Grilled Sweet and Sour Shark Steaks

This simple grilled sweet and sour shark steak recipe is a fun way to try something new on the BBQ. With a few tips and tricks, you will have an amazing seafood dinner!

Baby shark! No, not the baby shark song! 😀 These are small shark steaks that are just the perfect size for grilling. They can be found at your local grocery store, fish markets, meat markets, international grocery stores, and ordering online from places like Pikes Place Market and Gold Belly. We picked ours up at the international grocery store.

I occasionally get the itch to grill something special and shark steaks definitely seemed like a fun experiment. This is certainly not the most popular fish, but it is super easy to grill, and with the proper treatment, it’s absolutely delicious!

🦈 Ingredients

Shark | I found this at my local Hispanic market. I don’t see it too often at the grocery shops we usually use, so I had to grab some. It is a cross-cut shark steak. There is no need to remove the skin, as it will be very easy to remove when it is fully cooked.

Sweet and Sour Sauce | This simple marinade provides the tanginess from the apple cider vinegar and the Worcestershire. The sweet comes from the brown sugar and ketchup. Make a bit extra and use it on chicken or pork next time you grill.

Milk | This is the key to a delicious grilled fish. Soak the shark meat in milk for about 3-4 hours. It will eliminate a lot of the overly gamey taste and virtually remove any ammonia overtones. Don’t skip this ingredient.

🔥 Instructions

You are treating the fish like this because shark urine is absorbed through their flesh and released through the skin, which causes the ammonia smell.

This might sound off-putting, but the milk treatment really works for removing the unpleasant odors. So don’t skip it and you can enjoy some amazing grilled shark steaks!

Depending on where you buy it, it may have already been treated and you can skip this milk treatment step. You can tell as the ammonia smell that many fresh catches have. It is 100% safe to eat, you are just getting rid of that smell/flavor.

Step One: Rinse the shark steak off with fresh, cool water and place it in a large, glass bowl. Pour milk to cover and let it soak for about four hours in the refrigerator.

Tip: It doesn’t matter what kind of milk you use. This is a critical step to temper the flavor. Without it, I find the gamey flavor too much to handle.

Step Two: Prepare the Sweet and Sour Sauce by melting butter in a small sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the chopped onion, sauté for 7-8 minutes, or until it starts to brown. Then add the garlic and cook for one more minute.

Step Three: Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to a low boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for ten minutes. It will start to thicken.

Step Four: Remove the shark from the milk and pat it dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on and place it on a well-oiled grill grate at 375 degrees.

Step Five: Grill the shark for 8-9 minutes on each side. Use a wireless meat thermometer to make sure the interior temperature reaches 145 degrees. Right before you are ready to remove it, brush it with your sweet and sour sauce.

🥡 Storage

Use a good quality refrigerator storage container.

These will stay good in the fridge for 2 – 3 days according to the USDA. They can be frozen, but I recommend freezing before adding the sweet and sour sauce. Wrap in Saran and then place it in a freezer safe Ziploc bag.

🧅 Meal Prep

Make the sweet and sour sauce a day or two ahead of time. This stores well in a glass jar in the refrigerator and definitely cuts down on your preparation time.

🤔 Variations

This fish is so flexible that you can make it a dozen different ways and never get bored. After you tried the sweet and sour version, start thinking out of the box for other ideas.

• Blackened
• Chipotle Lime
• Lemon Pepper
• Jerk
• Smoked Paprika
• Soy sauce, Dijon mustard and chili
• Breadcrumbs with parmesan cheese + add in herbs depending on taste.

🥕 Serving Suggestions

The sweet and sour sauce is very flavorful, so you’ll want to pair this with a starch or mild vegetable. Try some of the following:

Smoked Fingerling Potatoes

Grilled Whole Sweet Potato

Grilled Carrots

❗ Expert Tips

Never skip soaking the shark in milk. Some high end butchers will do it for you, but it is better to be safe than sorry.

To those distinctive sear marks, use a GrillGrate. These are extruded aluminum and the fins heat up much hotter than the grill itself. That allows the meat to sear almost instantly.

Make the Sweet and Sour Sauce ahead of time. I like to have as much prepared as possible before my friends come over. That way, I can spend more time with them and less time in the kitchen.

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