Grilled fish is a summer staple for excellent reason, but certain types of fish work better on a hot grill than others. Joonas Jokiniemi, a former pro chef who runs grilling-advice site Grill Smoke Love, told us that “dry and flaky fish are not good for grilling. They are very delicate and easily stick to the grill grates and fall apart. In addition, they usually end up being dry and tasteless when grilled.”
Hank Shaw, a cookbook author and James Beard Award winner behind the podcast ”Hunt Gather Cook,” also pointed out that skinless fish fillets can be problematic on the grill. “Fish is so delicate that you need the skin to hold things together ― if you lose that, the meat flakes apart and will fall through the grill grates.”
Shaw explained that most freshwater fish ― including walleye, perch and bass ― fall into this category, as would black seabass, flounder, snapper and Pacific rockfish.
“All do work well if you have the skin on the fish, but even then, the trick is to not flip the fish,” Shaw advised. “Simply cover the grill and let the ambient heat finish cooking.” To be on the safe side, stick with fattier and more oily fish (like tuna and salmon) when cooking on the grill.