Taking advantage of the good weather, my family and I have been grilling a lot the past few weekends. [It’s bittersweet, because I really like it, but I’m not the family griller. My brother, Eytan, was. The first time I grilled without him I totally lost it, but I’m cutting my self a lot of slack when it comes to that.]
We’ve been doing plenty of meat and grilled veggies, but this past weekend we decided on salmon. The results: Magnificence! I made a foil boat for the salmon instead of putting it directly on the grill, and we added hickory wood chips to the hot coals for good measure. I guess you could say this salmon was more smoked than grilled, but whatever. It was divine.
The best little surprise–in addition to the olive oil, salt, pepper, and sugar, I sprinkled fresh rosemary all over the top of the salmon. It got all crispy, smoky, and delicious.
I read in a couple of places that grilling salmon whole and with the skin on keeps it nice and moist, and also helps ensure the flesh doesn’t stick anywhere. Great tip.
AK got a great action shot of me at the grill:
It was incredibly smoky so I had to turn my head away each time I opened the lid.
Hickory Grill-Smoked Salmon w/ Crispy Rosemary
Ingredients:
1 large salmon filet (about 2 lbs)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp sugar, honey or agave
2 large sprigs of rosemary
Directions:
- Heat coals in grill; soak hickory chips according to package directions and add to coals once they have turned white/gray.
- Place salmon in a foil boat (see picture above–basically roll the sides up on a sheet of heavy duty foil).
- Combine oil, salt, pepper, and sugar. Rub all over salmon.
- Remove rosemary from center twig. Sprinkle over salmon.
- Place salmon boat in center of grill. Cook 15-20 minutes until cooked to your preferable done-ness.
The cost:
salmon: 15.99
rosemary: 1.99
(charcoal: 6.99
wood chips: 4.99)
Grand total: $17.98 ($29.96); serves 6ish