My past experience with salmon filets has been a mushy and disastrous one. I inevitably follow the recipe instructions to turn the fish after about 2-4 minutes in the pan or on the grill, and end up with half of it disintegrating and the rest of it overcooking. Which is probably why, when I suggested grilling salmon last night, all my husband did was offer the stern injunction: "Don't flip it".
After researching online however, I found that flipping is generally seen as the proper way to cook salmon (baking, I hear, is a different story). How else do you get those beautiful cross-hatch marks, or a crispy seared exterior? While I'm sure that experienced chefs can and do flip successfully, the moral of my story is that flipping is not necessary for lovely, tasty fish on the grill. I marinated my filets (with the skin still on) in a mixture of 1/4 c. maple syrup, 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce, plus salt and pepper about 2 hours before grilling, Some people prefer the flavor of the fish to stand out more, or less, but 2 hours seemed right to me for decent, but not wild, salmon. I let the grill coals burn down to a medium heat, oiled the cleaned grate a bit with a paper towel, and then cooked the salmon, covered, skin-side down, for about 10 minutes, basting as I went. I removed them when the outside had turned a dark pink, ribbed with white streaks, and savory brownish edges where the marinade had caramelized. They were still soft when I pulled them off the grill, but not squishy. Excellent with a mango/ peach chutney on the side (simplest way to make this is to chop roughly 2 pieces of fruit and half a red onion or a bunch of scallions, then mix in the juice of one lime and some salt). A great meal in the heat of August when it is far too hot to turn on the oven. Who knew that summers in Munich could be so humid?!
After researching online however, I found that flipping is generally seen as the proper way to cook salmon (baking, I hear, is a different story). How else do you get those beautiful cross-hatch marks, or a crispy seared exterior? While I'm sure that experienced chefs can and do flip successfully, the moral of my story is that flipping is not necessary for lovely, tasty fish on the grill. I marinated my filets (with the skin still on) in a mixture of 1/4 c. maple syrup, 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce, plus salt and pepper about 2 hours before grilling, Some people prefer the flavor of the fish to stand out more, or less, but 2 hours seemed right to me for decent, but not wild, salmon. I let the grill coals burn down to a medium heat, oiled the cleaned grate a bit with a paper towel, and then cooked the salmon, covered, skin-side down, for about 10 minutes, basting as I went. I removed them when the outside had turned a dark pink, ribbed with white streaks, and savory brownish edges where the marinade had caramelized. They were still soft when I pulled them off the grill, but not squishy. Excellent with a mango/ peach chutney on the side (simplest way to make this is to chop roughly 2 pieces of fruit and half a red onion or a bunch of scallions, then mix in the juice of one lime and some salt). A great meal in the heat of August when it is far too hot to turn on the oven. Who knew that summers in Munich could be so humid?!
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