Well, it’s just not that normal to have banana leaves in your backyard. Unless, of course, you happen to live in South Florida or another place in the tropics.
So, being a rather resourceful person (or at least I would like to think of myself that way) I decided that I would try using banana leaves to cook whitefish on the grill.
One thing I forget to do was read directions, as is often the case. A lot of times I try things by trial and error and some could consider this a personality flaw because I would often make things a lot easier if I just read the directions first. But, well, that’s just not my style but I am working on it..

Ingredients
- 1 ) First make a simple marinade for the fish. I used a citrus jalapeno marinade.
- 2 ) Also go ahead and soak your skewers in water so they don’t burn on the grill.
Marinade:
- ½ cup orange or grapefruit juice
- 1 jalapeno diced
- 4 + gloves of garlic
- 1-2 tblsp. honey optional
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Let the fish marinade about 30 minutes before grilling.
- Back to the fish. After cutting some banana leaves, warm the grill up. Place the banana leaves on the grill (on a medium setting) only for a few minutes so the banana leaves are pliable. You want them to be pliable to wrap the fish in. (this is the part I forgot to do initially)
- Take the banana leaves and cut them in half; you will use half per piece of fish. If you are really good at this you may be able to wrap more fillets utilizing less leaf. I went through a lot of trial and error so I guess I am lucky I have a tree in my backyard 🙂
- Wrap the fillets with the leaf piece and secure with a skewer. Do this for each filet. The packet is going to steam itself on the grill leaving you with a healthy way to eat fish without all the breading and fattening sauces to go with it. The marinade and banana leaves are what lend this light dish its flavor.
- Keep the fish in the banana leaves for greater visual impact
- Grilling time: on a preheated grill at medium heat, cook the packets approximately 11 minutes each side, or less. You will have to be your own judge depending on the thickness of your filets- if they are thick you should go longer. We are not doing sushi here. 🙂
- I put corn on the grill at the beginning of the grilling process, and then I added small heads of romaine near the end. I drizzled the romaine leaves with olive oil, sea salt and pepper first and grilled until wilted. (see recipe for grilled salad- this is awesome and super easy to make).
- As I flipped all the fish on the other side, I also put frozen rolls on the grill to round out the meal. This would be a great time to put some fresh cut french or cuban bread slices with butter or olive oil on the grill. If you are a garlic fan, at the beginning of heating the grill, place garlic wrapped in foil and let it cook for the duration of the grilling process. Then, voila- you have roasted garlic to spread on your bread.
- Dinner is served: Citrus grilled whitefish with corn and grilled romaine lettuce and roasted garlic cuban bread. Ay, dios mio!!
hi, really loved this blog post! Wonderful writing. Will read your other posts.