Food

[Dave]

Sounds like a very fine feast, Natalie. And definitely some terrific photos; especially the first one in post #121.

I have a request. I'm thawing some small salmon fillets and haven't decided on a recipe: one that sounds good is blackened salmon, with a spicy coating (a rub?) of seasonings that will char well without tasting like ash. Maybe another would include some sort of sweet or sweet & sour glaze. I'll probably do my cooking in a cast iron skillet, or in the oven, or a combination of both.

Does anyone have a favorite salmon recipe or two to share?

[Don]

Sounds like a very fine feast, Natalie. And definitely some terrific photos; especially the first one in post #121.

I have a request. I'm thawing some small salmon fillets and haven't decided on a recipe: one that sounds good is blackened salmon, with a spicy coating (a rub?) of seasonings that will char well without tasting like ash. Maybe another would include some sort of sweet or sweet & sour glaze. I'll probably do my cooking in a cast iron skillet, or in the oven, or a combination of both.

Does anyone have a favorite salmon recipe or two to share?

We have salmon fairly often - I used to grill it but lately have been putting it in the oven. The last recipe we tried which we enjoyed was:

2 tablespoons of good quality olive oil
1 tablespoon of Italian herbs
1 teaspoon (or to taste) minced garlic
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste
Mix well

Heat oven to 400F.  Coat salmon filet with olive oil mixture making sure it is covered completely. Thinly slice remaining lemon to place on top of salmon. Bake in 400F oven for about 20 minutes or so.

Simple, quick, but quite tasty.

[Dave]

Thanks Don. Sounds good - I'll give it a try in the next day or two.

[Dreamin]

Dave, I'm not an experimental cook......when I try somethinng new, sometimes it is so bad, I go back to my preferred method. I cook my salmon with Chef Paul Prudhomme's Blackened Redfish seasoning heavy on one side....in a skillet....then serve with a lemon wedge.....

So, trying to use up some of the zucchini coming on quickly!!  This is a Zucchini Fritter....it was pretty good!!!!  

   

[Quint]

Great Looking crabs, Natalie, and the squash looks very good. Time to think about cooking from the garden crops.
Dave, we've cooked, smoked, pickled many salmon and white fish. A favorite way is to "blacken" like Paul Prudhomme's method.
Here's a blackened seasoning that is good. When I blacken, I use a cast iron pan on the gas burner outside. No pre oiling but just get the pan hot enough so butter will flame as soon as you drop a bit in the pan. Fish coated with some melted butter and the seasoning. Place a couple of pieces on the unoiled pan and cook for two minutes. Flip and two more minutes. Remove to plate.

Blackened Fish rub

1 tbsp. sweet paprika
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. ground red pepper (preferably cayenne)
3/4 tsp. white pepper
3/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves

---

Blackened fish

[Dreamin]

Now that's what I call blackened!! LOL!! Bet it was good!!

[Quint]

Natalie, it's especially tasty and not dried out. Prudhomme stresses to have the pan very hot and not to overload it with fish. The filets should not be too thick so as to cook through during the allotted searing time. The butter coating with seasoning helps the filet "dance" over the very hot cast iron pan and not stick. A pot of filet gumbo and some Cajun tunes completes the meal.

[Dreamin]

Natalie, it's especially tasty and not dried out. Prudhomme stresses to have the pan very hot and not to overload it with fish. The filets should not be too thick so as to cook through during the allotted searing time. The butter coating with seasoning helps the filet "dance" over the very hot cast iron pan and not stick.  A pot of filet gumbo and some Cajun tunes completes the meal.

Now I know it was good!!

[Dave]

Natalie, being an experimental cook is fun, but unpredictable. Many times I've spent hours on a meal (researching, shopping, and preparing) only to have it turn out inedible.

Don and Quint, thanks for your recipes.

I prepared two small salmon fillets yesterday; one as close as possible to Don's recipe as my available spices allowed, and the other was a spicy blackened fillet cobbled together from several sources. The blackened one (which turned out almost identical to the Prudhomme recipe suggested by Quint) was indeed spicy (too much so for my wife but I thought it was great). Don, your version was excellent too; more subtle, more refined; my wife especially liked it. So we both enjoyed the meal, which included small smashed red potatoes prepared with EVOO and balsamic vinegar and seasoned with S & P.

I managed to get the timing about right: bringing the salmon to room temperature, preparing the two rubs, boiling the potatoes before starting them in the oven, then adding the salmon. When I thought these were about half done I started the blackened version in a very hot cast iron skillet.

And I have enough leftovers for a light lunch, plus another 6-8 fillets still in the freezer.

(Sorry, but no photos of either version - we were too eager to try them to take time for photos.)

[damar]

This is the first time I put ribs on the weber rotisserie.
I make my own dry rub and then will put BBQ sauce on the table if anyone wants it.
(we don't wet the ribs on the fire)
These are not finished yet, but total time will be past the 3 hour mark.
Low and slow.