Simple Smoke Barbequed Salmon! 2

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!