Olive Oil, Salt, and Pepper

Hundreds of times in my career, I was asked what kind of special seasoning I put on a piece of protein to make it taste so good. When I replied, "olive oil, salt, and pepper," people almost always thought that I was being a smartass—I am a pro at that too—but I was being serious.

Grilled Wahoo/Ono with Mango Salsa and Asparagus

If you have a pristine piece of meat, poultry, or fish, you don't really need to do anything to it to make it taste great. As I told the cooks coming through my kitchen, all you have to do is not screw it up. I'm sure I used a bit more colorful chef language than that, but you get the gist.

As a rule, if I had a nice cut headed for the grill, I would brush it with olive oil, salt, and pepper and let it shine, just like I did for the wahoo in the photo.

This wahoo, more often than not called by its Hawaiian name ono out here on the West Coast, came from Northwest Fresh Seafood over in Newberg. When the loin came out of the cooler, I could see that it was special. I have handled hundreds of loins of wahoo in my life and even from ten feet away, I could see how tight and clear this one was.

Olive oil, salt, and pepper did its magic once again.

I have to say that I am really happy with my new grill: I got those deep grill marks on both sides of the fish without it being overcooked in the middle. Working this Weber home grill, I can get results just as good as using the huge cast iron Vulcan grill at the restaurant. Call me tickled.