Cooking fish from frozen on a barbecue - safe?

hedgeh0g

If extra guest arrive I was wondering can I throw on a few frozen Mackerel

Is there a difference in dangers (of not defrosting properly) between frozen fish / poultry / meat?

Mr Magnolia

It'll have burned on the outside before the inside is defrosted fully and cooked.

the beer revolu

hedgeh0g wrote: »

If extra guest arrive I was wondering can I throw on a few frozen Mackerel

Is there a difference in dangers (of not defrosting properly) between frozen fish / poultry / meat?

If the fish is good you can eat it raw!
Or frozen.
No danger.
Problem could be that the outside will burn before centre is cooked so keep the heat a bit lower unless your guest likes mackerel crunchy on the outside and soft and wet on the inside!

Seaneh

just put the fish in a ziploc bag and force as much air out as possible then put in a basin/pot and run it under cold water for about 5-10 mins and it will defrost.

The Hill Billy

hedgeh0g wrote: »

If extra guest arrive I was wondering can I throw on a few frozen Mackerel

No - for reasons already given by previous posters.

hedgeh0g wrote: »

Is there a difference in dangers (of not defrosting properly) between frozen fish / poultry / meat?

Yes. For the definitive answer on this you should refer to an authorative food safety website.

peanuthead

wrap it in tinfoil and put it on the bbq to cook. Once its almost sone you can remove the tinfoil and blacken it up nicely without it being overdone.


Enjoy!!

Merch

Good advice I think
Was told that BBQs often result in food incorrectly cooked, chicken, pork not the best for that so microwave it first to ensure its cooked through to the center then finish it off on the barbie for taste and effect plus gotta be quicker
I dont bbq much myself so I cannot atest to this but a bbq afficionado told me this

peanuthead

you can cook steaks, saussies, burgers all from raw. Never cook chicken from raw, oven cook it first, or wrap in tinfoil too. same with fish, though thin fillets should be fine. Dont know about pork tbh

Merch

peanuthead wrote: »

you can cook steaks, saussies, burgers all from raw. Never cook chicken from raw, oven cook it first, or wrap in tinfoil too. same with fish, though thin fillets should be fine. Dont know about pork tbh

You mean never cook chicken on the BBq from raw, is that what you're saying? Makes sense from the point of view of thoroughly cooking it and not transfering uncooked bacteria to other meats, but I guess you could cook from raw???

just imagining now after typing that someone doing a whole chicken on the bbq, well isnt beyond the realms of possibility, could spit roast it, just on an Irish BBq never seen it :pac:

peanuthead

Merch wrote: »

You mean never cook chicken on the BBq from raw, is that what you're saying? Makes sense from the point of view of thoroughly cooking it and not transfering uncooked bacteria to other meats, but I guess you could cook from raw???

just imagining now after typing that someone doing a whole chicken on the bbq, well isnt beyond the realms of possibility, could spit roast it, just on an Irish BBq never seen it :pac:

haha, yes I meant on the bbq. Its just that it doesnt have enough time to be thoroughly cooked, its not really about transferring bacteria, because any meat thats still on the bbq is still being cooked, so bacteria thats transferred will be killed off anyway. Wrap in tinfoil, it will cook much slower, and therefore more thoroughly

Merch

Merch wrote: »

You mean never cook chicken on the BBq from raw, is that what you're saying? Makes sense from the point of view of thoroughly cooking it and not transfering uncooked bacteria to other meats, but I guess you could cook from raw???:pac:

Yes its either that or cook it while its still squawking :pac:
like a lobster, but I may have gone too far with that, as for transferring bacteria,

Also what about the implement to turn the uncooked meat then moving cooked meat onto someones plate, surely that would transfer some uncooked bacteria to their plate?? I think people do that and dont think it will matter or think about it at all?

the beer revolu

I've cooked a whole chicken on a charcoal BBQ and a gas one.

I split it down the back and opened it out.
The inner side has the carcass to protect it and can take alot of heat.
The skin side will burn if left too long so the trick is to do that side second, after the coals have cooled somewhat.
If the BBQ isn't too hot it works fine and will cook a chicken in about 30 - 40 mins (best with a BBQ with a lid).

As with cooking any chicken, it should be fully cooked with no red bits and should be tested for such before consuming.

I've also slow cooked belly pork on a gas BBQ with a lid.
Again, if the bone is left on, it protects the meat.
Crackling comes up great too!

If it's done right, anything can be cooked on a BBQ. But as with any cooking, if you do things wrong you can poison people so if you don't know what you are doing stick to the 'extra careful rules' and precook stuff etc.

olaola

I'd say put it in the oven until cooked and then lash it on the BBQ - mackerel is oily so it will take a bit of extra cooking.

Saruman

Why not poach it first? Should only take about 15 mins and it will mostly cook it from frozen in that time and then do the rest on the grill. You can also add stock/spices to the water and it will soak into the fish.
Oh and same goes for Chicken.

The Hill Billy

peanuthead wrote: »

wrap it in tinfoil and put it on the bbq to cook. Once its almost sone you can remove the tinfoil and blacken it up nicely without it being overdone.


Enjoy!!

This will not ensure by any means that the mackerel will be cooked through thoroughly. The problem with barbecuing is that it is not an exact science. You don't know how hot the grill is, therefore you cannot say for certain that by wrapping the fish in foil will mean that is cooks nice & slowly & gets heated all the way through.

peanuthead - You may be a very competent BBQ cook & can tell for how long to cook it & where on the grill the fish needs to be placed to receive the correct amount of heat to be done properly. You do not know whether the OP has these same barbecuing skills. End result - the fish may not be cooked properly

OP - Defrost the fish before you BBQ it. That's the safest method.

Merch

the beer revolu wrote: »

I've cooked a whole chicken on a charcoal BBQ and a gas one.

I split it down the back and opened it out.
The inner side has the carcass to protect it and can take alot of heat.
The skin side will burn if left too long so the trick is to do that side second, after the coals have cooled somewhat.
If the BBQ isn't too hot it works fine and will cook a chicken in about 30 - 40 mins (best with a BBQ with a lid).

As with cooking any chicken, it should be fully cooked with no red bits and should be tested for such before consuming.

I've also slow cooked belly pork on a gas BBQ with a lid.
Again, if the bone is left on, it protects the meat.
Crackling comes up great too!

If it's done right, anything can be cooked on a BBQ. But as with any cooking, if you do things wrong you can poison people so if you don't know what you are doing stick to the 'extra careful rules' and precook stuff etc.

Im sure it can be done, I think I would pre cook myself as I dont have that much practice as a bbq chef, or probably the patience
I'm sure it will taste great, probably better also from over the bbq.
For us guys it probably goes back to when we were hunter/gatherers and cooked stuff over an open fire??:pac: lol

CJhaughey

The problem with mackerel and other oil rich fish is that you can get histamine poisoning from fish that has been incorrectly handled.
This is usually the case when mackerel have been left in warm conditions and start to develop high levels of histamines.
If you are sure that the fish were fresh before being frozen then defrosting them in cool conditions such as a fridge is the best bet.
This does not occur with whitefish (Cod, Haddock, Whiting etc) but can occur in Herring, and sprat.
It is best if the Fish are split in half before being frozen as this allows the fish to defrost more evenly and fillets can be cooked from frozen as they are not as thick.

Honey-ec

Merch wrote: »

Also what about the implement to turn the uncooked meat then moving cooked meat onto someones plate, surely that would transfer some uncooked bacteria to their plate?? I think people do that and dont think it will matter or think about it at all?

Anyone with a half a brain in their head should know to use separate utensils for moving raw and cooked meat. That's just basic cop on.

When I barbeque I have one implement for raw chicken, a second for cooked chicken, a third for raw beef and a fourth for cooked beef. I also usually keep a separate spatula for turning the cooking chicken.

Merch

Honey-ec wrote: »

Anyone with a half a brain in their head should know to use separate utensils for moving raw and cooked meat. That's just basic cop on.

When I barbeque I have one implement for raw chicken, a second for cooked chicken, a third for raw beef and a fourth for cooked beef. I also usually keep a separate spatula for turning the cooking chicken.

You'd think so like they say, common sense isn't as common as people think:)

hedgeh0g

I was wondering about frozen fish for future ref. Donegal catch sell frozen fish which can be cooked from frozen and provided the fish is not too thick It could be ok.

My latest bbq - and the first time Ive cooked fish in a big charcoal bbq
(did two before on the disposable ones and they were equally fab on a beach)

FYI I cooked "fresh" Mackerel in two ways.

Two wrapped in a tinfoil parcel
The other two in a food barbecue thingy (like two tennis rackets holding the food) Very handy as there is no handling of food once sandwiched in the holder

Like so
http://www.almwire.ca/images_misc/bbq_food_holder.jpg

And my god look whats available
http://www.cooking-gadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/chicken-leg-holder.jpg


When the two open ones were cooking I was moving an Oak smokey stick under them. They were so so good. I also cooked a small piece of salmon.

The two in the tinfoil wrap were pail and boring.

We ate all we could. Afterwards the cats ate the salmon first, followed by the Mackerel a day later.