The Only Fish Rub Recipe You'll Ever Need

Grilled fish has never tasted better thanks to this delicious herb and citrus based seasoning blend.

In 2012 I had the pleasure of working closely with Marietta Sims. She has a great biography and serious culinary chops. She came in two days a week and tested recipes, offered great suggestions, prepped food for photography, and kept me in my place. We worked together for several weeks trying to perfect an herb blend for grilled fish, with my ideas leading us down several wrong paths. She got this one on the right track and polished it highly. I’ve used it on a wide variety of fish since then and it works wonderfully.

Since there is no salt in this recipe, (click here to read why our rub recipes do not have salt), salting the meat first is a must. This process is called dry brining. Salt will penetrate deep into meat so you should get it on in advance, perhaps overnight. The rest of the spices and herbs cannot penetrate very deep, so the rub can go on anytime, even just before you start cooking. The general rule of thumb is 1/2 teaspoon Morton Coarse Kosher Salt per pound (453.6 grams) of meat (don’t include bone, and ribs are about half bone).

Marietta’s Fish Rub Recipe

4.06 from 75 votes

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This is the perfect herb blend for grilled fish. This flavor enhancing herb mix is sure to become one of your favorites. Go to a market where they carry a nice variety of very fresh fish. Always check to be sure that on whole fresh fish the eyes are not sunken in or cloudy. Fish should smell fresh, like the ocean, and not that funky, fishy smell that makes so many people dislike fish. Gills should be bright red. If you are far from the waters in which it was caught, fresh frozen may be better than "fresh" that has been sitting around for days or frozen that has been thawed. Nowadays a lot of seafood is flash frozen right on the fishing boats. If the fish isn't perfectly fresh, submerge it in milk for an hour or two. It will pull out much of the funk. Whatever fish is your pleasure, this flavor enhancing herb mix is not the only fish rub in the ocean, but it is sure to become one of your favorite go-to dry rub seasoning blend for BBQ and grilling fish.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Course: Sauces and Condiments

Cuisine: American

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 tablespoon dried chives
• 1 tablespoon dried tarragon
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon dried chervil
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground dried green peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon dried lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

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Method

 

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1. Prep. Crush all the ingredients so they are about the same size. You can crush them in a mortar and pestle, or in a bowl with a wooden spoon.
2. Combine all of the ingredients and store in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid. It will keep for a few months.
3. Serve. Season your favorite fish, grill, and serve.
4. When ready to use, salt the both sides of the meat lightly. We want the salt to hit the moisture and dissolve and get sucked in. If you can, salt it at least an hour in advance. Now sprinkle the rub on the flesh side of the fish. For a filet about the size of a business envelope, use about 1 teaspoon. If you plan to eat the skin, season it too. Then sprinkle on the rub. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Notes

About the peppercorns. If you can’t find green, you can substitute black. The taste is significantly different but it works fine.
About the herbs. This recipe calls for dried herbs so you can mix a batch and store it. You can use fresh, but they taste very different. Use 2 to 3 times as much fresh as dried because dried is more concentrated.
About the salt. Remember, Morton’s coarse kosher salt is half the concentration of table salt so if you use table salt, use half as much. Click here to read more about salt and how it works.

 

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