Whether you use a gas or charcoal flame, grilling imparts a hearty, smoky flavor to whole fish, fillets and steaks, and even shellfish. Meaty fish, such as salmon, tuna, and swordfish, are substantial enough to go straight onto the grill. (For more delicate or whole fish, a basket makes flipping easier.) Dive into all the methods of grilling fish and shellfish in our collection, with recipes for shrimp kebabs, salmon burgers, grilled clams and oysters, and much more..

Otherwise ordinary shrimp skewers get an infusion of Thai-inspired flavor, thanks to a marinade and dipping sauce with chili paste and fish sauce. Look for both ingredients in supermarket ethnic-food aisles, in Asian grocery stores, and online.

Chef Emeril Lagasse cooks this easy meal in packets placed right on the grill. Layer each cod or striped bass fillet with vegetables on a piece of foil, wrap tightly, and grill for about 10 minutes.

Use two skewers per kebab to help keep the shrimp in place when turning them on the grill. The accompanying cilantro dipping sauce is a cool complement to the cayenne pepper in the marinade.

This recipe calls for branzino (also known as European sea bass), a delicate white fish with a slightly sweet taste, but you can also use striped bass or sea bream. After filling the fish with lemon slices and fresh thyme, wrap with bay leaves, bind with kitchen twine, and cook in a cast-iron skillet placed on the grill.

Serve these shrimp with a tequila-citrus marinade on their own as an appetizer, or add rice to offer as a main course.

Chef Mike Price stuffs whole snapper with a lemon-garlic mixture and sprigs of fresh thyme. While grilling the fish, he brushes it with garlic oil to infuse it with more flavor. Try serving with grilled preserved lemons and spicy escarole.

Here, salmon and swordfish cubes alternate with cherry tomatoes on skewers. Before grilling, brush the kebabs with basil oil, which helps keep the fish moist while it cooks. Serve with grilled bread.

If you can't find striped bass (also known as striper), substitute it with other firm, white-flesh fish such as black sea bass or trout. Try this recipe as part of a menu with corn-and-clam chowder sauce, or on its own with just a sprinkling of lemon juice.

If you can't fit in a trip to Maine's rocky coast this year, making a meal from foil packets of shrimp, cod, potatoes, and corn may be the next best thing. You can fill the packets up to a day ahead, refrigerate, and throw onto the grill just before it's time to eat -- a boon to low-key summer entertaining.

Divide the mustard sauce in this recipe into two containers to use half as a glaze for basting the salmon and asparagus on the grill, and the other as a serving sauce.

Bass, tilapia, tuna, and salmon all work well in this simple grilled meal. Before cooking, pat the fish dry and brush with oil to prevent it from sticking to the grates. Serve on toasted brioche or country bread.

This recipe has only one ingredient: clams. The shells are placed directly on the grates of the grill to steam open under the grill lid. Their natural juices are the only flavorings required. Place clams in a pot or bowl for serving, discarding any unopened ones.

Brush shrimp skewers with a flavorful cilantro sauce and grill just until done. Leftover cilantro sauce doubles as the serving sauce. Serve with sesame seed and cabbage slaw.

A few basic additions turn this simple preparation into something truly memorable. On the inside and out of four cleaned and scaled trout, sprinkle pepper and salt (we like sea salt here, but coarse salt works just as well). Insert two lemon rounds and a few oregano springs into each fish and place on the grill. When cooked, drizzle fish with olive oil and garnish with more lemon and oregano.

Top simple grilled tuna with a tropical salsa of oranges, red bell peppers, red onions, and mint. Complete the meal with a side salad.

Use either metal or water-soaked wooden skewers to thread orange wedges, ginger, cucumber, and scallops. Once the skewers are on the grill, baste periodically with a mixture of honey and orange juice.

After marinating tuna steaks in a flavorful Japanese sauce that includes tangy rice-wine vinegar, soy sauce, and spicy ginger, grill them until still pink in the center and serve with a side of vegetables, such as green beans.

Use salmon fillets with the skin on for this recipe from chef Emeril Lagasse: It helps keep the fish together while grilling. Serve the fish with a sweet corn, tomato, and avocado relish.

A rub of chopped cilantro and olive oil is a very simple seasoning that packs lots of fresh flavor. Threading the kebabs with lemon wedges between the shrimp allows the citrus to impart flavor to the shellfish while grilling.

Keep the heat out of the kitchen with this recipe for grilled swordfish. Grilled summer peaches and red onions combine in a warm salad that pairs well with the fish. If the nectarine pits are hard to remove, microwave the fruit on high for 20 seconds.

Since they are relatively flat, salmon pieces cut from the tail end of the fillet work best for this open-faced sandwich. Once grilled, put the salmon on slices of sourdough bread topped with arugula and drizzle with mustard sauce.

Butterfish -- also known as harvest fish, pomfret, and Pacific pompano -- has a tender texture and a rich, sweet flavor. Because of its small size, usually around eight ounces, and its few bones, butterfish is best cooked whole, as it is here.

Marinate scallops in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, and anise-flavored liqueur (such as Pernod) before skewering and placing on the grill. Try grilled fennel as a complementary side dish.

In this recipe from chef Mario Batali, foil packets (or "cartocci") envelop clams, pancetta, red bell peppers, garlic, and parsley, and are placed directly on the grill. Open the packets carefully -- the contents get steamy!

Orange zest, garlic, and fresh thyme flavor these grilled shrimp while they marinate. Use the remaining orange zest and juice to mix with mayonnaise for a dipping sauce.

This recipe for grilled fish uses a Baja-style spice rub with cumin, oregano, and chili powder. Striped bass or red snapper work best for this recipe, since the fish can be flaked easily for use in tacos.

Brush tuna steaks with a sweet-and-savory miso caramel sauce before grilling for just a few minutes on each side. Garnish the fish with toasted sesame seeds and serve over salad for a healthy main course.

These meaty swordfish steaks look almost like T-bones when they come off the grill. Serve the fish with grilled leeks and a fresh pesto sauce of olives, garlic, arugula, and parsley.

These grilled shrimp are sticky and sweet from a glaze of rum, lime juice, and sugar that also flavors the accompanying grilled mango wedges. Serve them both with watercress tossed with oil and additional lime juice.

It only takes a few ingredients -- thin slices of salty prosciutto, delicate scallops, olive oil, lemon, and pepper -- to make these quick-cooking skewers that are an elegant starter to or an easy addition to any grilled menu.

Rub a whole side of salmon with a blend of ground coriander, cumin, dill, and yellow-mustard seeds, and use a fish-shaped basket to make grilling easier. Serve with grilled Vidalia onions and spicy cucumber salsa.

Alternate shrimp with pieces of Spanish cured sausage (chorizo) that's been cut on the bias to ensure easy threading and even cooking. After grilling, serve with avocado wedges drizzled with lime juice.

Grilled lobster is impressive yet easy. To prepare a lobster for the grill, boil it first for about a minute. Or, if you're not squeamish, you can kill a lobster by inserting the point of a sharp knife through the cross mark on its back.

Before grilling a meaty halibut fillet for these fish tacos from chef Emeril Lagasse, put a couple of poblano peppers on the fire to make a smoky salsa. You can also grill cobs of corn to make the accompanying salad.

East meets West with this reinterpretation of traditional Louisiana grilled shrimp: Put shrimp on the fire until just pink, then toss with a Vietnamese-inflected sauce of lime, cilantro, and peanuts.

When grilled, squid takes on an almost meaty texture. To prepare them for the fire, pound with a mallet, score the flesh, and tenderize with a marinade. The refreshing slaw here complements the sauce's Asian flavors.

There is no need to shuck oysters when you barbecue them on the grill. Once the shells have opened, remove and discard the top shells. Serve this appetizer with hogwash, a sauce made of rice vinegar, lime juice, shallots, jalapeno, and cilantro.

Cilantro, lime juice, and olive oil make a double-duty sauce. Set aside a portion to use as a dipping sauce, and brush the rest onto the tuna skewers while they are on the grill.

Season salmon fillets simply with a bit of ground coriander, coarse salt, and ground pepper. After grilling, serve with a drizzle of mustardy citrus sauce and a side of grilled bok choy.

A whole grilled fish impresses with minimal effort: Flavor a cleaned, whole artic char (it tastes similar to salmon) with salt, pepper, and a mint-chive butter. Tie with kitchen twine, brush with oil, and place on the fire for several minutes. Present on a platter and get ready for compliments.

A wine-and-balsamic-vinegar glaze causes these tuna steaks to turn dark and deliciously charred. Grilled green beans make a bed with a slight crunch, while tomatoes and basil are a fresh topping.

A combination of shrimp and cod gives these burgers a great texture, and capers lend them a briny, Mediterranean taste. Spread tarragon tartar sauce on brioche hamburger buns for an added layer of flavor.

Chef Emeril Lagasse's lemon-herb grilled shrimp recipe is simple and versatile. Marinate the shrimp in a mixture of lemon, olive oil, garlic, rosemary, and thyme for an hour, leaving on the shells for more flavor. Grill for a few minutes per side and then serve with corn on the cob, grilled vegetables, or a rice pilaf.

Su-Mei Yu, owner of San Diego's Saffron restaurant and author of "Asian Grilling," wraps shrimp, mussels, clams, and lobster inside aluminum foil lined in banana leaves. Bird chiles, kaffir lime leaves, and Thai basil add wonderful aroma and flavor to the packet.

This main-course salad couldn't be easier to prepare. Simply sear scallops in a grill pan until just done. Serve them nestled into a bed of watercress and shaved fennel tossed in vinaigrette.

Pistou, Provence's version of pesto, is usually made of basil, garlic, and olive oil. Here, toasted almonds, parsley, and anchovies are added to the mix. Reserve a portion to use later as a dipping sauce, then toss the rest with prawns or large, shell-on shrimp before grilling.

Soft-shell crab season is April through September, a time that happily coincides with grilling weather. Chef Emeril Lagasse brushes soft-shell crabs with olive oil, seasons them with salt and pepper, grills them for a few minutes, and serves them immediately. Don't worry about the shells: The crabs are completely edible.

Divide the orange sauce into portions to use as a marinade and a dipping sauce for the shrimp, and as a dressing for the salad. Soba, or Japanese buckwheat noodles, have an earthy flavor that go well with shrimp. The two combine in a refreshing dish that makes a substantial lunch or a light dinner.

Meaty chopped tuna comes together with garlic, sesame oil, anchovy, and basil in a flavorful patty. Grill to your preference -- just a couple of minutes per side for rare, up to 8 minutes per side for well-done -- and top with pickled ginger, easy-to-make wasabi mayonnaise, and your choice of bun. If you can't find mizuna, use watercress as a garnish instead.

The combination of cilantro and lime juice and zest make a zingy marinade for these grilled shrimp. Serve with grilled jicama, which turns sweet over the fire -- but be careful not to overcook or it will lose its crunch.