Hey Carson! Had some salmon, man.

[cantdog]

This is it. I made some salmon that you just have to try.

Background. My wife and I attended a cooking class in Santa Fe not so very long ago. We learned some things.

Okay, this is from the cookbook of the cooking school to which we went. With amendments, because I can never leave a recipe alone.

First, set up the ginger butter:

Ginger-Lime Butter
Combine all ingredients in the workbowl of a food processor, or, as I did, in a fuckin regular-ass bowl, using a spoon. Serve 1 tablespoon of the butter on top of each portion of the salmon, hot off the grill.

butter, softened
freshly grated or minced ginger (this is fresh ginger) at least a tablespoon for a quarter pound
a good deal of chopped fresh cilantro or half a tablespoon coriander seeds, ground freshly
a couple teaspoons fresh lime juice per same amount of butter.

I confess, I reduced the proportion of butter. The flavored butter needs to be mixed early to marry the flavors.

Next I roasted the corn, two ears, on a grill, turning until the kernels sported little brown spots and were softened a little, basically being steamed intheir own juices over the grill while caramelizing. Since I was already running the grill, I roasted the three jalapeños at the same time. The recipe calls for neither the corn nor the peppers to be roasted. They are wrong.

Leave the peppers in a paper bag to steam themselves and let the corn cool while you work on the marinade for the salmon.

Lime Marinated Grilled Salmon
The oil in the original marinade has been eliminated with no loss of flavor.

the marinade:
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 goodly yellow onion, chopped small
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 largish jalapeños, minced (doesn't matter if you seed them, they are just to flavor the marinade)
a LOT of cilantro, chopped or coriander, ground fresh
honey, about a tablespoon
salt, maybe a teaspoon

Use 2 pounds or a pound and a half of salmon fillets. Lay 'em in half the stuff, all in a glass baking dish or something, about the size of the total area of the portions, so they lie side-by-side. pour the rest of the marinade over, to cover. The bits of onion and garlic and whatnot will hold the lime juice against the fish. This has to sit in the marinade for at least an hour at room temperature, or in a fridge overnight.

Now, let's do the salsa to go with this.

Corn, Tomato, and Black Bean Salsa
Great side dish for southwestern.

1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 or 2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
---sauté until soft

3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro or coriander equivalent
roast yourself some cumin seeds in the dry bottom of a pan until some brown and fragrance comes out, then grind it (1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon or a little more)
1 jalapeño chile, minced (seed this one)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
a touch of chimayo powder or similar ground dried chile
1 teaspoon salt
--put these in a glass bowl or a ceramic one and mix well.

slice the roasted corn from the ears (to 3/4 cup)
cut into chunks 2 - 3 Roma tomatoes
cooked black beans or canned, less than a cup
--put these in the bowl and mix them. Add the sautéed ingredients, mix again.

The salsa is now made. It should 'marry' for 45 minutes (more is good). This stuff is killer. Really yummy.

Back to the salmon!

Pull it from the marinade (after its hour), wipe it off, salt, pepper, and grill it. Get some brown on the edges!

Lay the salmon on the platter and apply the ginger butter.

Serve with the salsa and steamed corn tortillas.

woof.

 

[a.j.angel]

Wow and you cook too?
Your wife is one lucky lady!

 

[impressive]

With amendments, because I can never leave a recipe alone.

I'm not alone!

 

[cantdog]

Not by a long shot. Cooking is art.

Lucky lady? Quite the other way, in my view. But thanks.

 

[carsonshepherd]

that sounds great... will have to try that. the SO isn't fond of cilantro but I bet this changes his mind.

 

[cantdog]

Well, that's almost the reason I went to coriander.

 

[carsonshepherd]

I used to hate it, but now I love that slight soapy taste.

 

[cloudy]

I love salmon. *sigh*

No one here will eat it but me, so I can't justify buying it.

 

[cantdog]

Tell 'em it's traditional! Respect your heritage and eat fresh salmon! Although, I guess, it's mostly a northern thing. Sit at a potlatch and dip smoked salmon into sweet seal oil.. unbelieveable.

Can you get 'em to eat fresh tuna or swordfish or something? The marinated fish inthe ginger butter is really a treat. Halibut, maybe. Hmm, I love halibut. Grilled halibut and ginger butter. Am I drooling now?

 

[cloudy]

Tell 'em it's traditional! Respect your heritage and eat fresh salmon! Although, I guess, it's mostly a northern thing. Sit at a potlatch and dip smoked salmon into sweet seal oil.. unbelieveable.

Can you get 'em to eat fresh tuna or swordfish or something? The marinated fish inthe ginger butter is really a treat. Halibut, maybe. Hmm, I love halibut. Grilled halibut and ginger butter. Am I drooling now?

I've gotten them to eat tilapia, but that's it, so far. They're not very adventurous, I'm afraid.

 

[cantdog]

Tilapia and sole are a little soft. I think the lime juice would actually cook the flesh, if you follow me, like bacalao or whatever it's called. Haddock is mild and white, an inoffensive thing for the dubious fish eater. It could maybe be done this way, but you'd want a hot grill and a brief contact with it to keep it from flaking right apart.

 

[cloudy]

Tilapia and sole are a little soft. I think the lime juice would actually cook the flesh, if you follow me, like bacalao or whatever it's called. Haddock is mild and white, an inoffensive thing for the dubious fish eater. It could maybe be done this way, but you'd want a hot grill and a brief contact with it to keep it from flaking right apart.

I'm sure you're right about it cooking it.

May have to try haddock done like that. I adore southern food, but it sure is nice to eat something else once in awhile. I think that he-who-shall-remain-nameless never even had a bite of fresh fish in his life until we got married. Growing up on the west coast, we ate more fish than beef.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

The salmon we get here seems to be farm raised or something. The brownish-gray fat tastes terrible, like motor oil, or maybe creosote. If I could find a way to get rid of that fat taste, we'd eat it more often. As it is, I have to pick my way carefully around it.

Best salmon I ever had was fresh off the boat in Eugene, Oregon. My friend had it cleaned, salted and peppered on the inside, and just threw it on the barbecue. When it was done, the meat pulled away from the skin, which stayed on the grill. It was fantastic.

I was watching Alton Brown on the food channel. He says that for lean, meaty fish that's going to be grilled, like salmon and tuna and ahi, a marinade should have 4 components: salty (soy sauce, usually), sour (citrus), sweet (honey is good), and something for flavor (herbs). As long as you include all 4, you can pretty much throw together anything you like

 

[cloudy]

The salmon we get here seems to be farm raised or something. The brownish-gray fat tastes terrible, like motor oil, or maybe creosote. If I could find a way to get rid of that fat taste, we'd eat it more often. As it is, I have to pick my way carefully around it.

Best salmon I ever had was fresh off the boat in Eugene, Oregon. My friend had it cleaned, salted and peppered on the inside, and just threw it on the barbecue. When it was done, the meat pulled away from the skin, which stayed on the grill. It was fantastic.

I was watching Alton Brown on the food channel. He says that for lean, meaty fish that's going to be grilled, like salmon and tuna and ahi, a marinade should have 4 components: salty (soy sauce, usually), sour (citrus), sweet (honey is good), and something for flavor (herbs). As long as you include all 4, you can pretty much throw together anything you like

I'm very lucky, salmon-wise - my brother lives in Washington. He ships it to me, vacuum-packed.

 

[cantdog]

Yeah, the farm raised. *sigh* It don't pay to be a purist any more, though. Amicus's market forces have overridden good sense and fish stocks are depleted all over. Not to mention salmon need halfway clean rivers.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

Salmon is the king of fish! No matter what you do to it; boil it, fry it, bake it, throw it on the barbecue... you just CAN'T cook a bad-tasting salmon! It's the greatest fish there is!

 

[Liar]

Salmon is the king of fish! No matter what you do to it; boil it, fry it, bake it, throw it on the barbecue... you just CAN'T cook a bad-tasting salmon! It's the greatest fish there is!

...after mackerel.

It's a bit of a fetish of mine.

 

[R. Richard]

Tilapia and sole are a little soft. I think the lime juice would actually cook the flesh, if you follow me, like bacalao or whatever it's called. Haddock is mild and white, an inoffensive thing for the dubious fish eater. It could maybe be done this way, but you'd want a hot grill and a brief contact with it to keep it from flaking right apart.

Bacalao literally means "dried cod." Its a Portugeuse term for the fish they caught over the Grand Banks.

Any citrus juice will do something similar to cooking fresh fish. The Amerinds made a dish the Spanish called ceviche. Ceviche is simply fresh raw fish marinated in fruit juice (always including citrus juice) and spices. It is really good!

 

[Svenskaflicka]

...after mackerel.

It's a bit of a fetish of mine.

Careful! You don't want the word to spread that you're sleeping with the fishes, would you?

 

[variable Xy]

The salmon we get here seems to be farm raised or something. The brownish-gray fat tastes terrible, like motor oil, or maybe creosote. If I could find a way to get rid of that fat taste, we'd eat it more often. As it is, I have to pick my way carefully around it...

That brownish-gray fat that tastes nasty on salmon is the the flesh next to the skin. If you have cuts further away from the skin you won't get it. I know what you mean though. It tastes exactly what I imagine motor oil would taste, just like you described.

 

[cantdog]

Bacalao literally means "dried cod." Its a Portugeuse term for the fish they caught over the Grand Banks.

Any citrus juice will do something similar to cooking fresh fish. The Amerinds made a dish the Spanish called ceviche. Ceviche is simply fresh raw fish marinated in fruit juice (always including citrus juice) and spices. It is really good!

Ceviche! That's the stuff. Brain cramp.