♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Today on "America's Test Kitchen," Bridget makes grilled whole trout with marjoram and lemon.

Jack challenges Bridget and Julia to a head-to-head tasting of lemonade, and Julia makes a grilled vegetable platter.

It's all coming up right here on "America's Test Kitchen."

♪♪ "America's Test Kitchen" is brought to you by the following.

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Plugrà -- from professional kitchens to your home.

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Visit us at surlatable.com.

♪♪ -The most difficult thing to cook on the grill, by far, is fish because the flesh is delicate and it always sticks to the grill grates.

But today, Bridget's going to solve that problem with one easy solution.

You're going to cook the whole fish.

-The whole fish.

Exactly.

Skin on, whole fish.

It does solve a lot of problems.

For one thing, the skin is going to protect the inside, so you're going to get really tender flesh.

But also, these are nicely portioned.

-Mm-hm.

-So one per person.

-Ah.

-Alright.

But before we get to prepping the fish, we got a little bit of flavoring to deal with.

I'm going to create an herb salt.

And this is marjoram.

-Hmm.

-And it's part of the same genus as oregano.

So it has kind of an oregano taste to it.

-Mm-hm.

-But if you can't find fresh marjoram, you can use oregano or you can use fresh thyme.

-Okay.

-Alright.

So I'm going to strip some of the leaves off.

So I'm just going to mince this.

Alright.

So I need two teaspoons of freshly-minced marjoram.

I'm just going to put it off to the side there.

And next up, a little bit of lemon zest.

For serving, especially for a smaller fish, I like to use the zest.

It's a lot of flavor, infusing tons of flavor, without a lot of effort.

So I'm just going to zest some lemon here.

We're going to use whole lemons later on to serve.

Alright let's see where we are here.

I need about a teaspoon here.

That is right.

So I'm actually going to keep that right there.

And I'm going to bring my marjoram.

I did mention salt, so I better get this onto the board.

This is two teaspoons of kosher salt.

Gonna sprinkle that right over our mixture and give it all a nice mince together.

And we're using kosher salt here so it doesn't dissolve before our eyes.

So I'm just going to put this into a bowl.

Let's mosey on down to the fish.

These are about ten ounces.

Now, when it comes to trout, usually what you can find is rainbow trout.

And you know it's rainbow trout because it has this little line here.

And these have been gutted, they've been cleaned, they've been scaled.

But we do need to do a little bit here.

You can see the fins have been removed from some of these, but this one still needs its fins removed.

So let's move on down here.

Alright.

So just going to cut off the little fins here.

-Sometimes I find they can get caught under the grill grate, and it just makes them harder to maneuver on the grill.

-Exactly.

Alright.

So you've got the ones up here by the head.

These are called the pectoral fins.

And this is actually a good chance for me to show what you should look for when you're shopping for trout.

You get a nice clear eye there.

If the eyes are looking a little cloudy, just run.

Run in a different direction.

And it's very firm.

Like, when I press on it, it pops right back.

-Yep.

-So I'm going to get rid of this dorsal fin up here.

Now, I've rinsed and dried these other three, so now I just need to give this one here a rinse inside.

It's just a good idea to do this to get any of that kind of film on the outside off.

-Or loose scales.

-Exactly.

So if you wouldn't mind turning the water on there for me.

-There you go.

-Give it a quick rinse.

Alright.

Back onto the tray.

Thank you.

-Here you go.

-Thanks.

And I'm just going to pat this dry, this last one, both sides and then inside.

So I'm going to divide this mixture, the marjoram and the lemon and the salt, evenly on the interior of these fish.

A little bit of pepper.

Just to taste.

We're going to close this up just like that.

Alright, so we're going to let these sit here for about 10 minutes.

During that time, the lemon, the marjoram, and, of course, the salt are going to work its way in to the flesh before we move on.

So ten minutes later.

We allowed that -- some of that flavor to infuse into the flesh of the fish.

One more thing before we get out on the grill.

Fish sticks to the grill.

-Mm-hm.

-So you want to make sure that it's not going to stick.

Now, a lot of recipes will just oil -- put oil on the outside of the fish.

We're going to take a similar track here, but add some flavor with mayonnaise.

-[ Laughs ] -Two tablespoons.

It's just oil, basically.

-Yeah.

-A little bit of seasonings, vinegar.

It's going to stick to the fish rather than just melt away into the grill.

-Interesting.

-Yeah.

-We're also going to take this opportunity to add a little bit of honey, and the honey is going to help promote browning quickly.

So a half a teaspoon of honey, two tablespoons of mayo.

Just mix it together.

And it's not enough that it's going to give any kind of mayonnaise flavor at all.

-Yeah.

-So don't have to worry about that.

Just going to use a brush here.

Make sure I get it especially on the body.

Alright.

So, the second side.

I'm just going to finish applying this to all the fish, then I'll wash my hands so we can head outside.

-Sounds good.

-Alright, Julia, it's time to grill the trout.

I've got here four quarts of charcoal.

Now, I lit this in the chimney starter, and it's just partially covered with ash.

-Mm-hm.

-That's exactly what we want, because we want it to still have a little bit of time to get hotter and hotter.

I'm going to use my grill gloves here.

I just want to move this right here.

There we go.

And now I'm going to put in there -- I've got here a disposable aluminum pan, and I've poked some holes in it.

It's 12 half-inch holes, just to allow some of that venting to come through to keep the coals alive.

-Okay.

-Because we're going to use this as kind of a reservoir for our charcoal.

We want it to be nice, concentrated heat so that the fish cooks quickly.

Alright.

So I'm going to dump these in.

So you can see, this is like Prometheus grilling here.

-[ Laughs ] -Super hot.

And then now, I'm going to put the grill grate just like that.

Alright.

So I'm going to put a lid on the grill.

And I've got the top vent here open.

Bottom vent's open all the way, too.

So we're going to let this grill grate heat up for about five minutes, minimum.

You want that grill grate to get super hot before we put the fish on.

So five minutes.

-Yeah.

-Come back.

-Alright.

-Whew, this grill is hot.

It's been five minutes, so I'm going to take the lid off.

So we're going to scrape off any of the schmutz that's on the grill here.

Next, I'm going to season the grill.

I've got a little bit of vegetable oil here, just because we really want to build up the layers of nonstick.

So now it's time to put the fish on, now that I've seasoned that grill grate really well I'm just going to lay these right over.

We're going to leave this for just a couple of minutes -- maybe 2 to 4 minutes.

It's going to cook directly over the grates really, really fast.

Looking for that underside to get nice and brown.

Alright, time to check these out.

And what I'm going to do is I'm going to use one of these spatulas to kind of pull it up and then slide my other one over, and then I'm going to use this spatula to kind of land that.

And I like to do the two center ones first because they cook a little faster than the exterior ones.

So we're going to leave these, again, another 2 to 4 minutes until the second side looks nice and browned as well.

And I'm going to look for an internal temperature between 130-135.

-Okay.

-Now I mentioned these just cook a couple of minutes, but really, taking the temperature is the best way to know if these fish are done all the way through.

130 to 135 is what I'm looking for.

I'd say 133 is splitting the difference.

So I'm going to take these off the grill.

I'm going to use both spatulas to ensure that I'm getting them all off in one piece.

-Look at that release!

-Well, it was that extreme oiling of the grates and the mayonnaise, too.

Just like to support the head.

So dinner is almost served.

We just need to let these rest five minutes.

Let's head inside.

-Okay.

We are ready to eat.

I'm going to give you this one right here.

Alright.

Absolutely gorgeous.

-Mm-hm.

-Would you like some lemon?

-Oh, yeah.

Mmm!

-I don't even know why I gave you a knife.

-Mmm!

The flavor of the marjoram and the zest -- it's not overpowering, but it matches the trout in a perfect way.

-It's just enough.

It's really well seasoned too.

-Mm-hm.

-But the flesh is so moist.

-Oh, yeah.

Bridget, this is delicious.

Thank you for showing me how to do that.

-You bet.

-If you want to make a wonderful grilled trout, start by making a seasoning salt with fresh marjoram and lemon zest.

Brush the trout with mayonnaise and a little honey, and use two spatulas to gently flip the fish out of the grill.

From "America's Test Kitchen," an easy and impressive recipe for grilled whole trout with marjoram and lemon.

♪♪ This is fantastic.

♪♪ -When there's lemonade around, it means it's summer, even in the depth of winter.

So I'm bringing a ray of sunshine.

These are all refrigerated lemonades, so dig in.

These are some of our favorites and some of our not-so-favorites.

-Okay.

-Um, you're going to be looking for, obviously, you want it to be tart.

It needs to have lemon flavor.

Second, how much sugar are you getting?

Now, there was some disagreement among tasters.

Kind of fell into two camps... -Whoa.

-...people who wanted a fair amount of sugar along with the lemon flavor, and other people who were like, "Give me the acidity, give me the tartness."

Right.

The other thing is, there's some other sweeteners besides sugar here.

-Mm-hm.

-Mm-hm.

-So that's not necessarily a good thing.

Some of them have orange in them.

I bet you can't tell which one has orange in it.

-Mmm.

Hmm.

-Initial impression -- this particular one, I believe it has orange in it.

Not great.

Not great at all.

Not refreshing, not tart, not sweet.

It's just wrong.

It tastes wrong to me.

[ Laughter ] This one's a little too sweet for me.

It almost tastes like a carbonated lemonade beverage without the carbonation in it.

-Okay.

Flat carbonated lemonade?

[ Laughs ] -Yum.

That sounds delicious.

-I'm terrible at this, that's what I'm learning.

I like freshly-squeezed lemonade I think is what I'm just learning.

-Yeah, that's what I'm learning.

Alright, so this is, like, an "ade," but I don't know what fruit it is.

It's a fruit-ade.

This is, like, water with a little sugar added, and it feels like it's got those fake lemon from the -- you know, the produce section, the plastic lemon?

-Mm-hm.

Yeah.

-That's what that tastes like.

-The "real lemon."

-Yeah.

-This tastes like it has seltzer.

It's frizzante.

It has little bubbles in it, which I was like, is this spiked?

Is this one of those spiked lemonades?

Because that's kind of what it tastes like.

Right?

Mm-hm.

-Yeah.

Exactly.

-There's no hard lemonade here.

[ Laughs ] -I liked it the most out of all of these because I think it has the most flavor.

This one I feel like I -- like I've bought this one before.

Whatever one this one is, it doesn't have a ton of anything.

It's not too sweet, not too acidic.

It's a good mixer is how I would phrase that.

-I was actually thinking that about both of these.

I was like, okay, I could mix that with something.

I'd say this is my favorite, though, only because it's the least offensive to me.

-Okay.

And you are going to go with?

-Yeah, it tastes like a cocktail.

So I'm picking two.

-Alright, alright.

So you picked "B" and you picked "A."

-Reluctantly.

-I'm going to start with Julia.

-Okay.

Because she's the winner.

-Ah, there you go.

-[ Whistles ] -You picked the Natalie's.

So... -Oh, okay.

-This one?

-...Natalie's was our favorite of the people who liked it tart.

So this has 20% fruit juice.

It's very easy -- when you're looking at the label, if it's below 15%, it's going to be pretty sweet.

If it's above 15% fruit juice, it's going to be pretty tart.

So Natalie's is favored among the people who like it tart.

-Mm-hm.

-Now, Miss Lancaster.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

So you picked "A..." -There's just something odd in this one.

-...which is the Minute Maid.

-Yeah.

-You usually have a very good palate for things that are not real.

-Does it have, like, artificial sweeteners?

-This has sucralose in it.

-I can't -- What does that say about me?

-The other favorite of the panel was "C," which neither of you seemed all that wild about... -No.

-...because this is the sweet choice.

-Mm-hm, yeah.

-So this one's got a much lower fruit juice content.

And for people who like lemonade but don't want it to pucker their mouths, the Tropicana was their favorite.

And then at the bottom of the rankings was the Turkey Hill, which people thought didn't have enough lemon flavor.

-I'm going to squeeze my own lemons.

-So there you have it.

Lemonade for everyone, except maybe not for Bridget.

-[ Laughs ] ♪♪ -Grilled vegetables are often relegated to side dish status, and that's just sad.

So Julia is here, and she's going to shine her always bright light on grilled vegetables and turn them into a summer showstopper.

-Mm-hm.

-You have something beautiful here.

-Yeah.

Thank you.

Alright.

We're going to start with zucchini.

So you want two zucchini.

And we're going to cut them pretty thick -- three-quarters of an inch thick.

And you want to trim off the ends.

And I'm just going to take ever-so-slight thin strip off each side.

This just makes sure that they lay nice and flat on the grill.

-Okay.

-Also, it exposes the flesh so it gets nice grill marks on it.

And then three-quarters of an inch thick.

Depending on the size of your zucchini, it's probably just in half.

-Okay.

-So there we go.

Alright.

Next up, plum tomatoes.

Now, grilling plum tomatoes is kind of new to me.

It is so easy.

-Hmm.

-And they're so good.

They kind of simmer in their own juices on the grill.

It's kind of a game changer.

Alright.

So we have four tomatoes here, cored, cut in half.

Alright.

Now, for the eggplant, we're just going to cut this into easy-to-manage pieces right crosswise about half inch thick.

-Okay.

-Alright, so there's the eggplant.

I'm going to leave these over here for a reason.

Next up, bell pepper.

Alright.

So, for a bell pepper, you want to slice off the top and the bottom.

Save those.

And then to take the ribs and the core out, we're going to open up through one side.

And then very gently, just use your knife to take out any ribs and any seeds.

These nice flat pieces, again, really easy to maneuver on the grill.

I am going to cut it in half into smaller pieces.

There we go.

Red onion.

Oh, I love grilled red onion.

So we're going to cut this, again, half inch thick.

Notice I left the peel on.

-Mm-hm.

-I'm going to save peeling for after I cut it.

Sometimes, that outer first layer of onion is a little leathery, too, so that's a good time to peel that off.

Now the thing about onions is they have a tendency, you know, to fall apart on the grill.

-Sure.

-As they cook, those rings soften.

So a trick is to take a toothpick, and you just want a toothpick all the way through the onion right to the core, just so they hold together.

-Mm-hm.

-Alright.

Now, to season these, just a little olive oil, some salt, and pepper.

You don't want to go crazy with the olive oil because things will start to taste greasy.

So this is three tablespoons.

We're going to brush all the vegetable except the eggplant.

Sprinkle with a little salt.

This is half a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper.

Season both sides.

Flip it over.

All that last little bit of oil we saved for the eggplant -- again, because those eggplants are like little sponges, and that has a tendency to make them greasy.

-Yes.

-So salt and pepper.

Alright.

So now, the thing that makes this whole platter really come alive is a really simple vinaigrette.

It's just lemon juice and olive oil, but it has a ton of fresh basil.

-Gorgeous.

-And that just, you know, makes everything taste summery, makes the vegetables come alive.

So you want about a quarter cup of basil.

A quick chop.

Nice sharp knife.

Leave this here for now.

-Okay.

-Onto the vinaigrette.

-Nice.

-Like I said, super simple.

But the thing that I think makes it taste really special is that it has fresh lemon juice.

This is two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, Dijon -- heavy Dijon -- four teaspoons.

-Oh.

-Yeah, which is quite a lot.

It tastes so good with the grilled veg.

Two cloves of garlic.

Gonna use a rasp style grater to really turn the garlic into a paste that works easily into the vinaigrette.

Half a teaspoon of salt.

Quarter teaspoon of ground black pepper.

Now I'm going to slowly whisk in the olive oil.

This is six tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil here.

Oh, perfect.

-Hmm.

-And in goes the fresh basil -- again, about a quarter cup.

I'm going to put this into just a little serving bowl so people can add it to the veg as they like.

-Mmm.

-Alright, so we have the bread.

We have the vegetables.

Now we just got to go head out to the grill.

-Sounds great.

-Alright, we're ready to grill.

I've been heating this grill up with all the burners on high for 15 minutes, so it should be -- oh, good and hot.

You can see the vapors... -Yup.

-...coming off the grill.

So now is the perfect time to oil the grill grates.

So here I have a pair of long tongs, a wad of paper towels, a little bowl of vegetable oil.

I'm just going to rub the vegetable oil right over the grill grates.

Alright.

Now, the hard part.

Everything goes on the grill.

There's no special rhyme or reason.

Everything goes on the grill.

I'm going to take things off the grill as they finish cooking -- anywhere from 10 to 16 minutes for everything.

-Okay.

-This grill is gonna be packed.

And then we'll do the bread after all the vegetables come off.

-Okay.

-Alright.

-When in doubt, if you're grilling anything, just add a few cut lemons to the grill.

-Totally.

-Yeah.

And you don't even have to eat them.

You just look at them.

-[ Laughs ] So I'm just going to turn all these burners down to medium high, because that's perfect for cooking these vegetables.

Alright.

That, my friend, is a packed grill.

-Mmm!

Smells great already.

-Yeah.

And it's -- I mean, this is pretty easy.

We're just going to keep flipping things and getting nice and brown and tender.

And we'll take them off the grill as they finish cooking.

Alright.

Now the thing about the tomatoes -- I'm going to start flipping them over because I don't want them to start to fall apart because that cut side down... -Right.

-...because I want some nice grill marks.

Oh, let's take a look at these lemons.

-Oh!

Perfect.

-Stunning.

-You can see that little caramelized brown bits.

I just love how the juice goes from acidic to a sweet lemon.

Alright.

Those peppers need to come off the grill.

Here, I have a nice bowl with a little plastic wrap at the ready.

I'm going to take the peppers off the grill, put them in the bowl.

-Alright.

-Oh, smells so good.

-It does.

Alright.

Now, we're just going to cover the peppers with a little plastic wrap.

-Right.

-Oh, you can see the steam starting to condense on the top.

It's going to soften the flesh of those peppers a little bit and make them easier to peel.

I think everything's ready to come off.

There we go.

Alright.

We're going to let those vegetables sit and chill out for a little bit.

And while they do that, we're going to throw some bread on the grill.

Ugh, this is -- you throw lemons on the grill.

I'm always throwing bread on the grill.

It's such a nice way to toast bread for dinner.

Picks up a little of that grill flavor, freshens it up, especially if it's not a super fresh baguette.

Just a few minutes each side.

Oh!

-Mm, perfect.

-Perfectly toasted.

And that is it.

Everything's perfectly cooked.

We can head inside.

-Alright.

I got the veg.

-Thank you.

Doesn't it look gorgeous?

-It looked great outside.

It looks even better now that it's closer to eating time.

-Yeah, I know.

Let's get them on the platter while they're still warm.

I'm just going to arrange these right on the board.

A couple here, couple there.

-Little mirror image.

-Yeah.

You notice this, right?

-Oh, yeah.

-This is burrata.

Kind of fits with this somewhat Italian theme.

It has that liquid center that's gorgeous.

A little here, a little there.

And then just break up the onions.

I'm going to put little piles of grilled onions.

-Lovely.

-Alright.

And now we have those peppers that have been steaming away.

-Right.

-I'm going to get rid of the skins.

This is kind of optional, if I'm feeling rushed.

I kind of like the flavor of those charred, bitter skins, but it's not for everybody.

So these skins will come off pretty easily just using a paring knife, just kind of scraping it off.

Alright, get these skins out of the way here.

Now, I'm just going to cut these into strips that are going to be easier to put on grilled bread.

Onto the board they go, making this nice valley in the middle.

That might be nice for the bread.

Kind of a bread river running through the vegetable mountains.

-Mmm!

Sure.

-Here we go.

-I like the bread river.

-A few olives, add with that Mediterranean theme.

You can see what I mean.

This is a meal, but it also could be a fabulous appetizer.

-That would be lovely.

-You know?

Now for the burrata.

A little bit of olive oil.

-Gorgeous.

-Mm-hm.

-Mm.

-There we go.

-Some nice, flaky sea salt.

-Loving it.

-Remember I had made a little extra basil for that vinaigrette?

I don't mind if I do.

A little of that.

I like also adding just a few sprigs of basil.

-Mmm.

-Last trick.

Now, this is not in the recipe, but it's what I do.

I like to just take a little of this vinaigrette and put it on the zucchini and the eggplant.

-Mmm.

-Just helps keep them moist because they have a tendency to dry out.

Now I also have -- These are easy to make fun of.

I know.

They're -- I like them.

-They're adorable.

-They're cute little tongs.

I have so many of these in my basement because if you put these around or you have a nice jar of them, many people can attack the platter at the same time.

-You don't eat with these?

[ Laughter ] -Ah, I don't know where to start.

I'm going to cut open that burrata for us.

-Oh!

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Creamy cheese explosion.

-Yeah.

I'm going to just cut some pieces there for us.

-Yum.

-Alright, I'm going to monkey see, monkey do.

You go first.

-Alright.

Bread.

-Alright.

Bread.

-Mmm, onions.

-Onions.

-Eggplant.

-Alright.

How about a tomato?

-Tomatoes, yes.

-Isn't it cool how they stay together, but they're softened?

-Gorgeous.

-I love that.

Some peppers.

Oh-ho-ho!

-I'm going to tuck into some of this burrata here.

-Oh, I'm going right in for a little eggplant and a little tomato.

-Mmm!

Oh my goodness.

-Mmm.

This is a really easy way to get people to eat their vegetables because it's beautiful.

It is so flavorful.

-And it's great for a party.

That is a masterpiece in summer vegetables.

Thanks so much, Julia.

-Oh, my pleasure.

-So how fast are you running outside to make this spectacular grilled vegetable platter?

And it starts with prepping each type of vegetable so that they can all grill together, remove each vegetable from the grill as they cook through, and then dress those beautiful vegetables with a bright lemon-basil vinaigrette.

And don't forget to elevate that presentation with some burrata, grilled bread, olives -- really, anything goes.

From "America's Test Kitchen," the spectacular grilled vegetable platter.

You can get this recipe and all the recipes from this season, along with product reviews and select episodes.

Those are all on our website, AmericasTestKitchen.com.

♪♪ -Mmm.

Come here, burrata.

-Yeah.

-Let us help you with dinner tonight.

Visit our website anytime for the newest season's fail-proof recipes, full episodes, ingredient advice, and equipment reviews at AmericasTestKitchen.com/TV.

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