I tried something for the first time by grilling an entire fish - and it turned out pretty good. Picking out a 3 lb. Red fish from our local HEB, I risnsed the fish with cold water and then seasoned it with extra-virgin olive oil, pepper and coarse salt. I pre-heated the grill for direct fire using charcoal and Pecan wood. Once the fire (mid-high) was ready I place direct but high above the fire and cooked each side until the skin was dark and flaky.

After cooking I fillet the grilled fish using a spoon and fork. The meat was very moist since the skin and bones protected meat from the fire yet had plenty of flavor.

The side dish was a Artichoke Salad with tomatoes, anchovies, and lots of garlic and olive oil!

This weekend meal was Brazilian Beer Chicken with black beans seasoned with garlic, sage, and comino served on rice and topped with grilled onions. Desert was (again) homemade blueberry pie.

Brazilian Beer Chicken:

2 cups of dark beer

1/2 cup of vegie oil

1/2 cup of Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 medium onion cut thin

12 cloves of sliced garlic

2 bay leaves

1 chicken or combined pieces (3-4 lbs)

Combine the above in a bowl and then place in a large ziplock bag with the chicken and marinate overnight.

Prepare a hot direct fire grill (I used both charcoal and pecan wood). When ready to cook, remove the chicken and keep the marinate. Salt the chicken and place on the grill. If your grill level is adjustable, move it as high as possible as the marinate drippings will cause immediate flames. The chicken will cook pretty fast but use the marinate again by brushing it on the chicken right away. It adds a lot of flavor.

Put the grill to work by smoking two racks of babyback ribs and beer can chicken. Desert is a home made blueberry pie.