Don’s
BBQ Salmon Recipe
by Bobbi A. J. Holmes
Barbecued salmon is one of my most favorite dishes. Yet, I rarely, if ever,
order salmon at a restaurant. The reason? In my opinion, no one makes salmon
as good as my husband does. Seriously.
Over the years, Don has
fine-tuned his recipe and the way he prepares the salmon. Ironically, he was
never over fond of salmon, yet began experimenting with barbecuing the fish,
for me. I’ve always appreciated the gesture. Unfortunately, since mastering
his own recipe, Don now enjoys eating some of the salmon he prepares,
leaving less for me. Drat.
Selecting Salmon
When shopping for salmon, we look for whole filets, wild caught Alaskan
salmon. I won’t touch imported or farm raised salmon. Our daughter’s family
is moving to
Seasoning the Salmon
Don lays the thawed
salmon, skin-side down, on a cookie sheet. He drizzles olive oil over the
salmon, and then brushes the skinless side with a pastry brush, to evenly
coat the exposed side with oil. He liberally sprinkles lemon pepper over the
top of the filet, and then equal amounts(less than the lemon pepper) of tarragon, thyme, and dill weed, and then gently pats
the seasoning into the fish. After seasoning the salmon, he sets it aside
for about 30 minutes. Don never measures, so I can't give exact seasoning
measurements.
Grilling the Salmon
When he is ready to
barbeque the salmon, Don places the filet, seasoned-side down on the hot
grill, over the fire, to sear the skin-less side. After several minutes, he
shifts the position of the salmon on the grill, to create a diamond pattern
on the skinless side. The skinless side is only over the direct fire for
long enough to leave light grill marks, no more than a total of five
minutes.
After searing the skinless side, he turns the filet over, moving it so that it is no longer directly over the fire, setting the skin-side directly on the grill, and closes the cover of the barbeque, to complete the cooking process. It takes between 30 to 60 minutes for the salmon to finish cooking. The salmon is done when the inside of the meat is no longer glossy.
Serving
the Salmon
Before serving the
salmon, I always peel off the skin. I then do something that many other
people don’t do; I scrape off the grey matter, which you find between the
pink meat and the skin. I’ve seen lots of people eat this with no problem,
but it has a distinct fishy taste, which I feel ruins the flavor of the
salmon. It can be a little messy scrapping off the grey matter, but improves
the taste (in my opinion). After removing the skin and grey matter, I
recommend discarding it immediately, and taking the trash outside, as with
all fish, the fishy smell ripens with time and temperature.
Delicious as a main
course or appetizer. When used an appetizer, garnish the plate with cream
cheese, diced red onions and fresh dill weed, and serve with crackers.