Corn Nation Off Season Recipes - Grilled Salmon

Ok everyone, we’re going to try something new here. This idea was conceived during the open thread for the New Years Game Day.  The big question was, what are we going to do on Saturday nights now that football is over??  Well, this is what we came up with.  Corn Nation Off Season Recipe Post. Catchy isn’t it!?   So what I’m trying to do is post some "Tailgating" recipes.

I’m guessing that the majority of us have grilled some sort of tailgating food before.  I just want to share some of my personal recipes.  My wife, thank GOD for her, bought me a smoker for my birthday and the experiments with it have been a lot of fun.  I love grilling and now with the smoker, it has become more fun to cook outside, even in the cold and snow.   If you folks prefer grilling to smoking, or vice versa, let me know and we’ll focus on that aspect. Remember, this is a new thing and your comments and suggestions are welcome and wanted.  Now off to the first recipe.

One of my favorite things to cook is Salmon. On the grill, or in the smoker. Personally, I like it more on the grill. I start with a nice slab of Salmon. You can usually buy these at Wal-Mart, but I have a good friend that fishes in Alaska every year and brings back the really fresh stuff, but the Wal-Mart Salmon is great also. I season the salmon with my favorite seasoning, 4 slabs of butter, layered along the slab, and some garlic. I like to use the minced garlic because it’s less hassle and you still get the great flavor. Never salt the salmon before you cook it, all this does is draw out the juices that you want to keep in.

After you’re done with seasoning, wrap it in aluminum foil and Preheat  the  grill to medium-high. Grilling salmon on a gas grill is ideal, but other grills will be fine.  Place it skin down on the grill. It should only take about 20 min. until opaque or until meat flakes easily.  The recommended doneness for fish is 140 degrees internal temp.  To test for doneness, touch the fish: if it's "squishy," it's not done, but if it's firm with some give, it is medium rare, the recommended doneness for salmon.  

The reason I wrap it in foil instead of grilling on the rack is to keep all the juices and flavor sealed in.  Also, when it comes off the grill and you open the foil, the meat pulls right off the skin, leaving the skin on the foil. This is a great and easy food to cook. Luckily, my wife hates any kind of fish so that leaves more for myself and my sons!!

Please keep in mind that these are my personal recipes! They may not work for you and you may not like them. This is a new thing here on CornNation and we’re just trying to have some fun with it. Feel free to comment with your suggestions because it will make this more fun and delicious!!!!  Any suggestions and comments will be appreciated and will not be held against you. We'll have another recipe in two weeks. Thanks again, and let us know how it turns out!! GBR!!!!