TenMile
Well-Known Member
The freezer is starting to get an inventory, so it's that time of year to start experimenting with different recipes. Let me start with my favourite and hopefully we can get a collection going here:
Terry's Cedar Plank Salmon
Start with a fresh salmon fillet (remove hootchie and hooks)
prepare marinade
- in a Pyrex glass dish mix:
- 1 cup of Crown Royal (actually 2 cups are better, but the second cup has an alternative use -- see below)
- handful of Dark Brown Sugar
- 2 tablespoons of Kosher Salt
- fresh garlic (3 cloves)
- a whole squeezed lemon (the real thing, not the bottled juice)
- fresh ground pepper (or whole pepper corns -- but pound them with a mallet (or hammer) first,
Salmon fillet should marinade in this mix for 2-3 hours or more. If overnight do it in the fridge as you don't want the ick from the cleaning station growing big and walking away with your fillet(s).
Soak Cedar plank in water for a couple of hours (it's a good idea to start it soaking at 5:30am as you are headed out to the dock -- it's a confidence thing -- "I am going to catch fish today"...). Once you are ready, light the BBQ. Coat the plank with a sprinkle of Kosher salt. Lay Cedar plank on BBQ. Leave BBQ on High for 5-10 minutes until plank starts to smoke heavily (and last night's hamburger completely burns off -- totally ruins the taste of your salmon by the way).
Once you have a nice smoky BBQ, turn the heat down to Med/Low (this is the important part). Lay your marinated salmon Skin Down on the plank (not on the grill). Take your digital thermometer (that you got on sale at CDN Tire for $18 -- or better yet, used that WAD of CDN tire money stashed in your tackle box) and stick it into the thickest part of the flesh. Pour the remaining marinade over the top of your salmon, and, for effect (so your wife thinks you are a chef, as opposed to a regular dude), place the two halves (or three halves if you did something weird) of the squeezed lemon on top of the salmon fillets (get fancy here and add some fresh basil leaves too).
Now, take the second cup of Crown Royal -- mix yourself a "Fisherman's Friend" -- pocket the other end of your digital thermometer (yes, you splurged and purchased the wireless one Eddy). Set the alarm to tell you when the fish hits 130F (don't forget to coordinate your rice or potatoes or something green to finish at the same time... and yes, you should cook the whole dinner and be the hero since your honey had the kids all morning while you were "playing on the boat"). I have personally found that 130F is the optimal temperature for a nice moist salmon -- much higher than that and it dries out (and loses flavour).... Depending on your BBQ and the thickness of your fish, this will take 15-40 minutes (my HUGE salmon always take a long time and I have to mix at least one more "Fisherman's Friend" i.e. the Friend of the Fisherman's Friend).
This is a great meal to have with BBQ'd corn on the cob (soak Ears of corn for 40 minutes, and cook them in the husk along with your salmon -- you'll hate me while you peel the freaking burning husk off the corn, but you will never have tasted a better version -- trust me). Find a local green veggie and you can impress your flat-lander guests with the Vancouver Island 100km diet (stuff I got that is grown or caught within 100kms of where I live).
Anyhow...hope that's a good start and hope to see some better ideas!!! 6am tomorrow and I will be at the Victoria waterfront and I hope to catch my fillet (cedar plank is soaking...).
Terry's Cedar Plank Salmon
Start with a fresh salmon fillet (remove hootchie and hooks)
prepare marinade
- in a Pyrex glass dish mix:
- 1 cup of Crown Royal (actually 2 cups are better, but the second cup has an alternative use -- see below)
- handful of Dark Brown Sugar
- 2 tablespoons of Kosher Salt
- fresh garlic (3 cloves)
- a whole squeezed lemon (the real thing, not the bottled juice)
- fresh ground pepper (or whole pepper corns -- but pound them with a mallet (or hammer) first,
Salmon fillet should marinade in this mix for 2-3 hours or more. If overnight do it in the fridge as you don't want the ick from the cleaning station growing big and walking away with your fillet(s).
Soak Cedar plank in water for a couple of hours (it's a good idea to start it soaking at 5:30am as you are headed out to the dock -- it's a confidence thing -- "I am going to catch fish today"...). Once you are ready, light the BBQ. Coat the plank with a sprinkle of Kosher salt. Lay Cedar plank on BBQ. Leave BBQ on High for 5-10 minutes until plank starts to smoke heavily (and last night's hamburger completely burns off -- totally ruins the taste of your salmon by the way).
Once you have a nice smoky BBQ, turn the heat down to Med/Low (this is the important part). Lay your marinated salmon Skin Down on the plank (not on the grill). Take your digital thermometer (that you got on sale at CDN Tire for $18 -- or better yet, used that WAD of CDN tire money stashed in your tackle box) and stick it into the thickest part of the flesh. Pour the remaining marinade over the top of your salmon, and, for effect (so your wife thinks you are a chef, as opposed to a regular dude), place the two halves (or three halves if you did something weird) of the squeezed lemon on top of the salmon fillets (get fancy here and add some fresh basil leaves too).
Now, take the second cup of Crown Royal -- mix yourself a "Fisherman's Friend" -- pocket the other end of your digital thermometer (yes, you splurged and purchased the wireless one Eddy). Set the alarm to tell you when the fish hits 130F (don't forget to coordinate your rice or potatoes or something green to finish at the same time... and yes, you should cook the whole dinner and be the hero since your honey had the kids all morning while you were "playing on the boat"). I have personally found that 130F is the optimal temperature for a nice moist salmon -- much higher than that and it dries out (and loses flavour).... Depending on your BBQ and the thickness of your fish, this will take 15-40 minutes (my HUGE salmon always take a long time and I have to mix at least one more "Fisherman's Friend" i.e. the Friend of the Fisherman's Friend).
This is a great meal to have with BBQ'd corn on the cob (soak Ears of corn for 40 minutes, and cook them in the husk along with your salmon -- you'll hate me while you peel the freaking burning husk off the corn, but you will never have tasted a better version -- trust me). Find a local green veggie and you can impress your flat-lander guests with the Vancouver Island 100km diet (stuff I got that is grown or caught within 100kms of where I live).
Anyhow...hope that's a good start and hope to see some better ideas!!! 6am tomorrow and I will be at the Victoria waterfront and I hope to catch my fillet (cedar plank is soaking...).