| Recipe: |
Hat's off to America's Test Kitchen for describing a way to successfully grill salmon...
I've cut the recipe in half and tweaked the sauce to my taste.
For 2
Lemon-Caper Sauce
2 T butter, cut into pieces
juice of 1/2-1 lemon (about 1-2 T)
1 shallot, sliced very thin
1 T capers, plus 2 t brine
smallish pan that you're ok putting on the grill (I have a cheap 8" cake pan that I also use to smoke garlic and salt... ATK recommends a disposable aluminum roasting pan)
Salmon
2 10 oz skin on salmon steaks, 1-1.5" thick (steaks are cut perpendicular to the spine)
salt and pepper
Vegetable oil for grill
Kitchen twine (regular cotton string)
Light the grill. For gas, put on high. (If you want charcoal instructions, let me know.)
Place all sauce ingredients in the pan.
Prepare the salmon for grilling... ATK has photos, but I'll try to describe what to do in words. If you don't get it, send me an email and I'll get you a snapshot:
There are two tapered flaps of fish (belly side) with skin. Trim about 1.5" of skin off ONE of these. Roll the skinned piece in towards the center, then roll the other piece around that. You should have a roundish piece of salmon with a layer of skin all around the outside and solid meat (and bones/spine) in the center. Tie a piece of string around the perimeter to hold it in place. If the flaps are very stiff and don't want to roll nicely, you can cut off the piece without skin and place it in the middle, then roll the other piece around as described.
Dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
Instructions that worked with my tiny gas grill. If you have a charcoal grill let me know and I'll add those details:
Grill should be hot. Clean grate. Use a wad of paper towels (I clamp them in my tongs) and vegetable oil to brush oil across the grate. Do this 5-10 times, adding more oil as necessary, until grate is black and glossy. Place salmon on hottest part of grill. Place pan on coolest part of grill. Cook salmon, turning once, until you have nice grill marks/browned on both sides. Move salmon to pan and swirl all that goodness around. Let finish cooking to your taste. |
