Salmon help

SPRIGS

I know nothing about cooking it.  Tastes like cat food to me but my wife and kids love it so I am planning to try some this weekend.  Not looking to smoke it as my wife isn't a big fan of smoke.  Just looking to grill.  Direct or indirect?  What temp?  Pull at 130 or so?  Do I flip it at all or just cook skin side down?

Thanks everyone.

Brisket_Fanatic

Does it have the skin on or off?

This is one of my favorites on salmon. http://dizzypigbbq.com/portfolio/raging-river/

SPRIGS

I haven't bought it yet but I think the store sells both.  I was planning to get skin on as I was planning to grill it skin side down in hopes it comes off in one piece.

gdenby

The quality of fish is really important. My wife "officially" hates fish. Which is to say if it is not extremely fresh, she hates the smell.

Also, salmon, and other fish can exude a "pellicle," a mess of grey-white goop. Make a 10% salt solution, and soak the fish for about 30 min. That will inhibit the pellicle. Also, if the fish is not so fresh, it diminishes the "fishy" smell.

I usually aim at 120-ish.

For fillets, I usually hot tub them, and then toss them on an oiled pizza pan that has holes, or just a mesh, raised, direct. Only enough time to brown the skin.

Ragin' River is great stuff. Otherwise, at least have some fresh lemon. Dill is good, too.

Steaks can be done the same way, w. flipping. Best method I've had is a deep cast iron pot w. a pound of butter bubbling inside it. Then a minute or two per side.

bgebrent

Get wild caught fish, not farm raised.  You can go raised direct at 400 to your preferred doneness which I did last night or cedar plank with same set up (soak the plank).  
Agree with the above. 

bgebrent

poster

gdenby said:

The quality of fish is really important. My wife "officially" hates fish. Which is to say if it is not extremely fresh, she hates the smell.

Also, salmon, and other fish can exude a "pellicle," a mess of grey-white goop. Make a 10% salt solution, and soak the fish for about 30 min. That will inhibit the pellicle. Also, if the fish is not so fresh, it diminishes the "fishy" smell.

I usually aim at 120-ish.

For fillets, I usually hot tub them, and then toss them on an oiled pizza pan that has holes, or just a mesh, raised, direct. Only enough time to brown the skin.

Ragin' River is great stuff. Otherwise, at least have some fresh lemon. Dill is good, too.

Steaks can be done the same way, w. flipping. Best method I've had is a deep cast iron pot w. a pound of butter bubbling inside it. Then a minute or two per side.

isn't the pellicle something that forms after brining then air drying (tacky layer), critical when smoking? Are you referring to maybe albumin (the white stuff oozing out as you cook)? which like you said a quick brine will help get rid of this

gdenby

poster said:

gdenby said:

The quality of fish is really important. My wife "officially" hates fish. Which is to say if it is not extremely fresh, she hates the smell.

Also, salmon, and other fish can exude a "pellicle," a mess of grey-white goop. Make a 10% salt solution, and soak the fish for about 30 min. That will inhibit the pellicle. Also, if the fish is not so fresh, it diminishes the "fishy" smell.

I usually aim at 120-ish.

For fillets, I usually hot tub them, and then toss them on an oiled pizza pan that has holes, or just a mesh, raised, direct. Only enough time to brown the skin.

Ragin' River is great stuff. Otherwise, at least have some fresh lemon. Dill is good, too.

Steaks can be done the same way, w. flipping. Best method I've had is a deep cast iron pot w. a pound of butter bubbling inside it. Then a minute or two per side.

isn't the pellicle something that forms after brining then air drying (tacky layer), critical when smoking? Are you referring to maybe albumin (the white stuff oozing out as you cook)? which like you said a quick brine will help get rid of this

Its a language problem. I was perplexed after I read that pellicle referred to tacky proteins on meats, mostly referring to being ready for smoking, as opposed to the goop on fish that I 1st saw named pellicle some years earlier. It is a coat of albumin, and may in fact be a good smoke base. Don't know. The term stuck in my vocabulary, and I haven't yet clarified the use to myself.

Mithrandir

Raging River And cedar plank. Can't go wrong. 400 F

Hub

I am not much of a cook but if there is one thing in life that I can cook, it is salmon on the egg.  Take off the skin, rub it with raging river and put it on raised direct ... about 375... flip it a few times .. meanwhile, in a heat protected dish .. melt some butter and add some genuine molasses .. not pancake syrup .. molasses ... as the salmon gets near ready liberally mop it with the butter/molasses mixture, flip again and mop again .. my wife, her sister, and everyone else that has ever had it raves and insists that I should open my own salmon restaurant.  I promise you .. do this and you can't go wrong.

clemsontyger97

Since no one else has asked...how much cat food have you been eating?  

Proser

Mithrandir said:

Raging River And cedar plank. Can't go wrong. 400 F

+1. I rub it mustard and put lemon and onion slices on top

NonaScott

Agree on the cat food taste. If you remove the skin and slice off the grey stuff under the skin and remove the bloodline the taste will be much milder. I make it a practice to remove the bloodline in all fish including the mild white fleshed fish like dolphin.

DieselkW

I would take salmon to 150ºf.

Lemon and dill are classic salmon flavors, Raging River is really good on any fish as well.

If you have a cedar plank, raised direct at 425º - putting salmon directly on a grill is OK, but I always like to keep it in one piece and if it sticks to the grate, the whole thing could fall apart before getting it to the table.

Try a baking dish with parchment paper - wrap the salmon with dill and lemon slices and some summer vegetables in parchment - steams it, comes out moist, and keeps any "smokey" flavors out of the fish.

25-30 mins should do it.