Episode 86
Dobar dan, prijatelji!
We’re glad you’re with us for another great episode.
Today we’ll learn a bunch of phrases that will help you give compliments to people.
Positivity is always welcome, so let’s get to it!
Lesson - Compliments
compliment - kompliment
You did an excellent job. - Super si to napravio/napravila.
That’s a good idea. - To je dobra ideja.
You are very creative. - Vi ste jako kreativni.
You’re a good listener. - Dobro slušaš.
You light up a room. - Obasjas prostoriju.
Others can look up to you. - Drugi se mogu ugledati na vas.
First class or Top Shelf! - Prva liga. (very slang)
Super Slatko Report
In this edition of the SSR, DJ Moe will talk about some great recipes for all of us that like to cook on the grill. Outdoor cooking is fun and if done right, super delicious!
This Super Slatko Report is ia summation of my research on Gradele, with special attention on grilling fish.
From the many articles I’ve read on the internet and the videos I’ve seen on YouTube, there isn’t a lot to this, but at the same time this looks and sounds easy to mess up. To be honest, there wasn’t a ton of source material, everything I put together here, comes from a variety of sources. I get the impression the artticles written and the videos I found, were done by or taken from people that have a lot of experience with Gradele, seeing it done 1st hand for a lifetime and then doing it for many years themselves. I know from how my father in law speaks to grilling fish; the most important thing is to keep the fish juicy. One also needs to make sure its seasoned well, has to have the right amount of char from the fire; anything less is definitely a reflection on the chef. So there is a little pressure here, I definitely wanted to learn as much as I could, prior to trying this myself.
From what I was able to find, Gradele is as much a style of cooking as it is a way of life during the summer.
If you remember back when I spoke about Peka, back in E56 , we discovered, Peka means a couple things.
It’s a tool used in cooking
It’s a technique
Its also a style of cuisine
Same thing goes for Gradele.
It’s a tool, basically a grill or grate
It’s a technique used to cook a variety of things
You can cook fish, but also meat too, veggies, even snails!
It’s a style of cuisine.
So at the surface, Gradele is a form of barbecue, but it”s mostly associated with freshly caught fish, cooked over hot coals. I actually found multiple recipes online that specifically called for, Fish - Freshly Caught; as the main ingredient. I love that, it speaks to the true nature of how this dish is best served. It also speaks to the people who eat it and where they live. The time of year maybe, the types of gatherings, etc..
But in a pinch, I’m sure one could use a fish that was frozen and thawed, but I’m sure theres some loss there, that maybe a finer pallet could detect…
Then you get to the rest of the ingredients.
Olive oil
Salt
Garlic
Rosemary bunch (used as a brush)
The cooking directions
Brush fish with olive oil
Use a tied up bunch of Rosemary as your brush.
Cook Over hot coals
And thats pretty much it.
But I still had questions, as the resources I found did’t go in-depth enough for me to have the confidence I needed going into the cook.
What kind of fish?
How do i clean the fish?
How much olive oil do I use?
How much salt?
Around what temp should the coals be?
How long should I keep the fish on the grill?
When do I flip it over?
Should I flip it over?
Some of these questions were answered while others I had to figure out myself. After my searching, I really just wanted to peak over someone’s shoulder and see the process first hand, from start to finish. Feel the heat myself, take in the aromas, see the fish change color over the coals; but I knew I wouldn’t have that. So i kept on researching and was able to answer some of those questions on my own and feel ok; here’s what I found.
What kind of fish? Fresh, of course, but what type is most commonly used? Answer, Branzino. A type of sea bass. But most fresh caught fish is acceptable.
How do I clean the fish? There is a YouTube wonderland of content to choose from for this one, if you comfortable doing that. Or just ask your butcher do it for you, if you buy from a store/market, most are cleaned for you already.
How much olive oil? A tbsp? A 1/4 cup? 1/2 cup? The idea here is to make sure the fish doesn’t stick to the Gradele. So the answer is as much as you need to accomplish that. In the prep, most people drizzled olive oil inside and outside of the fish. Then they use olive oil on the grill to make it non-stick once the Gradele was hot enough. Most people used the Rosemary to spread Olive oil on the fish during the cook, using it as a brush technique. And lastly you drizzle more olive oil at the end when you plate the fish. Olive oil is literally in every step of this.
How much salt? You apply this to fish in prep after the olive oil. Looked to me like a couple of rough-large pinches are used inside and out, per fish.
What temp should the coals be? Nobody mentioned coal temps in their recipes, so I figured that I would use the white coal rule of thumb. Once your coals or wood have turned white and you have a clean burn = no smoke, you are good to cook. So that’s what I was going to do.
How long should I cook the fish? Depends on the size of your fish and your coal temp, but for a small-medium sized fish, 3-5mins per side. So yes, you will need to flip it over.
A couple things worth noting,
From the videos, flipping can be tough, you will need to do this carefully to not have it break apart on you. Maybe look into a basket, but this too will need be non stick = More Olive Oil.
There are a few variations of side slices you make to the fish prior to cooking. This helps to allow olive oil and salt flavors to get deeper into your fish, also helps with cooking the fish thoroughly. Saw some variations on this, but most went with 1-3 slightly angled perpendicular slashes along the body.
Brushing the olive oil using the rosemary bunch during the cook. I don’t know that this technique imparts a whole lot of flavor, so this could just be part of the tradition; so for me, I would do it. But I would love to hear from someone that has actually tried this method t to know if it translates flavor in the end, just curious…
Garlic is mentioned in a few recipes, but they don’t tell you how to use it. In one recipe, they show it sliced and sautéed at the end on the plate with the fish. Maybe it’s meant to be eaten with the meal when its all said and done? I saw another video where a whole bulb of garlic is cut in 1/2 and roasted on the Gradele and was served roasted on the plate with the fish. Uncle Mikes family, minces the garlic and makes a marinade with other herbs and you guessed it, combined with more olive oil. Let us know what works for you!
One thing my father in law always mentions in his fond memories of Gradele, is the type of wood used in the cook, that being dry grape vine. Saw this mentioned once in an article as well. So if you have that laying around, that will get you some bonus points for sure. The flavors I’m told are slightly bitter and aromatic.
Lastly, what pairs with this meal best?
roasted potatoes
Swiss chard
And a local wine
I have yet to attempt this cook, but I definitely plant to. I hope some of this information is helpful in leading you to a successful Gradele fish cook one day. Let us know if you do this or try this and how it went for you, send pictures!
And thats it for my Super Slatko Report.
