Hey Disco,
You like to do salmon, don't you? Got a nice recipe for something like that? Kind of want to get something goung beyond the chicken beef pork stuff. I'm getting bored.
My favourite way to do salmon is simple but takes a little time. Start an alder fire (you could use any hardwood but alder is traditional). Let it burn down to a large pile of coals. Take a fresh plank of cedar and butterfly a whole salmon. Tack the salmon to the board with the skin out. Push the base of the plank in the ground near the coals. Put a small tin can under the salmon tail. As juices drip into the can, brush the salmon with them. Simple with a nice smoke taste.
I also have a favourite grilled salmon recipe.
-= Exported from BigOven =-
Peppered Salmon Fillet
Serving Size: 12
-= Ingredients =-
1 cup brown sugar ; firmly packed
6 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon fresh ginger ; minced
3 dried bay leaf
1 teaspoon whole allspice ; crushed
3 pound salmon fillet with skin ; 1 1/2 inch thick
1/2 cup mixed whole peppercorns
1/2 cup apple or hickory wood chips
1 tablespoon honey
3 red onion slices
fresh dill sprigs
-= Instructions =-
In a 1 to 1 1/2 qt. pan, bring 1 1/2 cup. water, sugar, salt, ginger, bay leaves, and allspice to boiling over high heat; stir until sugar dissolves completely. Let cool slightly. Rinse salmon fillet, pat dry, and lay flat with skin down in a rimmed pan (12 x 15 in.). Pour sugar-salt mixture over salmon. Cover pan tightly and chill fish at least 4 hours or up to 24 hrs. Occasionally spoon brine over the fish. Mound 16 charcoal briquettes on the fire grate of a barbeque with a lid. Ignite briquettes. Meanwhile, pour enough hot water over peppercorns to float them; soak at least 15 minutes. Also pour enough warm water over wood chips to make them float; let soak at least 15 minutes. Pour brine off fish; rinse fish with cool water and pat dry. Set skin side down on a large sheet of foil; cut foil along outline of fish.Rub honey over top of fish; drain peppercorns and scatter evenly over fish, patting to set them lightly in place. When coals are dotted with grey ash, 25-30 minutes, push half to each side of fire grate. Drain wood chips and scatter 2 T. on each mound of coals. Set grill 4-6 in. above the fire grate; lightly oil the grill. Place salmon on foil in center of grill (no coals should be beneath the fish), Set an oven thermometer on the centre of the fish. Put lid on barbeque and close vents to make 1/4 in. openings. After 30 minutes., add 3 briquettes to each mound of coals; repeat every 30 minutes. of cooking. Check thermometer often to be sure temp. stays about 160°. Add wood chips as needed to produce a faint, steady stream of smoke. Cook salmon until itis 140°F in center of thickest part, about 1 1/2 hours. Using foil and wide spatulas, slide fillet onto a baking sheet, then transfer fish to a platter. Serve salmon warm, cool, or chilled. If making ahead, cover airtight and chill up to 3 days. Garnish with onion and dill. Cut fish across grain into 3/4 in wide slices; lift off skin. Makes 12-14 servings.
This recipe goes back to the old days when I could still get a 3 pound fillet. They seem to be harder to find these days and I have made it with smaller fillets cutting the cooking times. Also, I started using indirect heat on my gas grill when I got it. Now, I am considering doing it on the smoker and I think it will be better. One thing, I brush most of the peppercorns off before I serve it but don't do without them, they give the salmon an incredible taste.
I intend to try Bear's smoked salmon recipe before I convert this one as I haven't done salmon in the smoker and I want to try a proven smoker recipe first. If you would like to give this a go in the smoker, I would love to see your results
Disco