Cedar Plank Grilled Loup De Mer (Sea Bass)

• 1 cedar plank - fish sized
• 1 whole Lup De Mar - scaled and cleaned
• kosher salt
• olive oil
• 4 large basil leaves
• thinly sliced tomato
• thinly sliced red onion
• thinly sliced lemon
• kitchen twine
• a squirt bottle filled with water (just in case!)

1. A few hours ahead of cooking, soak your plank in water - you will have to weight it to hold it under. I do mine in the sink with a heavy pot. Heat your grill to HIGH when you are ready to get started.
2. Rinse the fish and pat it dry. Sprinkle the inside with olive oil and kosher salt.
3. Line the inside of the fish with the basil leaves, then layer the sliced tomato, onion and lemon. How many slices will depend on the size of the fish.
4. Salt the outside of the fish, then tie it up with kitchen twine - roast style. Lay it on the plank.
5. Head out to the grill. Make sure it is VERY hot. Lay the plank / fish on the grill and lower the cover. You are going to want to check every couple of minutes JUST in case the plank isn't completely soaked - coals and smoke are GOOD, a flaming plank is BAD. That's where the squirt bottle comes in.
6. You might want to squirt the bottom part of the plank a couple times in either case to make it smoke up a bit. The smoke adds a TON of great flavor.
7. When the plank is blackened and the fish is toasty brown on the "up" side, you're done! (see photo) Bring it in and cut the twine away. If you are a wimp (like me) remove the head and serve!
8. Caution - the fish I cooked did have a lot of bones so I had to pull the meat out carefully. Just depends on your particular fish ...

plank fish, lup de, kosher salt, olive oil, basil, tomato, red onion, lemon, kitchen twine, water

Taken from food52.com/recipes/2465-cedar-plank-grilled-loup-de-mer-sea-bass (may not work)