Cedar Planked Salmon

As you know, I write a Resident Recipe column in our monthly neighborhood magazine. The magazine is quite impressive for a neighborhood publication and includes 70 full-color pages each month!

For the month of July, I interviewed Joseph, his wife Shawna and their four kids as they shared with me one of their favorite recipes for the grill: Cedar Planked Salmon.

One great thing about being the resident recipe columnist is that I get to taste all of the food featured in our magazine! The family was gracious enough to let me try the salmon, and I can say with all honesty that it was was outstanding! Matt wasn’t with me at the time, so with as much willpower as I could generate, I saved him a small piece to try when I got home.

“The salmon was truly incredible!!” says Matt. For a guy who eats at 5-star restaurants nearly every week for work, trust him when he says “this is the best tasting salmon I’ve ever eaten!”

The salmon hits the grill! Brushed with olive oil and seasoned with John Henry’s summer peach rub and raspberry chipotle rub.

Here’s the excerpt from the resident recipe article below:

Summer is here, which means it’s time to heat up the grill for some backyard barbecuing, and neighborhood resident Joseph knows how to grill an incredible cedar planked salmon that would make any meat eater enjoy fish!!

While Joseph is a red meat lover himself, he says they key to seafood is to “make it not taste like fish.” Using his father’s recipe, Joseph has perfected his cedar plank salmon so that even his kids love it. In a matter of minutes, the family of six can devour an entire filet (or two of salmon) in just one dinner. Enjoy!

Joseph adds the peach, apricot and pineapple glaze during the last 10 minutes of cook time.

Serve with grilled asparagus for a well-rounded meal.

Joseph, his wife Shawna and their four kids… ready to all dig in!

Cedar Planked Salmon

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 salmon filet (1 ½-2 pounds), skin removed
Olive oil
*John Henry’s Raspberry Chipotle Rub
*John Henry’s Summer Peach Rub
*Cedar grilling plank, soaked in water at least 5 hours before using
1-2 Tbsp. Apricot preserves
1-2 Tbsp. Peach preserves
1-2 Tbsp. Pineapple preserves

Instructions

FOR THE SALMON: Soak cedar-grilling plate in water at least 5 hours before using (so it won’t catch on fire when placed on the grill.)
Rub a generous amount of olive oil all over the front and back of the salmon filet. Place salmon in a glass dish.
Place salmon in a glass dish and generously sprinkle over salmon a 2:1 ratio of John Henry’s summer peach to raspberry chipotle rub. Make sure to use enough rub so it can caramelize on the grill. Place salmon in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours to marinate.
Preheat grill to 275 degrees F. Do NOT let the grill get hotter than 300 degrees F or you risk drying out the salmon.
Place salmon on a cedar grilling plate and grill it for 25-30 minutes, or until done. Depending on how large your salmon filet is, the cook time may be shorter or longer.
FOR THE GLAZE: 10 minutes before the salmon is ready, combine about 1-2 tablespoons each of apricot, peach and pineapple preserves in a food processor. Combine until well blended.
Pour the combined preserves over salmon and continuing grilling for 10 more minutes or until salmon flakes easily with a fork.

Notes

*John Henry’s rub can be purchased at Barbeques Galore, Elliott’s Hardware or online. A cedar grilling plank can be purchased at Kroger or just about any grocery store.

Blackened Salmon

For those of you who didn’t know, I am now am the contributing writer for the Resident Recipe section of our monthly neighborhood magazine. With the permission of my neighbors, I will share with you their recipe and the article I submitted to the magazine.

This blackened salmon recipe appeared in our April 2012 magazine issue and was submitted by Sue, who states: “This is a family recipe and I like to serve it when all my family is over for dinner. I came up with this recipe after having Blackened Salmon at a local seafood restaurant. Their version was so delicious, I went home and was able to duplicate it in my kitchen.”

Sue’s salmon looks absolutely gorgeous, wouldn’t you agree? It tasted just as incredible as it looked…she gave me a bite to sample! I hope you enjoy. 🙂

Blackened Salmon

Ingredients

1 large Salmon filet, about 2 pounds

Cooking spray

Olive oil

Black pepper

Paprika

Garlic, minced

Parsley flakes, dried

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray an 8″x 11″ inch pan with cooking spray.

2. Wash and dry salmon and place in pan.

3. Lightly pour olive oil over the filet. Sprinkle a generous amount of each of he above seasonings over the top of the filet.

4. Bake salmon for 20-25 minutes or until done. Serve with rice or your favorite potato dish and a green salad, for a quick and easy meal.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Recipe from: Sue

Marinated Salmon with Mango-Kiwi Relish

Springtime has definitely arrived here in Dallas and with the warmer weather, I don’t know about you, but I’ve been craving light, healthy dishes like this salmon recipe.

I was on my own for dinner tonight since Matt went to A&M with a bunch of buddies to watch a “fight’n Texas Aggie” baseball game (sorry, the Aggie is coming out of me right now). Even though I miss him when he’s gone, I enjoy cooking healthy and “girly” meals for myself. In addition, I try and cook as much fish as I can get my hands on, for these three reasons:

Matt is not a huge fan of fish
I can eat healthy without Matt complaining 🙂
Fish is A LOT cheaper when you are buying for one person (especially Sea Bass, which can cost anywhere between $22-$28/pound.)

I found this marinated salmon with mango-kiwi relish recipe from Cooking Light, and boy is it good! I loved the sweet-salty marinade and unique fruit filled sauce, which made this recipe really stand out. In addition, it was quick, easy, and perfect. Including prep time, in 15-20 minutes you can have a meal on your table and ready to eat.

No need to worry about calories with this one, with only 321 calories and 36.8g protein, you’ll be fully satisfied and on your way to losing weight! Plus, you’ll get a healthy dose of omega-3 fatty acids from the salmon.

So here’s to my newest springtime favorite… enjoy and serve over mixed greens, steamed couscous, on toasted sourdough bread for a fish sandwich, or as you please.

Chop mango, kiwi, red onion, and cilantro. Toss with 1/4 cup orange juice.

Heat the grill or (in my case) a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Add salmon and cook for 5 minutes on each side, or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Top salmon with relish and serve immediately.

Marinated Salmon with Mango-Kiwi Relish

Serves: 4

Recipe adapted from: Cooking Light

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. honey
2 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. black pepper
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)
cooking spray
1/2 cup diced peeled mango
1/2 cup cubed peeled kiwi
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup fresh orange juice

Instructions

TO PREPARE SALMON, combine first 4 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add fish to bag; seal. Marinate 10 minutes, turning occasionally.
While fish marinates, heat grill pan or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove fish from bag, discarding marinade. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add fish, and cook for 5 minutes on each side, or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.
WHILE FISH COOKS, PREPARE THE RELISH. Combine mango and the remaining ingredients. Serve over fish.

Calories: 321 Fat: 13.8g Carbohydrates: 10.9g Sodium: 128mg Fiber: 1.3g Protein: 36.8g

Five-Spice-Glazed Salmon with Sesame Green Beans

Here’s a tasty meal you can enjoy in minutes! Chinese five-spice powder, honey, and soy sauce create quite a glaze for this simple salmon dish. Broiling the green beans and salmon on the same baking sheet is genius and allows for faster kitchen cleanup. It’s an excellent meal to prepare for entertaining. As far as taste, the green beans were crisp yet tender, while the salmon had a rich, warm and spicy-sweet flavor from the exotic Chinese five-spice powder. Did I mention this dish was healthy? Salmon supposedly speeds up your metabolism and is loaded with lots of good Omega-3 fatty acids.

Enjoy!

Five-Spice-Glazed Salmon with Sesame Green Beans

Ingredients

1/4 cup honey

4 tsp. reduced sodium-soy sauce

1 1/2 tsp. five-spice powder

2 large clove garlic, minced

4 (6 ounce) skin-on salmon fillets (preferably wild), pin bones and scales removed

Nonstick cooking spray

1 lb. slender green beans, trimmed

2 tsp. canola oil

1 tsp. Asian sesame oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

1 tsp. lemon juice

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk the honey, soy sauce, five-spice powder, and garlic. Put the salmon skin down on a large plate and pour the honey mixture over it. Flip the fillets so they are skin side up. Let the fish marinate for 15 minutes at room temperature.

2. Position a rack 6 inches from the broiler and heat the broiler on high. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray.

3. In a large bowl, toss the green beans with the canola and sesame oils. Arrange the beans on one half of the prepared baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the salmon skin side down on the other half of the baking sheet. Brush the salmon with any remaining marinade from the plate.

4. Broil the salmon and green beans for 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, toss the green beans with tongs, and reposition the salmon pieces as needed so that they cook evenly. Continue to broil until the salmon is just cooked through and the beans are crisp-tender, 2-3 minutes. Toss the green beans with the sesame seeds and lemon juice and serve.

Yield: 4

Recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine

Broiled Salmon with Mustard and Crisp Dilled Crust

Broiled salmon with mustard and crisp dilled crust is one of my favorite fish recipes… however it nearly cost me my love of baking and my oven!

Back when I was first learning how to cook in college, I made some mistakes that I am not proud of. One of those mistakes was catching Easy Mac on fire in the microwave. I know, I know… the word “easy” is in the name, but I forgot to add water!!!

Another mistake was when I was making this very same broiled salmon recipe: I nearly caught my oven on fire! As most of you know, the broiler element of the oven is much hotter than the normal baking temperature of 350 degrees F. To cook this salmon, you must broil it for 7-9 minutes. During the broiling process, I made two mistakes:

The oven rack was only about an inch from the heating element, rather than 3 inches.
I put way too much olive oil on the salmon – in fact a pool of oil collected on the aluminum foil…hint, hint – this is what ignited the fire.

As you can guess, #1 and #2 from above are what caused the fire in my oven. I remember smelling the awful burning odor from my kitchen, and seeing the smoke seep out of my oven door. As soon as I opened the door, I saw a small flame engulfing the top portion of my oven, and my salmon!

Note: this is a pretty flame…mine did not look like that!

If you’ve ever been in a scary situation, you can relate to the same weird, adrenaline-rushing sensation that I felt. I was shaking, everything was moving so fast, and I felt like I was “watching” the scene, rather than taking part in it. Luckily the flame was small enough, that I was able to extinguish the fire with just a juice glass-size of water. My ears were ringing from the smoke detector, but thankfully, it went off before anyone was dispatched. I even salvaged some of the salmon and ate the non-charred portion of it…I was hungry!

To this day, I’m still extremely scared of using a broiler (I’m even scared to use an outdoor grill), but I’ve had no accidents since then…”knock on wood”.

I hope you enjoy this salmon as much as I did. Obviously I would not be making it after my “accident” had I not LOVED it! The fish is flaky, the bread crumbs are crunchy and crisp, & the the dill is a perfect accompaniment to this extremely flavorful and slightly salted dish. You will feel as if you’re eating at a 5-star restaurant. Bon Appetit!

Pulse sandwich bread and pita chips into fairly even 1/4-inch pieces. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 4-5 minutes, shaking once or twice until golden. Mix breadcrumbs with freshly chopped dill and set aside.

Rub olive oil, salt & pepper on salmon fillets and broil until opaque.

Coat salmon fillets with dijon mustard and bread crumbs.

Broil in oven on lower rack until 1 minute longer.

Broiled Salmon with Mustard and Crisp Dilled Crust
Ingredients
1 slice sandwich bread (high-quality, crusts removed)
1 oz. potato or pita chips (crushed into rough 1/8-inch pieces about 1/4 cup thick cut)
1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh dill (leaves chopped)
2 salmon fillets (8 ounces each and 1 1/4-inches thick, skin removed)
1/2 tsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. table salt
black pepper (ground)
1 Tbsp. dijon mustard

Directions
1. Adjust one oven rack to uppermost position (about 3-inches from heat source) and second rack to upper-middle position; heat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Pulse bread in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade until processed into fairly even 1/4-inch pieces about the size of Grape-Nuts cereal (you should have about 1/3 cup). Pulse for about 10 one-second pulses.
3. Spread crumbs evenly rimmed baking sheet; toast on lower rack, shaking pan once or twice, until golden brown and crisp, 4-5 minutes. Toss together bread crumbs, crushed potato chips, and dill in a small bowl, set aside.
4. Increase oven setting to broil. Line baking sheet with foil and place salmon on foil. Rub each fillet evenly with 1/4 teaspoon oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil salmon on upper rack until surface is spotty brown and outer 1/2-inch of thick end is opaque when gently flaked with pairing knife, 7-9 minutes.
5. Remove fish from oven, spread each fillet evenly with mustard and press bread crumb mixture onto fillets. Return to lower rack and continue broiling until crust is deep golden brown, about 1 minute longer. Use spatula to transfer salmon to serving plates.

Yield: 2 servings
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated – published April 24, 2007