Chef Josh Niland's top tips for cooking Murray cod on the barbecue

• Recipes to cook the Good Food Guide trends, including Murray cod

For a lot of people, cooking a whole fish in the oven or throwing a fish onto the barbecue can seem like a huge and frightening task, but Aquna Murray cod is vastly different from your average plate-sized snapper. This is due to the thickness of the skin, which can tolerate the variable heat of the barbecue. That's why working on a wire rack is incredibly important because it gives you the freedom to control the heat to go on and off the grill. By cooking on the bone, you retain moisture and structure, activating the wonderful amount of gelatine with the fish.

My top tips for cooking with cod

• If you are grilling on the barbecue, don't throw the Murray cod straight on the bars. Place a cake rack on the grill and then put the fish on top. By doing that, you'll be able to simply take the fish on and off.
• While we all love cooking fillets of fish, cooking a whole fish on the bone allows you to access its beautiful natural gelatine. This gelatine carries the garnishes that you build around the flavours of the dish.
• Try cooking with the skin on. While skin might not be everybody's favourite and it might be something that you naturally peel off, try to leave it on because so much of the Omega 3 and the good fats are just beneath the skin's surface. Even leave the skin on when steaming or poaching and peel off before serving – not only is this a good reference point to know if the fish is done, but also gives Murray cod so much more flavour.
• It's very simple to grill a beautiful piece of Murray cod and pair it with a salad or a handful of chips, however it's quite an extraordinary fish that can tolerate, carry and almost become better when built around robust flavours. I've always interpreted Aquna Murray cod as either the best roast chicken you ever had or the best roast pork you ever had! Think about what you would you serve with Sunday night roast chicken, and then apply the fish into that context. We're talking beautiful rich gravy made from the bones, lovely peas and broad beans and asparagus that are all in season, and then into summertime, you could treat it like you would a roast porchetta and serve with stone fruits and cod-fat roast potatoes.

Whole barbecued Murray cod with smoked gremolata and cabbage salad

INGREDIENTS

• 1 x whole 800g Aquna Murray cod, gutted and scaled
• 100ml extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt flakes and freshly cracked black pepper

For the gremolata

• 300g good quality tinned hot smoked sardines, bones removed (optional)
• finely chopped zest and juice of 4 lemons
• 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 100g fresh horseradish, finely grated
• 300ml extra-virgin olive oil
• sea salt flakes and freshly cracked black pepper
• 20g (1 cup) flat-leaf (Italian) parsley leaves

For the cabbage salad

• 3 packed cups of finely shredded white cabbage
• 1 cup coarsely chopped parsley

Pickled currants

• 100g dried currants
• 150ml red wine vinegar to cover

Salt and vinegar pepitas

• 125g pepitas
• 50ml sherry vinegar
• pinch of salt

Buttermilk dressing

• 250g mayonnaise
• 150ml buttermilk
• 30g Dijon mustard
• 3g onion powder
• 25ml apple cider vinegar

METHOD

1. Take the Aquna Murray cod out of the packaging, wipe the fish thoroughly inside and out and transfer it to a wire rack.
2. Place in the refrigerator and allow the fan in the fridge to dry the skin out overnight.
3. The next day, place the whole cod in the centre of a cutting board and begin to scissor the fins from the top of the fish and from the collars on both sides.
4. To make the gremolata, place the sardine meat, lemon zest, garlic, horseradish and olive oil in a bowl. Stir to combine, then season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Set aside at room temperature.
5. For the charcoal grill, make sure the grill is hot and the charcoal has cooked down to hot embers. Divide the coals across the floor of the grill to create a cooler side and a more intense side.
6. When you are ready to cook the fish, remove it from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before cooking. Brush the skin of the body and head with a little oil and season liberally with salt flakes.
7. Place the body of the fish, skin side down, on a cake rack that sits on the grill bars over a high heat.
8. Cook for 3 minutes on each side or until nicely coloured, then move to the cooler side of the grill.
9. Cook the body for about 10 minutes on both sides, or until a probe thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the fish reaches 42C. Remove from the heat and set the wire rack over a tray to rest.
10. While the fish is resting, stir the parsley through the gremolata.
11. To serve, spoon the gremolata into the centre of a large plate and then place the rested, grilled Murray cod on top of that.
12. Bring cutlery to the table to divide up and share.

To make the cabbage salad

1. Place currants in a container and cover with vinegar. Best marinated for 1 day prior to use, to soften the currants and pickle lightly.
2. For the pepitas, combine all ingredients in a baking tray and mix together. Bake in a 150C oven for 5 minutes at a time, stirring every 5 minutes, until all liquid has evaporated and the seeds turn a uniform golden brown colour.
3. Combine the buttermilk dressing ingredients together in a mixing bowl, thoroughly.
4. To assemble the salad, place the shredded cabbage and herbs into a large mixing bowl and dress liberally with the buttermilk dressing to take it to a stage that resembles a coleslaw.
5. Add pickled currants to taste, and then a big handful of the pepitas – these are salty, acidic and crunchy and make the whole salad come together. Serve immediately alongside the fish.

Serves 4

Josh Niland is an ambassador for Aquna Murray cod