Although this whole
salmon was
grilled on a
Traeger Wood Pellet Grill, it could have just as easily been done on a gas, or any other kind of grill. It’s a simple
recipe and easy to grill.
Geez, I kinda lined up the grill marks on the salmon with the grill when I turned it over. Proud of myself because this was a big dude!
Most folks don’t buy whole fish at the market. But, they are much cheaper than filets, although you may have to deal with a few bones.
The whole salmon I bought was twelve bucks and it wasn’t a dinky one. It was cleaned, scaled and headless.
The first thing you have to do with a whole salmon is cut all the fins off. This can easily be done with a pair of kitchen shears. Piece of cake! Piece of salmon!
Also, you need to flay the salmon so that it will lay flat on the grill, which means you will have to continue the cut on the belly all the way through the tail. Don’t remove the tail.
Prepare the grill for 375-400 degrees. Distribute a generous amount of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil on the meat side of the salmon. Next, apply a quality “Rub” like Paul Prudhomme's Seafood or Salmon Magic, or Traeger Grill Salmon Shaker (see below) over the meat side of the fish.
Another great Rub is
“Old Bay Seasoning” (See Below) Sprinkle the seasoning on, along with a generous amount of
"Simply Organic Dill". (Also Down Below)
I like to let the salmon sit out for about 30 minutes while the grill is warming up. This gives everything a little time to mingle.
Spray a little non-stick on the grill out of a "can". ( Ok!
Chef Hirsch would probably recommend rubbing a quality EVOO on the grill, which is a 100 times better choice!) Put the salmon meat side down on the grill when it’s up to temperature. Cook between 15 to 20 minutes.
A
Traeger Grill (below) cooks on indirect heat. So, not a big problem burn-wise, but still monitor. If a gas grill, you may have to lower the temperature and really watch it or you will have blackened fish, but not the kind you are thinking about. On a charcoal grill, you want a two zone fire.
I use two spatulas to turn the salmon over onto the skin side. I have done this enough that it’s not a hassle. But, if it is, involve a cool sexy hard-bodied partner to help turn that dude over.
Grill another fifteen to 20 minutes, meat side up. ( Again monitor!)
Add lemon slices while it’s grilling.
Once the salmon is cooked, I like to pull out as many of the bones as possible before it is served. I’ll qualify this by saying, “starting at the head of the fish, find the main spine and pull backwards toward the tail.” It will come out in one piece and you just removed hundreds of bones.
This is a simple recipe for grilled salmon. There is no need to make it complicated. The grilling of a whole salmon can very impressive for family and guests. Try it you’ll like it!
Enjoy! Like my favorite chef, griller and friend, George Hirsch would say,
“Know your fire!”
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