A friend of mine made some cedar-plank salmon a couple of nights ago for my birthday and she mentioned that Albertson's had a ton of fresh salmon at a very good price right now. I'm going to go buy a slab for myself. I've usually cook it with some butter in a hot pan and some Tony Chacheres. I have also just grilled it. But I have a friend who smokes salmon and another old chum who makes a kind of Chinese salmon dish with vegetables and an Asian sauce. How do you guys cook salmon? Where is @GiantDuckFan ? He comes from salmon country.
Smoked salmon is one of my favorite tastes in the world. I like in the smoker at 220 degrees with lots of smoke until the fish reaches 120 degrees. Then finish it off on the grill at max heat to brown up the outside. I have wanted to cold smoke one but haven't got around to it.
sometimes grill it, but lately we have been pan cooking and putting a little glaze over it at the end. So much easier and quicker than charcoal, and it it very good. We have done the same with Red Snapper fillets lately too, and they too are great. I have a George Foreman type grill, different brand but we cook a lot of salmon on it, as well. Secret is not to overcook.
I never much cared for salmon either, but my mother would sometimes make fish cakes out of canned salmon and it was actually pretty good.
I got a few good sized fillets from the Krogers fish counter the other day. Nice 1"-1 1/2" thick. I usually just wrap them in tin foil, put a little rub of butter on it with some lemon juice and cracked black pepper, top them with some sliced onions and bake in the oven.
We have salmon or steelhead at least twice a month. We sprinkle it with black pepper, minced garlic and bell pepper. When it comes out on the broiuler pan we squeeze a little lemon juice. No oil, no butter, nothing else. It's perfect. Our favorite is steelhead trout, which is not technically salmon but you couldn't taste the difference. It's also wild caught and not farmed or over-fished like salmon. As a result, it's cheaper. $20 will usually get us a couple large filets that feed very hungry 6-8 adults easy.
I was never a fan of it for a very long time but have since backed off of that stance. Went to Seattle a few months ago and that market is just CRAZY. I usually grill it but I really want to try that cedar plank thing @red55 mentioned. I have heard many great things about the plank.
Top your filet with a thick layer of pesto (store bought is fine). Wrap in foil and bake in 350 oven till done (about 20 min). Very good.
