summer sausage. It’s meaty, mild, and comes in a variety of flavors like red wine or garlic. You can get this sliced thin at the deli or cut slightly thicker slices at home.