In the most recent Blue Moon recipe development, I was asked to do something a little different for their new release. Blue Moon is releasing a Vintage Blonde Ale which is made with the juice from Chardonnay grapes and sold in a 750ml bottle, rather than your normal 12oz kind. So, I was asked to make an elevated dish to be paired with the craft beer. The idea was to find a dish that would traditionally go with a white wine, like chardonnay, and riff off of it to create a dish that would match nicely with the Blonde Ale. I chose Salmon as my vessel, and the subtle twist is grilling it on a Cedar Plank. Not uncommon, but not your everyday salmon filet.
So, on a sunny yet windy San Francisco day, I made another trip to the grill. After smothering the salmon in a lemon-herb butter, it got planked up and thrown on the grill. During the cooking process, I ended up snapping about 30-40 pictures. Who knew butter on top of wood would produce flames? Fat and fire. Great friends to photographs!
The salmon turned out surprisingly light, flaky and smokey. An incredible tasting dish accompanied by some roasted Jalapeno cous cous, charred asparagus, and my favorite, grilled bread. A wonderful fish dish served on Mother’s Day.
Chef’s recommendation: Buy some Cedar Planks for your grilling season! Super easy, and a fun twist on grilling!
Combine butter, oil, salt, honey, dill, parsley and lemon in a bowl. Mix well and create a paste/rub. Use this mixture to liberally coat salmon, and add a lemon slice to the top, set aside until plank is ready.
Cooking with cedar planks requires a small amount of prep on the plank. Soak the plank in water for at least 1 hour. After soaking, put the plank on the grill and heat medium/high for 2-3 min, until it begins smoking. Transfer the salmon to the smoking side of the plank and place back on grill. This adds a great smoky flavor to the fish. Cook on medium for about 20 min, or until center of fish is firm to touch.
Remove the salmon from the plank and place on a serving dish. Serve with your favorite grilled vegetable. Chef recommends asparagus and cous cous. Garnish with slice of lemon.
