I direct this to Gar because I know he is particularly fond of grilling
salmon. But anyone feel free to chime in!

I have a couple of cedar planks, 2 lbs. of really excellent-looking red
Alaskan salmon and a jar of salmon rub seasoning, from the aforementioned
seafood place online.

I started reading the instructions for grilling the planked salmon and the
first thing it says about the fish is to cut off skin. (Not my skin, the
skin on the salmon LOL) Is there a reason for this? They are fillets;
thick, yes, in fact about 3 inches thick in some places. But is there a
reason to remove the skin other than esoteric eye appeal?

Jill

jmcquown wrote:

> I direct this to Gar because I know he is particularly fond of grilling
> salmon. But anyone feel free to chime in!
>
> I have a couple of cedar planks, 2 lbs. of really excellent-looking red
> Alaskan salmon and a jar of salmon rub seasoning, from the aforementioned
> seafood place online.
>
> I started reading the instructions for grilling the planked salmon and the
> first thing it says about the fish is to cut off skin. (Not my skin, the
> skin on the salmon LOL) Is there a reason for this? They are fillets;
> thick, yes, in fact about 3 inches thick in some places. But is there a
> reason to remove the skin other than esoteric eye appeal?
>

During the summer, I grill salmon on the BBQ at least once a week. I never
remove the skin. AAMOF, when I grill fillets I get the grill nice and hot and
then just lay them down on the grill skin side down and turn the heat down. I
have never eaten the skin. It is pretty tough stuff.

"jmcquown" > wrote in
:

> I direct this to Gar because I know he is particularly fond of
> grilling salmon. But anyone feel free to chime in!
>
> I have a couple of cedar planks, 2 lbs. of really excellent-looking
> red Alaskan salmon and a jar of salmon rub seasoning, from the
> aforementioned seafood place online.
>
> I started reading the instructions for grilling the planked salmon and
> the first thing it says about the fish is to cut off skin. (Not my
> skin, the skin on the salmon LOL) Is there a reason for this? They
> are fillets; thick, yes, in fact about 3 inches thick in some places.
> But is there a reason to remove the skin other than esoteric eye
> appeal?
>
> Jill
>
>
>

My guess is that the oil/fat in or just under the skin might effect the
cedar flavour transfer. But it is just a guess.

--
And the beet goes on! (or under)
-me just a while ago

In article >,
"jmcquown" > wrote:

> I direct this to Gar because I know he is particularly fond of grilling
> salmon. But anyone feel free to chime in!
>
> I have a couple of cedar planks, 2 lbs. of really excellent-looking red
> Alaskan salmon and a jar of salmon rub seasoning, from the aforementioned
> seafood place online.
>
> I started reading the instructions for grilling the planked salmon and the
> first thing it says about the fish is to cut off skin. (Not my skin, the
> skin on the salmon LOL) Is there a reason for this? They are fillets;
> thick, yes, in fact about 3 inches thick in some places. But is there a
> reason to remove the skin other than esoteric eye appeal?
>
Jill,

We've been grilling salmon on planks for years. We've never skinned the
fillets, and have good results. Maybe this will stimulate us to do an
experiment next time we grill salmon.

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

Delete the obvious to email me

While I haven't cooked cedar planked salmon, I have grilled skin on fillets
before with very good results. I start skin side down first to warm up the
oils and fats and then flip it and let it all drip through the meat. With
some good seasoning, it is out of this world good.

I suspect that skin side on the cedar plank blocks the flavor transfer.

Sid

"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
> I direct this to Gar because I know he is particularly fond of grilling
> salmon. But anyone feel free to chime in!
>
> I have a couple of cedar planks, 2 lbs. of really excellent-looking red
> Alaskan salmon and a jar of salmon rub seasoning, from the aforementioned
> seafood place online.
>
> I started reading the instructions for grilling the planked salmon and the
> first thing it says about the fish is to cut off skin. (Not my skin, the
> skin on the salmon LOL) Is there a reason for this? They are fillets;
> thick, yes, in fact about 3 inches thick in some places. But is there a
> reason to remove the skin other than esoteric eye appeal?
>
> Jill
>
>

IMHO whenever I have tried to grill skinless filet, everything falls
apart, or it sticks to the grill. You almost have to put the filet on a
piece of foil, which somewhat defeats the purpose of grilling. I always
trim away the skin after grilling.


jmcquown wrote:
>
> I direct this to Gar because I know he is particularly fond of grilling
> salmon. But anyone feel free to chime in!
>
> I have a couple of cedar planks, 2 lbs. of really excellent-looking red
> Alaskan salmon and a jar of salmon rub seasoning, from the aforementioned
> seafood place online.
>
> I started reading the instructions for grilling the planked salmon and the
> first thing it says about the fish is to cut off skin. (Not my skin, the
> skin on the salmon LOL) Is there a reason for this? They are fillets;
> thick, yes, in fact about 3 inches thick in some places. But is there a
> reason to remove the skin other than esoteric eye appeal?
>
> Jill

Cindy Fuller wrote:
> In article >,
> "jmcquown" > wrote:
>
>> I direct this to Gar because I know he is particularly fond of
>> grilling salmon. But anyone feel free to chime in!
>>
>> I have a couple of cedar planks, 2 lbs. of really excellent-looking
>> red Alaskan salmon and a jar of salmon rub seasoning, from the
>> aforementioned seafood place online.
>>
>> I started reading the instructions for grilling the planked salmon
>> and the first thing it says about the fish is to cut off skin.
(snipped self)
> Jill,
>
> We've been grilling salmon on planks for years. We've never skinned
> the fillets, and have good results. Maybe this will stimulate us to
> do an experiment next time we grill salmon.
>
> Cindy

Cindy, if you do so please post or email me the results! I'm curious to
know if it really makes any difference. I don't tend to eat the skin; it's
tough but flakes off easily enough.

Jill

On Fri, 2 Jan 2004 10:29:10 -0600, "jmcquown" >
wrote:

>I direct this to Gar because I know he is particularly fond of grilling
>salmon. But anyone feel free to chime in!
>
>I have a couple of cedar planks, 2 lbs. of really excellent-looking red
>Alaskan salmon and a jar of salmon rub seasoning, from the aforementioned
>seafood place online.
>
>I started reading the instructions for grilling the planked salmon and the
>first thing it says about the fish is to cut off skin. (Not my skin, the
>skin on the salmon LOL) Is there a reason for this? They are fillets;
>thick, yes, in fact about 3 inches thick in some places. But is there a
>reason to remove the skin other than esoteric eye appeal?

I've never done one planked, but from what I've read the skin is your
personal preference. Allegedly the fish will have a more oily fishy
taste with the skin. To me that's not a bad thing. The plank is also
a tool to keep the salmon from falling apart when it got to flaking
temperature. You can always skin part of it and see what you prefer.
I'm sure if you want the cedar aroma you should skin it. I do mine on
a garage sale oven broiler pan in the smoker. 250 degrees for about
90 minutes. I've been lucky enough to have a good supply of cherry
logs to use. Sorry I can't be more help.

Just say no to Kingsford and charcoal lighter.

Gar

Gar wrote:
> On Fri, 2 Jan 2004 10:29:10 -0600, "jmcquown" >
> wrote:
>
>> I direct this to Gar because I know he is particularly fond of
>> grilling salmon. But anyone feel free to chime in!
>>
>> I have a couple of cedar planks, 2 lbs. of really excellent-looking
>> red Alaskan salmon and a jar of salmon rub seasoning, from the
>> aforementioned seafood place online.
>>
>> I started reading the instructions for grilling the planked salmon
>> and the first thing it says about the fish is to cut off skin.
(snip self)

> I've never done one planked, but from what I've read the skin is your
> personal preference. Allegedly the fish will have a more oily fishy
> taste with the skin. To me that's not a bad thing. The plank is also
> a tool to keep the salmon from falling apart when it got to flaking
> temperature. You can always skin part of it and see what you prefer.
> I'm sure if you want the cedar aroma you should skin it. I do mine on
> a garage sale oven broiler pan in the smoker. 250 degrees for about
> 90 minutes. I've been lucky enough to have a good supply of cherry
> logs to use. Sorry I can't be more help.
>
> Just say no to Kingsford and charcoal lighter.
>
> Gar

Thank you, it was helpful. It does make sense, reading all the replies
along with yours and some other recipes sent to me by Alan Boles; the skin
tends to hold the fish together. That makes sense. Since the 2 lbs. are
separated into 3 large portions, I may just do a testing as Cindy and you
each suggested, one with skin and one without.

And oh, absolutely nothing but hardwood charcoal on my grill and none of
that crappy lighter fluid stuff, either.

Jill

Kent H. typed:
> IMHO whenever I have tried to grill skinless filet, everything falls
> apart, or it sticks to the grill. You almost have to put the filet on a
> piece of foil, which somewhat defeats the purpose of grilling. I always
> trim away the skin after grilling.
>
Ummm?

She' "planking" the salmon. (Did you even read the post?) You might try
looking that up in google if you can find it.

BOB

>
> jmcquown wrote:
>>
>> I direct this to Gar because I know he is particularly fond of grilling
>> salmon. But anyone feel free to chime in!
>>
>> I have a couple of cedar planks, 2 lbs. of really excellent-looking red
>> Alaskan salmon and a jar of salmon rub seasoning, from the aforementioned
>> seafood place online.
>>
>> I started reading the instructions for grilling the planked salmon and the
>> first thing it says about the fish is to cut off skin. (Not my skin, the
>> skin on the salmon LOL) Is there a reason for this? They are fillets;
>> thick, yes, in fact about 3 inches thick in some places. But is there a
>> reason to remove the skin other than esoteric eye appeal?
>>
>> Jill

jmcquown typed:
> I direct this to Gar because I know he is particularly fond of grilling
> salmon. But anyone feel free to chime in!

Good, because I'm not "Gar"

>
> I have a couple of cedar planks, 2 lbs. of really excellent-looking red
> Alaskan salmon and a jar of salmon rub seasoning, from the aforementioned
> seafood place online.
>
> I started reading the instructions for grilling the planked salmon and the
> first thing it says about the fish is to cut off skin. (Not my skin, the
> skin on the salmon LOL) Is there a reason for this? They are fillets;
> thick, yes, in fact about 3 inches thick in some places. But is there a
> reason to remove the skin other than esoteric eye appeal?
>
> Jill

IME, planked is the only way I'll do skinless. I think that you need to
remove the skin to get the full effect of the cedar plank. You do need to
oil the salmon before planking, even though salmon is oily.

IIRC, you do know what grilling is all about...lump charcoal and a covered
grill (with no lighter-fluid). You get the charcoal hot enough to just char
the bottom of the plank while the lid hlds in the heat and smoke. It's
salmon. Don't mask the flavors with any strong rubs and/or sauces. I
usually just use a little salt and maybe a grind or two of pepper. Let the
salmon and the cedar flavor come through. Don't forget to soak the plank in
water, preferably overnight before your cook.

If I'm not planking, I do prefer to leave the skin on.
Good luck, although I doubt that you'll need the luck. 8-)

BOB

see below

Gar wrote:

> On Fri, 2 Jan 2004 10:29:10 -0600, "jmcquown" >
> wrote:
>
> >I direct this to Gar because I know he is particularly fond of grilling
> >salmon. But anyone feel free to chime in!
> >
> >I have a couple of cedar planks, 2 lbs. of really excellent-looking red
> >Alaskan salmon and a jar of salmon rub seasoning, from the aforementioned
> >seafood place online.
> >
> >I started reading the instructions for grilling the planked salmon and the
> >first thing it says about the fish is to cut off skin. (Not my skin, the
> >skin on the salmon LOL) Is there a reason for this? They are fillets;
> >thick, yes, in fact about 3 inches thick in some places. But is there a
> >reason to remove the skin other than esoteric eye appeal?
>
> I've never done one planked, but from what I've read the skin is your
> personal preference. Allegedly the fish will have a more oily fishy
> taste with the skin. To me that's not a bad thing. The plank is also
> a tool to keep the salmon from falling apart when it got to flaking
> temperature. You can always skin part of it and see what you prefer.
> I'm sure if you want the cedar aroma you should skin it. I do mine on
> a garage sale oven broiler pan in the smoker. 250 degrees for about
> 90 minutes. I've been lucky enough to have a good supply of cherry
> logs to use. Sorry I can't be more help.
>
> Just say no to Kingsford and charcoal lighter.
>
> Gar

Being somewhat of a Gourmet, it occured to me to skin Slmon long before
I'd
heard about its' necessity. Upon actually "looking" at the skin
structure, it
became obvious. The skin is a tightly packed amalgum of extremely fine
scales
that house lots of slime and other defense mechanisms! The fish really
does
come out better without the "waste" products extant! LOL! Several fish
are
in the same class. Close inspection will let you know. EG: Even Large
trout
require close shaving of their exterior...the scales do come off easily
and
definitely have a gummy consistency...taste again is paramount! I use a
coarse
scrub pad for the smaller fish! It works well. LOL! B-0b1
--
"Beaten Paths are for Beaten People". -- Anon.

On Fri, 2 Jan 2004 12:34:15 -0600, "jmcquown" >
wrote:

>Thank you, it was helpful. It does make sense, reading all the replies
>along with yours and some other recipes sent to me by Alan Boles; the skin
>tends to hold the fish together. That makes sense. Since the 2 lbs. are
>separated into 3 large portions, I may just do a testing as Cindy and you
>each suggested, one with skin and one without.
>
>And oh, absolutely nothing but hardwood charcoal on my grill and none of
>that crappy lighter fluid stuff, either.
>
>Jill
>

You might try this with any leftovers. I made them last week
substituting the bread crumbs with panko. I'll be making them again
soon.



SMOKED SALMON CROQUETTES

At the restaurant, these are called truffles and are served on mixed
greens with a watercress vinaigrette, but they are also excellent
presented on their own as hors d'oeuvres.

12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
6 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 large egg, beaten to blend
2 cups fresh white breadcrumbs

Peanut oil (for deep-frying)
Lemon wedges

Blend cream cheese and smoked salmon in processor until almost smooth,
with small salmon bits remaining. Mix in dill, white pepper and hot
pepper sauce. Drop salmon mixture by generous tablespoonfuls onto
large baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Place flour in small bowl. Dip 1 mound of salmon mixture into flour,
coating completely (shake off excess). Using hands, roll mixture into
ball. Dip ball into beaten egg, then breadcrumbs, coating completely.
Return to baking sheet. Repeat with remaining salmon mixture, flour,
egg and breadcrumbs. Cover and refrigerate croquettes until cold,
about 20 minutes. Add enough peanut oil to heavy large saucepan to
reach depth of 3 inches. Heat to 350°F. Working in batches, fry
croquettes until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Using tongs, transfer
croquettes to paper towels; drain. Serve warm with lemon wedges.

Makes about 2 dozen.

Bon Appétit
June 1998
RSVP; Indian Fields Tavern, Williamsburg VA

Epicurious Food © 2003 CondéNet Inc. All rights reserved.

I saw that. I thought "planking" had something to do with intercourse.

BOB wrote:
>
> Kent H. typed:
> > IMHO whenever I have tried to grill skinless filet, everything falls
> > apart, or it sticks to the grill. You almost have to put the filet on a
> > piece of foil, which somewhat defeats the purpose of grilling. I always
> > trim away the skin after grilling.
> >
> Ummm?
>
> She' "planking" the salmon. (Did you even read the post?) You might try
> looking that up in google if you can find it.
>
> BOB
>
> >
> > jmcquown wrote:
> >>
> >> I direct this to Gar because I know he is particularly fond of grilling
> >> salmon. But anyone feel free to chime in!
> >>
> >> I have a couple of cedar planks, 2 lbs. of really excellent-looking red
> >> Alaskan salmon and a jar of salmon rub seasoning, from the aforementioned
> >> seafood place online.
> >>
> >> I started reading the instructions for grilling the planked salmon and the
> >> first thing it says about the fish is to cut off skin. (Not my skin, the
> >> skin on the salmon LOL) Is there a reason for this? They are fillets;
> >> thick, yes, in fact about 3 inches thick in some places. But is there a
> >> reason to remove the skin other than esoteric eye appeal?
> >>
> >> Jill

Gar wrote:

> On Fri, 2 Jan 2004 12:34:15 -0600, "jmcquown" >
> wrote:
>
> >Thank you, it was helpful. It does make sense, reading all the replies
> >along with yours and some other recipes sent to me by Alan Boles; the skin
> >tends to hold the fish together. That makes sense. Since the 2 lbs. are
> >separated into 3 large portions, I may just do a testing as Cindy and you
> >each suggested, one with skin and one without.
> >
> >And oh, absolutely nothing but hardwood charcoal on my grill and none of
> >that crappy lighter fluid stuff, either.
> >
> >Jill
> > Jill, I ALWAYS start my charcoal with relatively HARD woods, usually OAK.

It in tself is a wonderful base for Barbecue! I let it get down to hot
coals first, then,
if necessary, I add a bit of MESQUITE. LOL! B-0b1

>
>
> You might try this with any leftovers. I made them last week
> substituting the bread crumbs with panko. I'll be making them again
> soon.
>
> SMOKED SALMON CROQUETTES
>
> At the restaurant, these are called truffles and are served on mixed
> greens with a watercress vinaigrette, but they are also excellent
> presented on their own as hors d'oeuvres.
>
> 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
> 6 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon, chopped
> 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
> 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
> 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
>
> 1/2 cup all purpose flour
> 1 large egg, beaten to blend
> 2 cups fresh white breadcrumbs
>
> Peanut oil (for deep-frying)
> Lemon wedges
>
> Blend cream cheese and smoked salmon in processor until almost smooth,
> with small salmon bits remaining. Mix in dill, white pepper and hot
> pepper sauce. Drop salmon mixture by generous tablespoonfuls onto
> large baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
>
> Place flour in small bowl. Dip 1 mound of salmon mixture into flour,
> coating completely (shake off excess). Using hands, roll mixture into
> ball. Dip ball into beaten egg, then breadcrumbs, coating completely.
> Return to baking sheet. Repeat with remaining salmon mixture, flour,
> egg and breadcrumbs. Cover and refrigerate croquettes until cold,
> about 20 minutes. Add enough peanut oil to heavy large saucepan to
> reach depth of 3 inches. Heat to 350°F. Working in batches, fry
> croquettes until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Using tongs, transfer
> croquettes to paper towels; drain. Serve warm with lemon wedges.
>
> Makes about 2 dozen.
>
> Bon Appétit
> June 1998
> RSVP; Indian Fields Tavern, Williamsburg VA
>
> Epicurious Food © 2003 CondéNet Inc. All rights reserved.

--
"Beaten Paths are for Beaten People". -- Anon.