Swordfish And Tater Salad

Let me begin by saying that I fully endorse ANY recipe that calls for basting with bacon grease.  That is all for now.

Tonight's decision was influenced by the last two nights.  They have been fairly heavy meals, especially last night.  I was in the mood for lighter fare.  I suggested chicken, and The Bride suggested fish.  Thus, we went with fish.  In reviewing the Big Book of Grilling, the Bride perked up at the mention of swordfish.  There were four recipes, and we liked the Sicilian Stuffed Swordfish Rolls on page 289. 

As I am always in the mood for a grilled side, I made the call to put together the New Potato Salad on page 355.  I was drawn by the bacon, grilled onions, and sherry vinegar.

I prepped the swordfish, knowing that the potatoes would be constant work.  My plan of action would be to prep the swordfish rolls and the keep them in the fridge until they were needed.  The swordfish called to be grilled over Direct High heat, and the potatoes needed a lengthy grill time over Direct Medium.  Bringing to mind my most recent experience, I decided to grill the potatoes and then add charcoal to bring the temperature from medium to high for the fish.  Thus, I prepped the swordfish. 

From there I rolled them up, and tied them with butcher's twine. 

Then it was on to the New Potato Salad.  I cut up the potatoes, set them on the grill, and then began the rest of the preparations.  The best part was the following...

Once the potatoes were done, I placed the bacon-grease-basted onions on the grill, and made the sherry vinegar dressing.  Here we have the potatoes, grilled onions, and dressing all ready to be assembled.

And here is the final result, which I would let rest while the newly added coals readied themselves for the swordfish.

Here is the swordfish, fresh off the grill.

And finally, the assembled meal:

This meal was one of my favorites.  My confidence with fish continues to grow, and I am really enjoying learning better-than-basic ways to prepare fish.  I am starting to become a believer that fish does not have to be bland, and can truly be the focal piece of a meal.  The acidity of the potato salad was nice, but people who are used to a more creamy potato salad might not be as fond as I was. 

So what did I learn?  I learned that adding coals is not that big of a deal, and is essential to a succesful long grill.  The only real modification I made to the recipe is that instead of applying olive oil to the swordfish before grilling, I noticed that I had some leftover bacon grease.  Needless to say, this was substituted in.  I learned that when grilling potatoes, I would add about one-half extra pound of potatoes, because invariably some will come off the grill with a little too much carbon, and must be sacrified to the grill gods.  I also learned that grilling onion slices is a lot easier than anticipated, and quite awesome.  This will come in handy in other recipes, including those not in The Guide.  The butcher's twine worked like a charm.  They held well, and came off rather easily. Finally, I learned that acidity can really brighten up a meal, and flavors become more pronounced with just a little squeeze of lemon.