Recipes Grilled Whole Fish Be the first to rate & review! Dave Pasternack lets fish come to room temperature and dries it well before grilling. "An ice-cold fish gives off steam, making the skin stick to the grill," he explains. By Dave Pasternack Dave Pasternack Dave Pasternack is a James Beard Award-winning chef renowned for his seafood expertise and for introducing crudo to the American culinary lexicon, first served at his acclaimed New York City restaurant Esca in 2000. Called "the fish whisperer" by The New York Times, Pasternak co-authored the bestselling cookbook The Young Man and the Sea (2007).Experience: Dave Pasternack grew up on Long Island with a passion for fishing. Even as he began living and cooking in Manhattan after culinary school, Pasternack would spend as many days off as he could fishing along the Atlantic.After working in mostly French-themed eateries for two decades, he opened the Italian restaurant Esca. There he built a reputation for uncompromising dedication to serving only the freshest from the ocean and leaning into what he did best, cooking seafood. Pasternack famously sourced his fish from over 50 purveyors. He was known to not only haul in the fish he caught but also the wild game he'd shot to use in his restaurant. In addition to Esca, Pasternack opened Barchetta and Barca. He has been featured in such publications as The New York Times, The New Yorker, Gourmet, Esquire, Vogue, GQ, and others. Pasternack has appeared on Today show, Martha Stewart, Lidia's Italy in America, Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, and competed on Iron Chef America. He closed Esca in 2021.Education Dave Pasternack is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on May 9, 2017 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: © John Kernick Active Time: 30 mins Total Time: 1 hrs Yield: 2 Ingredients One 2-pound fish, such as branzino, red snapper or sea bass, cleaned and scaled Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing and drizzling Salt Freshly ground pepper 4 parsley stems 1 crushed garlic clove 2 halved lemon slices Directions Light a grill. Let the fish stand at room temperature for 20 minutes; pat dry with paper towels. Brush the fish all over with olive oil and season generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the parsley stems, garlic and lemon. Brush the grate with oil. Grill the fish over moderately high heat, uncovered, until lightly charred and it releases easily from the grate, 10 minutes. Turn and grill until the flesh is white throughout, 10 minutes longer. Transfer the fish to a platter and let stand for 10 minutes. Drizzle with oil and serve. Rate it Print