My wife and I are on a real salmon kick. Wild Alaskan seems to be our favorite. Anyone got some good recipies and wine pairings you'd like to share? I've got some cedar planks on order to try that next weekend.

Last night was broiled with an anchovie/caper butter and 2001 Shafer Red Shoulder Chardonnay. Very nice.

I was trying to remember a salmon dish I had done.

It involved white wine vineager, capers, star anise and lemon grass. It was a marinade (but mostly water and wine.) and you served the salmon without cooking. Can't remember precisly but will get back to you.

Gwen's Salmon

- Salmon steaks
- Rub a small amount of good olive oil on both sides of the steak
- Rub both sides with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
- Press basil chiffonade and lime zest into the flesh on one side

Place in a hot grill pan, or on a clean, hot grill for just 2-3 minutes on both sides (less if you like it more rare).

Serve with a sauce made from lime juice, olive oil, basil, red pepper flakes for some zip. All ingredients measured to taste. Spend some time emulsifying the lime juice and olive oil by slowly, slowly drizzling the olive oil into the juice while really whisking the poo out of it.

Serve with Jasmine Rice, lightly steamed asparagus, and Asian Pear slices.

Wine = any good Viognier.

Oh so good.

I love salmon, wild salmon is awesome........BUT......you must be very careful when buying salmon these days....for instance the atlantic coast of Canada no longer produces ANY wild salmon(once considered one of the best sources in the world), it is entirely farmed now, as is a vast majority of commercial salmon.....i've been told by friends in the fish mongering business that it is common for consumers to be duped by their purveyors, that 7 or 8 times out of 10 your getting farmed salmon no matter what you've been told....

the moral of the story is......make friends with your fish monger.

Farmed salmon have white flesh. They die the meat salmon color.

All of our local grocery stores are now required to label fish as to whether it is wild or farm raised. That makes it real easy. Otherwise, price is an indicator. If the price is a lot higher for one than another it means that either it is wild or your fishmonger is a thief. Take your pick.

I love to cook wild salmon filets on the grill. We use a sake marinade, marinate the fish for an hour, then put it flesh side down for a few minutes just until you have good grill marks, then flip it onto the skin side until just short of being done, now let it rest for a couple of minutes covered to finish cooking.
The sake marinade consists of
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tbl sugar
2 tbl Sake
2 tbl Mirin
2 tsp ground fresh ginger
2 tsp ground fresh garlic
1 tsp roasted sesame seeds

I'm a big smoker. I like to smoke salmon over hickory or mesquite. I baste with tamarind/honey glaze, but I bet Landshark's sake/mirin glaze recipe would go great.

If you have a weber grill, fire up a small pile of wood chunks, place the salmon off- heat on the other side and cover. They'll be juicy and cooked in about 15 minutes. If you don't like how salmon oozes the white stuff when smoked (or steamed), saute them in a pan on high heat until they get a nice crust, then pop them in the smoker for 5-7 minutes. I prefer this method because the smoke flavor is less intense. Serve with some creamy shrimp or lobster risotto with fresh basil.

Chill any leftover salmon in the frig and make salad nicoise w/ chunks of the chilled salmon the next day.

I would venture to say California chardonnay would pair well, I like Chablis but I'm not sure if the smoke would over power the Chablis.

You are right I forgot to add, put wood chips in the grill. I use a smoker box on mine. A really nice Pinot Noir works well with fish on the grill.

Great receipes everyone. The soy is one I do quite often. That and a curry cream sauce. Wild salmon is the only way to go. Here in Chicagoland, they now have to tag farm raised as "color added". Fish taste best when they eat other fish!

Corkage you are making me drool.

Can be done on the grill, stove, or in the oven:

Combine equal parts brown sugar and chili powder. Add Kosher salt, black pepper and cayenne to taste. Rub on the flesh and let sit for 30 minutes to 2 hours. (If more than 30 minutes, refrigerate)

Sear the salmon, flesh side down until carmelized (about 1/3 total cooking time). Flip over and cook skin side down until done.

While fish cooks, combine equal parts maple syrup and Dijon Mustard. You could use honey, but I prefer maple. Add to this more chili powder, salt and pepper. Mix well. During the last 3 minutes of cooking, brush the sauce over the flesh side of the fish. For more color, finish the fish, after basting with the sauce, wit a quick, 30 second blast of heat, flesh side down.

Serve with copiuos amounts of Pinot Noir.

Chicago

I live in 'Salmon Capital of the World'...Campbell River B.C.

After reading your request, Bubba from Forest Gump (describing how many ways you can prepare shrimp) came to mind...we have probably done salmon every which way there is.

I have provided a web link you can try:
web page
Hope the link works.
Good Luck.

That is a greta link Tyee, vielen dank!

My favorite is pretty simple. Combine Dijon Mustard and Honey slightly more mustard than honey you need enough to brush on liberally to one side of the salmon. I have also used premixed Honey-Dijon Mustard. You then take 50/50 Finely chopped pecans and breadcrumbs you can add some chopped parsley and/or tarragon and place the mixture on top of the hney mustard on the salmon. Bake at 400 degrees until done approx 10-15 minutes usually. I have served this to several people who claim they don't like salmon and they have all liked it.

Great link Tyee! Thanks.

We had a real simple salmon filet in the over with dill butter tonight with a melville 2001 Pinot. Great match!

Here's one of our favorite salmon recipes that we got from epicurious.com. Very easy to make - we make this at least once a month:

Honey-Ginger Salmon

6 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon chopped canned chipotle chilies (optional - tastes fine w/o it)
1 tablespoon golden brown sugar

4 8-ounce salmon steaks (each about 1 inch thick)
Vegetable oil

Stir honey, cilantro, hoisin sauce, ginger, chilies and brown sugar in bowl to blend.

Preheat broiler. Brush salmon steaks with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brush with some of honey-ginger glaze. Broil salmon until opaque in center, basting occasionally with remaining glaze, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer salmon steaks to plates; serve.

I get hungry every time I revisit this thread. Has anyone tried the new, hot trend of Cedar plank smoking? Tried this weekend and the result was amazing!

First, buy cedar planks. Not from Home Depot, as they are treated with stuff you don't want to injest. I got mine from http://www.justsmokedsalmon.com/plankrecipes.htm

Wild Alaskan Salmon filets rubbed with a mixture of cajun spices and brown sugar. Let sit for 2 hours to let the rub sink in a bit.

Soak the plank in water for 12 - 24 hours
Rub one side of the plank in olive oil
Put the salmon skin side down on the plank and put the plank on the barbecue
I went 25 minutes on my gas grill on medium with the lid closed

The fish was heaven!