Category Archives: Recipes

The Best Salmon Chips EVER…

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Every once in awhile, through trial and error, you come up with something pretty good. That would be the case with my Salmon Chips. Only this time, I came up with something Damn Good….

I started making’em for the guys at work a couple years ago and kept refining it until I had a recipe that has the ability to turn fish-eating nay-sayers into “Salmon Lovers”.

It’s really nothing new, I mean “Fish & Chips” have been around forever. For some folks, Salmon Chips are a pretty recognizable staple in their diet. For others, “Salmon Chips” generate a far off stare as if I am the biggest idiot ever. ” You can’t make Salmon into Fish & Chips”, is usually the response. I simply reply, just keep an open mind and give it a try. The eye opening experience with the first bite, is just that… an eye opening experience.

OK, so how do we make’em….

I think it is important to serve any fish, cooked as a chip, absolutely boneless. This takes a little time but is well worth the effort. After you have your salmon fillets, you need to take the time to remove the pin-bones. A small pair of flat-nose or needle-nose pliers work well.If you are not sure exactly how to remove the pin-bones, here is a helpful quick video. “Remove Pin Bones”  Next you’ll want to remove the skin off the back side of the fillet and be sure to remove the excess brown fatty meat.

With the bones and skin removed, you simply cut your clean salmon fillett into large chip size pieces.

I will generally do this in the morning so that when I am done seasoning the pieces, I can put it in the refrigerator for the better part of the day. This allows for enough time to ensure that your seasonings absorb into the meat. This in turn makes for a much more favorable chip.

Here is were the rubber meats the road. For me, this makes all the difference in how your Salmon Chip will turn out flavorful, lightly breaded and with very little to no oil in the fish.

My choice of seasonings are pretty simple, Pepper, Garlic Salt and “Tony Chachere’s original Creole Seasoning”. If I want to make my Salmon Chips with a little extra bite, I’ll also add Tony’s Cajun seasoning as well. Season your chunks of fish generously, as you want the flavor to wake up your taste-buds…

I like to use McCormick’s Fish & Chips batter. The key here is that you need to make sure you mix it thin. Extra water in the batter, is a good thing. I like a very thin layer of batter coating my fish. We have all had those pieces of fish, heavily caked in dough, soaked with oil and lets face it, they taste nasty.

A light coating of batter means that you won’t have a ton of extra oil soaked into your chip. I also use a very light oil. I like the end product I get when using a light blend of Canola Oil and Light Olive Oil, made by “Smart Balance omega”.

I heat my oil in a large sauce pan, on the stove top. A medium high heat usually gets the job done. I’m not trying to flash-cook my fish, I want it a bit slower and controlled so I end up with golden brown pieces of fish.

I cook the pieces of fish, until they turn that light golden brown texture I’m looking for. Then I remove each piece and place them on stacked paper towels. This helps to draw any extra oil, out of the fish.

With paper towels underneath, I’ll continue to place more paper towels on top and continue to stack on more fish. I keep adding layers until all my fish is cooked. Stacking the fish on paper towels and covering the top with a piece of foil actually keeps the fish warm until they are ready to be served.

Spicy Salmon Chips with some Sweet Potato Fires and Cole-Slaw…. It doesn’t get much healthier then that for “Fish & Chips”. More importantly, the flavor will make you think twice about ever going back to Cod, when it comes to choosing what type of fish to consider to make your chips….

Bone Appetit ….

Build an Insulated Box for your Little Chief Smoker

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The ability to have fish, fowl, game and even cheese, turn out consistently good in your smoker comes down to a few control measures. I’m not going to waste your time telling you the absolute best wet or dry brine for fish. I am also not going to tell you how fantastic your duck will turn out when wrapped in thick cut bacon…. You can read my smoked duck blog on that one..

I am, however, going to tell you or more importantly show you the importance of temperature control.

I have a Luhr Jensen Little Chief smoker. I’ve had it for years and it does a great job. Back when it was new and when I was smoking fish in the fall and winter I would follow the manufacturers recommendation and use the box it came in as an insulator. The smoker itself is not insulated so the recommendation in cold weather is to place the box over the smoker to help keep some of the heat in.

Once the box wore out, I actually used an old sleeping bag. I did this for a couple years until I finally decided that there had to be a better way.

It always amazes me the idea’s a guy can come up with by simply by walking through a Home Depot or Lowes. There is so much stuff in there it’s just a matter of time until you find everything you need for any project.

Now I was thinking insulation, as in insulating my smoker, when I was walking thru the store. So, I found myself standing in the area of Home Depot that has anything to do with everything in the realm of insulation. I decided to go with structural foundation insulation foam.

To build this insulator box, here is what you will need…
-4 X 8 sheet of one inch thick R. Tech Insulation Foam
-10 ft. of 1 ¼ in. corner molding
-Lock Tight Power Grip multi-purpose adhesive. Make sure it is foam compatible
-Duct-Work aluminum tape (aluminum foil tape)
-Hardware components and grommets

There are several different models of the Little Chief and Big Chief smokers. You need to measure your individual smoker, length and width, to get the accurate measurements. Check if your smoker has handles on the sides or front that you measure the overall width to accommodate for them. When your insulated box is finished, it slides down over the top and it needs to clear the width of the handles.

Cut your four panels using a straight edge with a very sharp fillet knife. I found that when I used a utility knife I had to cut each side of the panel. The utility knife cannot go completely through the one inch thick foam from one side.

The length of your panels should be about 24 inches. The length of your 1 ¼” corner trim should be about 26 inches. The important thing here is that the length of your corner pieces are two inches longer then the panels.

Next you’ll need to take two of your panels and cut a one inch recess along both edges of the panel. Make sure it’s the two panels that are aligned opposite. For example, you should have two panels that are 14. 5 inchs in width and two that are 16 in. Pick a set and make your cuts along each edge. The other set you can leave full dimension. This is so you can glue the panels together and the corner trim will fit evenly.

This is an example of how the corners will fit together, with the recess cut and the corner trim in place.

Once I have the four panels cut and trimmed, it’s time to glue it all together. I put a bead of Lock Tight along the cut-out edge that I made. I also put a thin bead along each side of the corner trim. I put all the pieces together and try to keep it square.

I then wrap the heck out of the box with a heavy string or small diameter rope. I make sure I pull it tight as I continue to wrap and again try to keep it square. The pressure of the string against all four corners will ensure the box holds together tight as the glue drys. I give it at least 24 hrs. to dry. You may need to move it into the house to dry if you are building your box in the fall or winter. The garage may be a bit to cool.

While I have the box wrapped and squared up I measure and cut the top to fit.

The fact that this is styrofoam, I don’t like to leave the edges unprotected. I found that duct-work aluminum foil tape works great for covering all foam exposed edges.

Basically I was able to do the lid with one long strip. You can do it in sections if you prefer.

Next you will also want to do the top edge of your box and the bottom. Again, I tape any exposed foam on the edges.

Next I need to cut a hole in the top for the heat vent. I use a quart jar, narrow neck lid. I make sure the hole that I drill is a bout a ½ inch smaller in diameter then the lid. I want to make sure my vent cover actually covers the hole when I need it to. Also, I need room at the edge to anchor the vent lid.

To make sure I can spin or pivot the vent cover open I use stainless components and plastic grommets.

I drill a hole through the top and reinforce the hole on both sides with some aluminum foil tape. Then, push a plastic grommet in both sides of the top.

I attach the vent cover lid with the stainless screw, nut, and washers. Next I drill a hole and insert a grommet for the thermometer. Depending on the model of smoker you have you can align the thermometer hole with one of the vents in the lid of the smoker. Or if there are no vent slits, you will need to drill a hole in the smoker lid.

If there is a vent, simply open it up a bit with a screwdriver so that your thermometer will fit through the lid. Having the thermometer through the lid and into the actual smoker is key. After-all, this entire project is all about temperature control…

The final two steps are to simply measure your smoker for the location of your pan door on the front and power cord on the back.

Measure and cut out both front and back and reinforce the edges with the foil tape. Again, having no exposed styrofoam makes for a stronger box.

That is pretty much it. This is one of those projects that takes a little time to complete, but it’s so well worth it. You will have an insulation smoker box with temperature control that will last you for years. If you’re like me, sometimes do-it-yourself projects are actually kind of fun.


Good luck and if you decide to build one, make sure you post some pictures on the Outdoor Line forums or over on our Facebook  page.

Duane Inglin
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

The Worlds Best Smoked Duck

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The reality is, there is more than one way to cook a duck. The first time I brought my limit of seven ducks home I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to cook’em or what I wanted to try.

The one thing I knew for certain, is that after I breasted-out my ducks I needed to get the blood out of the meat. Robbo gave me a great tip. An over night soak in a mixture of kosher salt and water did the trick. By the next morning pretty much all the blood was out.

While my duck breasts were soaking I had time to get on the internet and research some recipes. I found a few that looked interesting and I settled on one that gave me an idea.

I was going to smoke my duck breast and I was also going to change a recipe that I found for a brine…just a bit.

Here’s the ingredients that I settled on:

2 quarts apple cider
½ cup kosher salt
½ cup brown sugar
2 crushed bay leafs
1 tea sp. cracked peppercorn
1 tea sp. minced garlic
1 tea sp. garlic pepper

Mix your ingredients thoroughly with a wisp until the salts and sugars are dissolved.

This time I am actually going to smoke duck breasts and goose thighs. For the breast prior to brining I cut them in half length wise. For larger breasts such as big mallards I will even cut those into three pieces.

I will let this meat soak for a good twenty four hours. It’s all about adding flavor and ensuring that your meat will be nice and tender when the smoking is complete.

When you remove your breast and thighs form the brine you’ll notice a slight color change. No worries, this is the result of the salts and sugars absorbing into the meat.

Now here is the game changer. Knowing that duck and goose are extremely lean and free of fat also means that it is very easy to over-cook and have it end up chewy and tough. That is exactly what we don’t want.

I knew I needed to add some fat to the meat prior to smoking. In my mind I thought, “why not wrap each piece in bacon”. Everyone knows that anything cooked in bacon is a sure hit. Make sure you get the “Thick Cut Bacon”. It will cost a little more, but the amount of fat in each piece protecting your prized duck or goose is well worth it.

Wrapping each piece of duck and goose is pretty simple. For the duck strips I just take a single piece of bacon and go around it length wise and pin it in place with a tooth-pick. I make sure the tooth-pick is pushed all the way in on the bottom so it’s not in the way when setting your wrapped meat on your smoking rack. It’s OK if it sticks out of the top a bit. For the goose thighs I basically spiral wrap the bacon around the thigh from top to bottom.

Because duck and goose meat is so dense, it’s not like smoking fish. I find that you really do need to smoke at higher temperatures. I use a Little Chief and put it in an insulated box that I built. This works great in getting my smoker up to the temps that I need. Something else I do to get my smoker up in temperature is a combination of chips and pucks.

I like to use the Peterson Smoke Pucks, as they really aid in getting the smoker to the higher temps that I need. I also use smoking chips for flavor. When smoking fish or fowl fruit chips are always a great choice. For this recipe I use apple chips as it complements the apple cider brine very nicely.

The overall smoking time will vary. I usually keep the smoker between 140 and 160 for six to seven hours. As the meat in the smoker warms up I eventually get it up to about 180 for at least the last hour to hour and a half.

Overall smoking time tends to be about eight hours depending on your temps. I want the bacon on the outside of the duck done but not burned.
Because of the bones in the goose thigh meat it actually takes a bit longer to smoke. Once I removed the duck from the smoker the goose thighs were left in the smoker for another hour and a half. Total smoke time for the goose was about nine and a half to ten hours. Again, total time will depend on your smoker temperature control.

Goose thighs on the top rack and the duck strips on the other three racks.

A good look at what the bacon wrapped pieces look like right out of the smoker. Again, the bacon is done but not burned.

Finally I simply unwrap the bacon and prepare the meat for serving. With the duck, I like to cut it into strips. You can see how the meat ends up medium rare and moist. You will not believe the amount of smoke flavor on this fowl, it’s amazing. For the goose thighs, I strip as much meat off the bone as I can. You will find that the goose tends to be just a bit tougher then the duck, however it’s still very flavorful.

Give this smoke duck or goose recipe a try, I think you’ll find a new favorite to serve to your friends and family around the holidays.

Duane Inglin
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

 

Stuff Your Stocking with Salmon Sauce

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By my count there’s only five days until Christmas and some of you may be looking for an easy gift for the angler in your life that just loves to eat salmon.

That’s me…I love to eat salmon and everything else for that matter.

A friend introduced me to Johnny’s Salmon Finishing Sauce a couple years ago and I’m hooked on this stuff. It’s almost like tartar sauce only much, much better.

They sell it at Outdoor Emporium, Sportco, and many of the larger grocery chains in Washington and you can also find it on the Johnny’s website.

Whenever I find Johnny’s Finishing Sauce on the shelf at Sportco I clean them out. It’s that good!

If your lookin’ for a last minute gift idea or perhaps a new sauce for your summer salmon barbecues I highly recommend you give this stuff a try. It’s good, good stuff!

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

 

Duck in Bourbon Cream Sauce

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I’m always surprised at how many people grumble to me about how ducks and geese taste. To my wife and I eating waterfowl is a treat that we truly enjoy. Waterfowl has a very strong flavor, but if you cook it right my gosh is it good.

I’ve got a family bacon braised goose recipe that even your yoga class instructor would horse down without blinking an eye. We use that one often and man is it good. There’s a new recipe on the block, however, that is threatening to knock this one off it’s thrown.

After hunting with Don Fenton from Truck Vault last week he emailed me the worlds best duck recipe. Nicole and I cooked up some Canada goose breasts last night with it and WOWZA!!!

Here’s Don’s incredible Duck in Bourbon Cream Sauce recipe:

Don’t worry about getting a little goofy (or goofier) from eating this delicious duck. The alcohol primarily burns off during the cooking process but some will still remain. This recipe is also delicious with venison, goose, pork, beef and pheasant or quail.

You can marinate duck breasts in saltwater brine or Dr. Pepper overnight before cooking but it is not necessary.

CAUTION: When you add bourbon to the pan it may ignite! Slowly pour the bourbon into the pan without sticking your head or face over the pan. Wait a few minutes for the alcohol to burn off.

4 servings – you can adjust the recipe for the number of ducks you are cooking. 2 breasts equals one duck.

6-8 duck breast halves (or diced) skin can be in tact or removed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
3 cloves of garlic minced
¼ cup diced red onion
1 tablespoon brown sugar
½ cup beef or chicken broth
¼ cup bourbon
1/3 cup heavy (whipping) cream

Season duck breasts liberally with salt and pepper. Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add breasts whole or diced and cook until seared medium brown, approximately three minutes. Flip breast over and cook for two minutes more. Remove meat and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. Add garlic, onion, and brown sugar to the pan. Stir to blend and cook for 3-4 minutes. Stir in beef or chicken broth and reduce liquid by one half. Add bourbon very carefully (see CAUTION above) and cook for two minutes more. Add cream and cook until sauce thickens. Return duck to the pan to warm, try not to cook past medium rare or to your liking.

Enjoy!

(Note from the editor – The sauce is so good you’ll want to double the recipe for more, more, more.)

Don Fenton
Truck Vault
Sedro Wooley, Washington

Simple Smoke Barbequed Salmon!

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Well, you’ve spent all summer and a good part of the fall chasing -and hopefully catching- salmon and now it’s time to reap the benefits!

There are as many ways to barbeque salmon as there are barbeques… and I think I’ve seen ‘em all: Foil & fruit, butter and BBQ sauce, but my favorite is simply smoke and seasoning!

Trim the rib bones and membrane and sprinkle the filet with equal parts Lemon Pepper and Montreal Steak Seasoning. Let the mixture work into the filet for at least an hour before cooking.

So much for the seasoning, now how about the smoke? If you have access to some alder, cherry, apple or other hardwood, then you’re set. If not, it’s Peterson’s Pucks to the rescue!

Scrape the grill and spray with non-stick spray. Then slip a couple Peterson’s Pucks (alder is my favorite) under the grill -but on top of the heat- and wait for the smoke to develop.

Pre-heating the grill is a big key but don’t get it too hot! Seafood cooks much, much faster than beef or chicken and cooks at lower temps as well. Think “medium” on your grill instead of the “high” setting.

 

As the filet cooks, you’ll note a golden brown coloration start to show and the edges will curl. More importantly, observe the fish beginning to cook into the thickness of the filet.

How do you know when to flip the filet? That, my friends is the question! Look closely at the middle of the slice and if it’s close to cooked halfway through…Flip it!

Sometimes the smoke source will develop small flames. For that reason, I keep a “squirt bottle” of water nearby to douse the fire! Adding water has the side benefit of developing steam which speeds the cooking process!

The wide, metal BBQ “Spatulas” are the best for lifting the filet from the grill and supporting it during the flip. Sometimes with larger pieces of fish, two “flippers” are better than one!

 

Once you’ve executed the successful flip, you’re greeted by mouth-watering grill marks and it’s almost dinnertime!

How do you determine if your filet is done? There is a simple test you can perform to ensure the fish is cooked all the way through.

Insert a spatula or “pancake flipper” into the filet’s suture at the lateral line. If it’s done, easy pressure will allow penetration from the surface all the way to the skin.

Like I said, there are many, many ways to barbeque salmon. The above method is simple, and has one very strong recommendation: I’ve prepared salmon this way hundreds of times for friends & family and never, ever had a complaint!

Deep Fry Done Easy: It’s What to do with all those bottomfish!!!

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Spring is upon us and with it lingcod, rockfish and halibut seasons.

So, if you’ve still got fish in the freezer… You, my friend have a problem that is probably starting to look more like Styrofoam than fresh fish.

Fortunately, there is a much better solution than deeming the contents of your freezer “Crab bait”. My advice to you is to start thawing and deep frying immediately!!!
There’s just something about the crispy, golden appearance, the white, flaky texture and the taste…oh, man, the taste… There’s no question, if you want to get rid of a whole bunch of fish fast, just break out the deep fryer and have at it!

The problem is, some folks are a little shy about the whole process of preparing, breading and gettin’ their deep-fry on! Well, it’s not as complicated as you may think. There is some prep time involved but when you get to taste the final product, I think you’ll agree that it’s time well spent!

Let’s talk ingredients and it all starts with the raw material. If your fish is showing a bit of freezer burn it’s easy to trim a little bit and discard the dry, white edges. The rest of the ingredients are as follows for a three-pound mess of white fish:

Deep fryer or stove top pot with a gallon of 350-degree peanut or canola oil
Salt, pepper, garlic powder in shakers
One cup of white flour
Four eggs
One cup of milk
Panko Rice breading
Franks Red Hot Sauce (Buffalo Wing flavoring)

Cut your fish up in similar size chunks for even cooking. I like to prepare 3″ x 2″ squared off pieces. Exact size in not important but uniform size certainly is! Place the chunks on paper towels to begin the drying process.

Change the paper towels and salt & pepper the fish liberally (garlic powder optional) . Flip the chunks on yet another new sheet of paper towels and season the other side as well.

Flour the chunks and place on a cookie sheet as now the fish should be dry enough to allow the flour to remain powdery (not wet) on the surface.

Set up a little assembly line for the egg wash (eggs & milk) and then the Panko rice breading.

Mix the eggs & milk together and take the seasoned, floured chunks into the egg wash and then immediately into the Panko.

With the oil at 350 degrees, drop the breaded chunks into the oil and cook until golden brown which is usually less than three minutes. You’ll notice the Franks Red Hot sauce which is just killer on the smaller chunks and results in a treat known as Buffalo ‘But around the Nelson house! Just sprinkle the Frank’s over the fish immediately as it comes out of the fryer and the hot, active surface really helps spread the sauce around nicely!

When you’re all done, you will notice that suddenly you are not alone in the kitchen. Your cooking pan will briefly look like this but for some reason will rapidly empty!

Is this the only breading/ deep fry recipe there is??? Heck no! However, this is an easy process that is tasty and the Panko breading soaks up very little oil so it’s better for you than heavy batter methods.

While I have done mega batches of fried fish with the turkey cooker over propane as well as on the stove top with a large Revere Ware pot, the easiest temperature control and most consistent results come with a true deep fryer such as the Rival Digital Fryer.

With a little practice and a lot of fish you can turn out some amazing results and unbelievably tasty fish!

Well,… what are you waiting for??? Get frying!!!

Tom Nelson The Outdoor Line 710 ESPN Seattle www.theoutdoorline.com

It’s Oyster:30 in G-Town!

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It didn't take long to polish off 6 dozen oysters at my good buddy Geoff's going away party last night here in Gig Harbor. Geoff just got called up for 400 days of active duty in Afghanistan and what better way to send him off than with a bunch of fresh Hood Canal oysters cooked up Endsley-style on the barbecue. Oh, and a little 15 year Glenlevit scotch didn't hurt either!

My aunt and uncle have a waterfront cabin on the Hood Canal with a beach that is literally polluted with oysters. When the tide goes out the filter feeders are 18 inches think and it's nothing to pluck a couple of 5 gallon bucket-fulls for a feast. And before you accuse me of poaching oysters it's perfectly legal to take them shell-and-all from a private beach. On public beaches, however, you must shuck your limit of 18 oysters and leaves the shells on the beach to reseed the area. Not to worry, these shells will also end up back on the Endsley oyster beach where they belong.

I rustled up all the ingredients for a killer batch'a barbecued oysters before heading off to Smyth's house last night. I posted the Endsley family oyster recipe here on my Outdoor Line blog a couple of years ago and it's to die for. If you're looking for a new way to barbecue oysters…this is da bomb!  

Geoff got first dibs on the tastey oysters as soon as batch numero uno was finished. Uncle Pete called to tell Geoff thanks for his service to our country as we were gorging our bad selves on his oysters. That goes for all of us Geoff…thanks man!

These oysters usually don't make it off the barbecue. Just grab a fork and put the hammer down! If you cue up a bunch'o oysters on your barbecue make a big aluminum tray like you see in the photo below to cook them on, as the oysters juice will destroy the barbecue in a short amount of time. Oyster juice is 14,000 times more salty then reg'lur old saltwater, or so it seems.  

Montana transplant Justin and his girlfriend Bob diggin' in. Halfway thru the feast I ran out of Tillamook butter and we switched over to olive oil, which is ten times more healthy and just as tastey.

A couple of rounds of oysters actually made it past all of us vultures and into the house where the other party-goers could enjoy them.  

This is the absolute best time of year to eat oysters from the Hood Canal, as they are firm, cold, and clean during the winter months. With this recipe in your cooking quiver you can grab a cheapo portable barbecue and some local micro brews and impress your friends or family with one heckuva cookout at one of the public beaches on the Hood Canal.

And to my friend Geoff who is heading to the middle east as we speak…godspeed my friend! We'll have some oysters waiting for you when you get home safe and sound.

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com 

Rockin’ the Shore Lunch

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Back when I was a full time river guide here in Washington one of my favorite fisheries was the Skagit River catch and release season for wild steelhead. The season was set up for March and April when the majority of those big bruisers were headed upstream and man-o-man do I have some memories from those beautiful spring days targetting America's hardest fighting freshwater gamefish.

In the early days all the scenery and all the fish in the world couldn't get people to book a trip, however, because they couldn't bonk one over the head and bring it home for supper. Catch and release steelhead fishing was a whole new dealio in this state at that time and people just couldn't grasp the thought of letting one of these awesome fish loose after landing it.

Flyfisherman had been releasing them for years, but getting a gear guy to let one go was like pulling teeth. I needed a plan.

I contacted a few of the big name guides at that time and ran my dillemma by them. One of them, whom I'm still friends with today, mentioned that he would sometimes pull over mid-day and whip up a quick bbq'd shore lunch for his guests. They loved it, of course, and always came back. That was it…a shore lunch!

I cooked all sorts of stuff on the river in those days, including chicken, steak, venison, shish-ka-bobs, and salmon. Any hot meal on the river bank was a big hit, but the salmon always got the most compliments. Salmon with a potatoe side dish and perhaps a bbq'd vegetable or some roll's…dangit that was some good stuff.

I got the cooking program so dialed in that I could have the food on the bbq in less than five minutes and have the goodies cooking while we fished our way down the river. Before long I was booked solid each and every season. I'd like to think those awesome shore lunches had a lil' something to do with it. 

I've been retired from the river guiding gig for a few years now and out of all of the days I've spent on the river it's those spring days I miss the most. So, when my good buddy Ray Gombiski sent me a text the other day to say he was in a funk and needed to get out on the water I knew a shore lunch was in order. 

This is one of the easiest shore lunches to prepare and nothing beats it on a drizzly fall day here in Washington. 

The night before the trip I cut up a mess of red potatoes and onions and place them in a baking dish. Add some cracked pepper, sea salt, and rosemary to taste and then drizzle olive oil over the whole works. Place it in the oven at 425 degrees and stir the potatoes every 15 minutes or so until they are thoroughly cooked. It usually takes about 45 minutes to get the job done. Wrap up enough potatoes in tin foil for lunch on the river and eat the rest for dinner.

Place a bunch of asparagus stalks in a Zip Loc bag and hit them with olive oil, cracked pepper, and sea salt.

Thaw out your salmon and keep it in the vacuum pack bag for the next day and pack either Tillamook butter or olive oil for the fish. One of my favorite commercially produced rubs is Tom Douglas's salmon rub and if you can't find it concoct your own rub using my Smokey Sweet Salmon Rub recipe found over on my Prince of Wales Sportfishing website.

Here's everything you need for this shore lunch: 

Rosemary Red Potatoes

Asparagus 

Salmon Fillet

Olive Oil or Tillamook Butter

Salmon Rub

Tin Foil

Plastic Forks

Paper Plates 

CHEAP BBQ

Propane

BBQ Lighter 

Newcastle Brown Ale

After the bbq is lit place the salmon in some tin foil and either drizzle olive oil over it or place a few chunks of Tillamook butter on it. Sprinkle your favorite rub on the fish and then place the potatoes and asparagus on the grill. Seal that baby up and check it in about ten minutes, or so. The salmon should be pulled off when it's medium rare, which is just about the same time the potatoes are warm and the greens are cooked. 

Place your grub on a cheapo paper plate and feel good about making comments like "I wonder what the poor folks are doing" as you scarf down every last scrap with your sophisticated plastic cutlery.

I whipped up this shore lunch for Ray and my next door neighbor Mike the other day and it topped off a perfectly awesome day on the river. Ray got out of his funk and I got to day dream about April's on the Skagit River.  

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

 

 

 

Deep fry done easy!

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Spring is upon us and with it lingcod, rockfish and halibut seasons.

So,  if you've still got fish in the freezer…  You, my friend have a problem that is probably starting to look more like Styrofoam than fresh fish.

Fortunately, there is a much better solution than deeming the contents of your freezer "Crab bait". My advice to you is to start thawing and deep frying immediately!!!
There's just something about the crispy, golden appearance, the white, flaky texture and the taste…oh, man, the taste… There's no question, if you want to get rid of a whole bunch of fish fast,  just break out the deep fryer and have at it!

The problem is, some folks are a little shy about the whole process of preparing, breading and gettin' their deep-fry on! Well, it's not as complicated as you may think. There is some prep time involved but when you get to taste the final product, I think you'll agree that it's time well spent!

Let's talk ingredients and it all starts with the raw material. If your fish is showing a bit of freezer burn it's easy to trim a little bit and discard the dry, white edges. The rest of the ingredients are as follows for a three-pound mess of white fish:

Deep fryer or stove top pot with a gallon of 350-degree peanut or canola oil
Salt, pepper, garlic powder in shakers
One cup of white flour
Four eggs
One cup of milk
Panko Rice breading
Franks Red Hot Sauce (Buffalo Wing flavoring)

Cut your fish up in similar size chunks for even cooking. I like to prepare 3" x 2" squared off pieces. Exact size in not important but uniform size certainly is! Place the chunks on paper towels to begin the drying process.

 

Change the paper towels and salt & pepper the fish liberally (garlic powder optional) . Flip the chunks on yet another new sheet of paper towels and season the other side as well. 

 

Flour the chunks and place on a cookie sheet as now the fish should be dry enough to allow the flour to remain powdery (not wet) on the surface. 

 

Set up a little assembly line for the egg wash (eggs & milk) and then the Panko rice breading. 

 

Mix the eggs & milk together and take the seasoned, floured chunks into the egg wash and then immediately into the Panko. 

 

With the oil at 350 degrees, drop the breaded chunks into the oil and cook until golden brown which is usually less than three minutes. You'll notice the Franks Red Hot sauce which is just killer on the smaller chunks and results in a treat known as Buffalo 'But around the Nelson house! Just sprinkle the Frank's over the fish immediately as it comes out of the fryer and the hot, active surface really helps spread the sauce around nicely! 

 

When you're all done, you will notice that suddenly you are not alone in the kitchen. Your cooking pan will briefly look like this but for some reason will rapidly empty! 

 

Is this the only breading/ deep fry recipe there is??? Heck no! However, this is an easy process that is tasty and the Panko breading soaks up very little oil so it's better for you than heavy batter methods. 

While I have done mega batches of fried fish with the turkey cooker over propane as well as on the stove top with a large Revere Ware pot, the easiest temperature control and most consistent results come with a true deep fryer such as the Rival Digital Fryer.

With a little practice and a lot of fish you can turn out some amazing results and unbelievably tasty fish!

Well,… what are you waiting for??? Get frying!!!