Fish and Seafood

                       Easy Halibut Fillets with Herb Butter


                                         
                                        

                                                   Total Time: 11 mines
                                                    Prep Time:  3 mines
                                                   Cook Time:  8 mines

2 halibut fillets

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley (or other herb of your choice) or 2 tablespoons finely chopped tarragon (or other herb of your choice) or 2 tablespoons finely chopped dill (or other herb of your choice)

salt and pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions:

1  Make little aluminum foil trays sized to fit each fillet.

2  Wipe the bottom of each tray with olive oil.

3  Put the fillets ugly side up (skin side even if the skin is now removed) on the trays.

4  Mix the butter with the chopped herbs thoroughly.

5  Place 1 tablespoon of the butter on the halibut.

6  Broil for 4 minutes.

7  Carefully turn each fillet over, not spilling any of the melted herb butter.

8  Broil for 4 more minutes.

9  Remove and plate, pouring the melted sauce over each fillet.

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Grill-Smoked Salmon

Serve the salmon with lemon wedges or with our “Smoked Salmon Platter” Sauce.

Ingredients

• 2tablespoons sugar
• 1tablespoon kosher salt
• 6(6- to 8-ounce) center-cut skin-on salmon fillets
• 2 wood chunks soaked in water for 15 minutes and drained (if using charcoal)
• 2cups wood chips (if using gas)

Instructions

• 1. Combine sugar and salt in bowl. Set salmon on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle flesh side evenly with sugar mixture. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 1 hour. With paper towels, brush any excess salt and sugar from salmon and blot dry. Return fish on wire rack to refrigerator, uncovered, while preparing grill.
• 2A. FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent halfway. Light large chimney starter one-third filled with charcoal briquettes (2 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour into steeply banked pile against side of grill. Place wood chunks on top of coals. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent halfway. Heat grill until hot and wood chunks begin to smoke, about 5 minutes.
• 2B. FOR A GAS GRILL: Combine soaked and unsoaked chips. Use large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil to wrap chips into foil packet and cut several vent holes in top. Place wood chip packet directly on primary burner. Turn primary burner to high (leave other burners off), cover, and heat grill until hot and wood chips begin to smoke, 15 to 25 minutes. Turn primary burner to medium. (Adjust primary burner as needed to maintain grill temperature of 275 to 300 degrees.)
• 3. Clean and oil cooking grate. Fold piece of heavy-duty foil into 18 by 6-inch rectangle. Place foil rectangle over cool side of grill and place salmon pieces on foil, spaced at least 1/2 inch apart. Cover grill (positioning lid vent over fish if using charcoal) and cook until center of thickest part of fillet registers 125 degrees and is still translucent when cut into with paring knife, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer to platter and serve, or allow to cool to room temperature.

Technique

• Now We're Smokin'

  The two most common methods for smoking fish are cold and hot smoking. both approaches require special equipment and a serious time investment and result in a product that is more of an ingredient than a main dish. Our unique hybrid recipe produces an entrée that captures the uniquely smooth and lush texture of cold-smoked salmon and the forward smokiness of hot-smoked salmon. The best part? It cooks in only 30 to 40 minutes on a regular charcoal or gas grill.
• COLD-SMOKED: Slick and silky; mild smoke.
  
• HOT-SMOKED: Dry and firm, potent smoke.
  
• HYBRID GRILL-SMOKED: Ultra-moist; rich, balanced smoke.
  
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  Glazed Salmon

  
  
  Use center-cut salmon fillets of similar thickness so that they cook at the same rate. The best way to ensure uniformity is to buy a 1 1/2- to 2-pound whole center-cut fillet and cut it into 4 pieces. Prepare the glaze before you cook the salmon. If your nonstick skillet isn't ovensafe, sear the salmon as directed in step 2, then transfer it to a rimmed baking sheet, glaze it, and bake the salmon as directed in step 3.

  Ingredients

• 1teaspoon light brown sugar
• 1/2teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4teaspoon cornstarch
• 4 center-cut skin-on salmon fillets, 6 to 8 ounces each (see note)
•   Ground black pepper
• 1teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1recipe glaze (see related)

Instructions

• 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine brown sugar, salt, and cornstarch in small bowl. Pat salmon dry with paper towels and season with pepper. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture evenly over top of flesh side of salmon, rubbing to distribute.
• 2. Heat oil in 12-inch ovensafe nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Place salmon, flesh side down, in skillet and cook until well browned, about 1 minute. Using tongs, carefully flip salmon and cook on skin side for 1 minute.
• 3. Remove skillet from heat and spoon glaze evenly over salmon fillets. Transfer skillet to oven and cook until center of thickest part of fillets registers 125 degrees on instant-read thermometer and is still translucent when cut into with paring knife, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer fillets to platter or individual plates and serve.

Technique

• White, Out

  What’s the white stuff that sometimes mysteriously forms on salmon and sometimes doesn’t? This film is a protein called albumin. When the muscle fibers in the fish are heated, they contract, pushing the moisture-filled albumin to the surface of the flesh. Once this protein reaches temperatures between 140 and 150 degrees, its moisture is squeezed out, and it congeals and turns white. Not only does the white albumin detract from the salmon’s appearance, but its formation indicates a loss of moisture in the fish.
  Cooking salmon at a low temperature can mitigate albumin coagulation. Gentle cooking results in less intense muscle contractions, so that less of the albumin moves to the surface of the fish and more of it stays trapped in the flesh. The fish not only stays more moist, but it looks better, too.
  
• LOW HEAT = LESS WHITE STUFF
  
• HIGH HEAT = MORE WHITE STUFF