Brined grilled whole red snapper with shaved fennel and onion salad, vinaigrette and quinoa

Weigh enough water to submerge the fish and stir in about 5% salt by weight, plus a handful of sugar if wanted; stir a few minutes until dissolved, no boiling needed.

Have the fish scaled, finned and gutted at the counter.

Brine the fish in a roasting tray: at least an hour or two for a thick fish, about half an hour for a small one.

Slice half the onion as thinly as possible into the salad bowl; mince the rest for the dressing.

Zest two lemons into the dressing, then juice both in, catching the seeds.

Chop the fennel fronds fine into the dressing; trim the root and shave the bulb into the salad bowl.

Slice the fennel stalks thin and start them softening in a little olive oil.

Add a couple tablespoons of Dijon mustard to the dressing, olive oil in equal parts with the lemon juice, pepper, a pinch of salt and a little sugar; stir to emulsify, taste and adjust.

Dress the salad in advance with about a third of the dressing so the acid and salt soften it and mellow the raw onion.

Add a cup of rinsed quinoa to the softened stalks and toast for a minute.

Add 1.5 parts water to 1 part quinoa by volume and an optional pinch of salt; bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook about 15 minutes until the liquid is absorbed, then turn off the heat and let sit.

Stir a few spoonfuls of the dressing into the quinoa.

After two hours of brining, pour off the brine and coat the fish inside and out with vinaigrette; no additional salt.

Heat a gas grill to max (a moderate fire for charcoal). With the bars very hot, spray plenty of non-stick spray from the side, put on the fish and cover.

Cook until the bottom skin is dark and crisp and the fish seems to release, about 15 minutes for a giant fish; scrape under any stuck points.

Slide the fish back, spray the bars again from the side, flip onto the greased metal, cover and cook the second side almost as long.

Check doneness by looking inside, or with a thermometer to about 135F, 57C.

Top with the remaining vinaigrette; pull the meat away parallel to the bones.