Grilled fish is good and when it is fresh caught it is the best!  This amberjack steak was outstanding and the red pepper coulis added nice color and subtle flavor without overpowering the wonderful fish.  Not that it would be easy to dominate an AJ.  They’re apex predators in the ocean and full flavored would probably be a good profile for their culinary niche.  Even so, sauces and fish are often incompatible to the point of having invisible fish (intastable?) probably in an effort to disguise mishandled or past their prime steaks and fillets.  When you have excellent fish the best approach is usually to let the fish stand on it’s own and use sauce for eye appeal and maybe a tad bit of additional moisture.  This recipe is a good example of that concept.

Red Pepper Coulis

1/2 cup fresh or bottled roasted red pepper, skinned and seeded

1-1/2 Tbs olive oil

2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 tsp dried thyme

4-5 kalamata olives,  pitted

Place all ingredients in a blender and buzz unti liquefied and smooth.  Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.  Re-buzz to mix.  Pour into a piping bag or go the disposable route and into a small zip bag.  Just before applying sauce to fish, cut of a very small corner section of the bag.  Squeeze your sauce into whatever pattern pleases you.

Grilled AJ

One 1-1/2 inch thick AJ steak per serving ( 4-8 oz)

Olive oil (pump spray is optimum for this application)

Salt and pepper to taste

Fire up the grill, a medium hot fire works well.  When ready, oil the grill and lightly spray the fish.  Sear the steaks uncovered on each side for 2 1/2 minutes.  Move the fish off of direct heat and cover the grill for 6-8 minutes.  Remove, season with salt and pepper, plate, sauce and eat!