Salmon

[allie]

A dear friend of mine gave me a gallon bag packed full of frozen salmon he caught and filleted. I don't know what kind it was, didn't think to ask him. lol Anyway, I've smoked a whole salmon and it was great but I don't really have time to mess with smoking this week. There is enough to make two meals for the kids and me. I was thinking to put some in packets with asparagus and slices of lemons on the bottom and not sure what else to put in there with it. Then I was thinking of grilling some and topping with mango salsa.

Do any of you have any good suggestions? I'm pretty new at cooking salmon myself as Les won't eat it so I usually don't buy it and this is the first time anyone has given me any. lol

[KYHeirloomer]

What color are those filets, Allie? Dark red? Or more whitish?

Unless you have a special basket I would be leary about cooking filets on the grill, particularly if they are skinless. Salmon cooks fast and falls apart readily, and can easily get messed up on the grill.

Most of my recipes are either for whole fish or steaks, or are more complex than you probably want. But here are some you might find interesting.

This first one takes some time to make, because of the pastry and prep work. You can spread it over two days, though. And even people who don't like salmon tend to rave about it:

Salmon & Rice In Pastry

1 recipe for pastry of your choice
1 lb fresh raw salmon in thin slices
3 cups cooked rice, dry and cold
salt & pepper to taste
2 cups veloute sauce (white sauce made with stock instead of milk)
1 tbls chopped fresh dill
1 tbls lemon juice
3 hard cooked eggs, finely chopped
1 egg beaten with 1 tbls milk
1/2 lb unsalted butter, melted

Divide the pastry in two parts. Rolll out one half to 1/4 inch thickness, place on cookie sheet, and trim to a 7 x 17 inch rectangle.

Put a layer of rice, 1/3 inch deep, on the pastry, leaving a 1 1/4 inch border all around. Sprinklw with salt & pepper. Spoon hlaf the veloute sauce over the rice. Lay the salmon slices over the sauce to cover. Sprinkle with salt & pepper, dill and lemong juice. Cover with balance of veloute sauce, then the chopped eggs. Top with another 1/3 inch layer of rice. Paint the border of the pastry with the egg wash.

Roll out other half of the pastry to 1/4 inch. Trim to a 9 x 18 inch rectangle and place over the loaf. Carefully press top pastry around loaf without stretching it. Press edges together and trim to about an inch around the loaf. Press edges with tines of fork. Cut two small holes in top of loaf, about a half inch in diameter. Gather scraps of pastry together and cout out decorative shapes. Paint entgire loaf with egg wash and stick on the decorations. Then wash them.

Place in a preheated 400 degree oven and immediately lower heat to 375. Bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours until pastry is golden brown.

Remove from oven and allow to stand 14 minutes. Pour 2 tbls melted butter into each hole. Cut loaf into 0ne inch slices and serve with remaining melted butter.

This next one is a little less of a PITA:

Salmon in Basil Sauce

1 cup fresh basil leaves
2 tbls butter
3 large shallots, sliced
2 mushrooms, sliced
2 cups whipping cream
2 cups fish stock*
8 tbls unsalted butter
salt
1-2 tbls whipping cream
2 lbs salmon filets, cut very thin into 1-inch scallops.

Chop 1/2 cup of the basil. Melt 2 tbls butter in 2-quart saucepan over low heat. Add shallot and mushroom and cook about 10 mintues. Add wine and chopped basil and cook over medium heat until liquid is reduced by half. Add fish stock and cook until reduced by half. Add cream and continue cooking until sauce is reduced and thickened.

Strain suce into another saucpan. Measure 1/2 cup of the sauce into blender. Add remaining basil and puree until smooth. Whisk puree into sauce. Place over low heat and finish by whisking in butter, 1 piece at a time. Add salt if needed. Strain and set aside, keeping warm. Just before heating fish stir in cream.

Nap bottom of heatproof serving platter with sauce. Arrange salmon scallops on sauce. Broil until fish is just underdonw, about a minute, 3 inches from flame.

*A substitute for fish stock can be made my bringing together 1 cup bottled clam juice, 1/4 cup each white wine & water, some peppercorns, and sprig or two of rosemary. Let simmer a few minutes, strain.

You can use leftovers in this next recipe. Or, as I usually do, start with raw salmon and poach it.

Salmon Cakes

In a skillet saute 1 cup minced onion in 1/2 stick butter until it is lightly browned. Put 2 1/2 cups flaked cooked salmon in a bowl. Toss the salmon with the onon mixture, 2 eggs, lightly beaten, 1/2 cup day-old bread crumbs, 1/4 cup minced parsley, and salt & white pepper to taste.

Form the salmon mixture into rounds about 1/2 inch thick, dust the cakes with flour, and in a skillet saute them in 1/2 stick butter and 1/4 cup oil, turning them and adding more butter as needed, for 5 minutes, or until they are golden on bosth sides. Serve the salmon cakes with lemon wedges and tarragon mayonnaise.

[allie]

They are a more white color. Not the deep pink I see a lot in the stores. You're probably right about the grill! I don't have a basket and the only salmon I've grilled had the skin on. These don't!

I never thought about using them for salmon cakes. Now that's something I know Les will eat because I make them out of canned salmon sometimes.

I think I'll try some foil packets and then poach the rest and make salmon cakes...unless I get other suggestions and have the ingredients on hand!

Sadly, I have already been to the grocery store so don't have all the ingredients I need for the other two recipes.

[Mezzaluna]

You could try gravlaks or salmon chowder, salmon pot pie.....

[allie]

Ok here's one of those terms that I am not familiar with.......gravlaks. I've heard of it in books but never had it. I was looking at recipes and again it calls for fresh dill. Gosh, I gotta find me some dill to grow! lol

[Jock]

Originally Posted by allie

Ok here's one of those terms that I am not familiar with.......gravlaks. I've heard of it in books but never had it. I was looking at recipes and again it calls for fresh dill. Gosh, I gotta find me some dill to grow! lol

Dill is the classic herb used in curing garvlax and it does impart a very distictive taste. I made some gravlax last week without the dill cos the bunch I bought the weekend before was too wilted by the time I got to curing the fish. Without it the result was a bit bland but when I smoked the gravlax with applewood, it was fabulous. I made a smoked salmon frittata for mother's day brunch yesterday.

Your salmon in a packet is one of my favorite ways to prepare it. Along with your asaparagus and lemon, add some jullienned green onions and maybe a little bit of goat cheese or one of those herb flavored cream cheeses you can buy.

Jock

[Joyfull]

Ditto to what Jock says for ingredients but you could also try in all wrapped in puff pastry..
Like salmon wellington.. Bit of egg wash on top before baking.. Mmm, very good!

[allie]

Cool, Jock! I have the green onions in the fridge already! lol I don't have any herbed cream cheese or goat cheese but I bet I can figure something out!

Joyfull, I've never used puff pastry. If this turns out well in the foil, then next time I'll try the pastry. I've been meaning to give it a go anyway. lol

Funny, after mentioning I had no idea what gravlax is, Barefoot Contessa had it on her show this afternoon. I saw it briefly while slicing tomatoes and onions for the burgers. lol

Thanks everyone!

[Johnnyseattle]

Originally Posted by allie

Funny, after mentioning I had no idea what gravlax is, Barefoot Contessa had it on her show this afternoon.

Hey, I saw that too. For a neato twist on Gravlax, replace the dill with different herbs. Cilantro is pretty tasty, if you're into that sort of thing.

[MikeLM]

The recipes sound nice but...

what I want to know is where do you catch salmon in Indiana???

I'll come down... really missed it since we moved from Seattle.

Mike

[KYHeirloomer]

Mike, there is a multi-billion dollar sport salmon fishery in the Great Lakes.

Stocking of Pacific salmon started in Lake Michigan in the mid-1960s as a way of controlling other invaders (primarily alewives) , and spread from there. The sport fishery was a happy by-product.

Later on, other anadromous species, such as steelhead, were introduced.

Allie: The light colored filets are likely coho. This makes sense, as they are the earliest salmon to appear off the Indiana coast. The big kings won't come in until later in the summer; followed by the Skamania steelhead.

Coho are, imo, too mild for gravlax. I would wait until the kings move in before trying that. The kings (chinook) have a more robust flavor that better stands up to that treatment.

[kuan]

Take that gravlax and make chowder. That's good stuff maynard.

[allie]

You're right, KY. Our friend works with Les so when he called home last night, I asked and our friend said they are coho. He didn't catch them his nephew did. Lots of people around here go salmon fishing on Lake Michigan. I've never been but, man oh man, I can just imagine how fun it would be pulling in one of those!

Tonight I'm going to go with the packets. Then Thursday night, we'll see! I do have some cilantro! I bought some for making mango salsa which I was hoping to have with the salmon since I have some mango that needs to be used. Maybe if I pan fry in a nonstick that would work?

[indianwells]

It's easy to use frozen puff pastry. Before wrapping the salmon season it then spread on top of each piece of salmon a mixture of butter, raisins, a quarter teaspoon of ground mace and some finely chopped stem ginger(comes in a jar with little balls of ginger in syrup).
It comes out beautifully moist. I serve this with a lime mayo, some baby boiled potatoes tossed in a little butter and parsley and some steamed asparagus. It's been a winner every time!

[allie]

That sounds really good! You guys have given me such great ideas! I see the kids and me trying a lot of new recipes in the near future!