What Does Grouper Taste Like? Shocking Taste!

Ever wonder what does grouper taste like? Grouper tastes amazing it’s mild and flaky but it’s also very meaty which is nice but there’s more to it than just that. I have my favorite best grilled grouper recipe for you here below for when you catch a grouper so that you can grill it and see how delicious it is.

In this article, I also talk about four popular grouper types that most fishers know about and where they are usually found. If you want to know where to catch grouper fish much easier then you can find out everything about grouper here.

By the end of this post, you will know what grouper tastes like and much more than that.

We’re an affiliate We hope you love the products we recommend! Just so you know, we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. Thank you if you use our links, we really appreciate it!

What Does Grouper Taste Like?

Grouper tastes very delicious its meat is firm and is very flaky it tastes mild and even better when you fry it and has a similar taste to halibut with a hint of lobster. The size of the fillets are quite big depending on the grouper size but for the most part, they have a lot of meat on them and are a great eating fish.

Since the grouper fish meat is big and flaky I personally like to eat it in a sandwich or just frying it and eating it with a side of rice and veggies works great too. It can be poached, or grilled as well and can be cooked in many other ways so you will never get tired of eating it over and over.

Also, just like snapper, you can eat the cheeks of the grouper, the cheek on the grouper is tender meat that tastes just like a lobster which is an amazing tasting flavor. If you would like to check out my favorite recipe for cooking grouper I have one here below for you so that you can enjoy its incredible grouper fish taste!

What Is Grouper Like? Different Types Of Grouper Fish

There are many different types of grouper fish species that are out there and I talk about the four main popular ones of what they are like and how big they can get.

What Is Gag Grouper?

Picture of Gag grouper

Gag grouper is my favorite grouper species to fish its challenging to find and has an excellent grouper taste! Most groupers can be found in Florida to even the Gulf of Mexico and North Carolina.

The main thing about fishing gag grouper is having to find spots with structure. Where there is structure is where you will most likely find gag grouper swimming near and hiding inside of the structures.

This grouper can grow up to fifty-eight inches in length and weigh over eighty pounds.

What Is Goliath Grouper?

Picture of a Goliath Grouper

The goliath grouper is the largest and can be found in the Atlantic ocean, Florida, and the Caribbean as well. It is the biggest sized grouper out of all of them and can weigh up to eight hundred pounds which is huge!

They can get eight feet long so when you are fishing for a goliath grouper make sure you are prepared cause they are monster-sized fish. They’re not allowed to be caught so if you ever hook a goliath grouper be sure you leave it in the water and release it.

What Is Red Grouper?

Picture of a Red Grouper

Red grouper are usually at the hard bottom near rocks and you can find them hunting stacks of bait since their larger-sized fish grouper will follow flocks of bait to eat them. You can find red grouper in Florida, near Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

They can grow up to fifty inches long and can weigh more than fifty pounds so they can get quite big.

What Is Black Grouper?

Picture of a Black Grouper

Black groupers are similar to red grouper they usually swim in the same waters and are always at the bottom as well. If you have caught a red grouper before then you will know when you catch a black grouper because it pretty much has the same look as a red grouper but the main difference is that it’s black colored.

Another thing is that black grouper can grow much larger than red grouper in weight they can weigh up to one hundred and eighty pounds and has about the same length as red grouper which is near fifty inches.

Black vs Red Grouper

Since the main groupers that are caught and eaten are the black and red groupers most wonder which tastes better out of the two. The black grouper has meat that is much thicker and firmer compared to the red their smaller sized so it’s less firm and a bit milder.

I personally like the black grouper more than the red grouper it has a better grouper taste that is meatier and definitely much flakier and in my opinion, overall the black grouper tastes better and is my favorite.

My Favorite Best Grilled Grouper Recipe

Grilled grouper is the best way to eat grouper because it tastes delicious when it’s grilled! Here below are the ingredients you will need for the best grilled grouper recipe.

  • Olive Oil
  • Fish Seasoning
  • Lemons

When your grilling grouper their fillet meat is bigger than most other fish meat so make sure to cut it into sections so that it can be grilled much better. After you finished cutting the grouper meat fillet into sections place them in your pan and pour olive oil all over them.

The olive oil will make sure that the fish seasoning that you put on it will stick well and also so that the grouper fillet doesn’t get stuck on the aluminum foil. The next step is coating some fish seasoning on the grouper meat on both sides.

Then grab your lemons and cut them into slices, you will want to place each lemon slice on top of the grouper fillet this will give you a nice grouper tasting flavor and will keep it from drying out so that the lemon juices get sucked into the grouper meat.

The last step is to grill the grouper fillet for about six minutes on each side and then enjoy your grilled grouper fillet.

Where To Catch Grouper Fish

If you’re looking to catch grouper you will mostly find them in the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, North Carolina, and many other waters with saltwater. Fishing for them can be quite difficult if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Structures are the main key point for fishing grouper since you will normally find them hiding under them. When I’m trolling for red and black grouper I always make sure I use the best trolling grouper fishing lure to catch them with as it makes all the difference when I’m trying to catch as many as I can.

It’s a squid imitation lure and since grouper love to eat squid they will bite it instantly because it looks so real!

Grouper Commonly Asked Question:

Is Grouper A Whitefish?

Yes, grouper is a whitefish and you can tell right away when you cut it up the meat is white and flaky. Even though its meat is big since it’s flaky it will cook pretty fast.

Is Grouper Fishy?

No grouper is not fishy it’s more mild tasting than anything else its bloodline is very small compared to the bloodline of a bonito fish for example which have large bloodlines and is the main factor for a fishy flavor.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, if someone ever asks you what does grouper taste like? You can tell them it has a mild-tasting flavor with a small hint of lobster.

Be sure to try out my personal favorite grilled grouper fish recipe so that you can taste its delicious tasting grouper flavor.

Don’t forget that grouper will mostly be found near structures hiding so the next time your out there fishing for red grouper look around your surroundings and find structure first.

And remember if you ever catch a goliath grouper release it because it’s not allowed to catch them anymore.

Now that you have found out what grouper tastes like go out there and catch some grouper so that you can taste the halibut like grouper flavor.