Fish recipes of all types

This requires an untreated plank of wood approximately 8*16 inches and at least ¼ inch thick. Cedar or alder planks add some fragrance but any kind of wood can work. Sand lightly and rinse, then remove burrs with fine steel wool. Soak the plank in water for an hour or so before cooking. The plank will insulate the fish to prevent burning and also prevents sticking and pieces falling through grates.

Use a 2-3 lb salmon fillet, preferably with the skin on but not required.

Slather

· ½ cup stone ground mustard

· ½ cup or a little less mayonnaise

· fresh dill, 2-3 tablespoons after mincing with scissors

· ½ lemon

· olive oil

· pepper

Start charcoal fire or gas grill, heat up to medium heat.

Prepare salmon by removing any bones with a needle nose pliers. Wipe a little olive oil on the skin side, place on soaked plank – skin side down. Pepper salmon lightly and squeeze ½ lemon over salmon.

Mix mustard, mayo and dill. Apply evenly to top side of salmon with brush or butter knife.

Place salmon (on plank) on grill approximately 3-4 inches above coals or set it directly on the grate of a gas grill. Insert probe from digital meat thermometer into thickest part of salmon.

When salmon reaches 135-138 degrees (approx 20 minutes), remove from grill and let sit, under foil for 3 to 5 minutes. Leave on plank and serve, put the plank right on the table for a dramatic presentation

Notes: This is a great recipe for parties when you want to offer some choices to your guests. I like to smoke some briskets (See Better Than Restaurant Brisket – easy version) and add other stuff after the briskets are off the smoker. 

For example, if briskets come off at 5:30 and sit in the hot box for an hour, you could use the first 30 minutes of still hot coals to make hamburgers and hot dogs for the kids and get them all fed, then make a plank or two of salmon for the grown-ups. The salmon and brisket will be ready at the same time. 

This is way good and so simple. You will look like a gourmet for pulling this all off and getting the timing right but it is easy because brisket in the hot box is very forgiving, it can stay 45 minutes or 90 minutes and still be good so whenever the salmon gets done the brisket will be ready.

"Can't Beat Pete's Meat!"

Smoked trout fillets

· Skin-on trout filets – they will weigh 6-10 ounces each with the skin on. 

· Olive or grapeseed oil

· Salt and pepper

· Lemon if you like it – and you should

Rinse fillets and remove any bones. Rub skin side with oil to prevent sticking and place skin-side down on a grilling pan or cooling rack (not a solid pan, something that lets air through). Season meat side with salt and pepper but not too heavily.

Once smoker is up to temperature, I like 225 or so for trout, place grilling pan with fish in your smoker and get some smoke going. I like something mild like apple or other fruitwoods and not too much, one or two small chunks is plenty. Close the smoker and leave it alone for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, take a look and tip the grill pan slightly to run off any pooled liquid on the surface of the trout. Continue to cook until the meat is firm (but not tough) and flakes easily off the skin with a fork. This usually takes around 45 minutes but can be up to an hour depending on the size of the filets and the temperature.

These little fellas are easy and taste great. Your smoking friends will be impressed and your non-smoking friends will think you are pretty sophisticated. 

These make great appetizers when you have ribs or brisket coming later. Put a couple of these on a plate, squeeze a little lemon on them and give everyone a fork. Everyone can flake off a little chunk and eat it with their fingers. 

The lovely and gracious Pete’s Mate found a way to make something really cool with smoked trout when we had some friends over. Here is her recipe for primo smoked trout drizzle:

· 4 ounces crema

· 2 ounces sour cream

· 1 T Dijon mustard

· 2 T finely chopped dill

· 1 T plus 1 t dry white wine

Mix up some of that, place a small bite of trout on a decent quality cracker and drizzle some of this over top and you will have a great appetizer. We had 4 medium size fillets and made about 40 crackers worth. They were gone in about 90 seconds. 

Smoked trout is great to add to salads or dip, soup, etc. Smoke a few and you will figure out what you like best.

My neighbor Bill and I have an understanding. He catches trout for me and lets me borrow his power tools, I coach him on barbecue and let him sample what I am making. It works for both of us. I hope everyone has a neighbor as good as Bill.

These can be done indoors or on a gas grill with a skillet.

The Carnivorous Kids requested a Cajun-influence meal one night so we made some jambalaya and this salmon. We are nobody’s true Cajuns but sure loved the meal. The first time I made this I cooked outside because Pete’s Mate was worried about a mess inside but it was no problem but it was so easy that I like to use the gas grill and cast iron skillet. This is really easy and makes you look (and your food tastes) like a pro!

· 2 T paprika

· 1 t cayenne pepper

· 1 T onion powder

· 2 t salt

· 1/2 t white pepper

· 1/2 t black pepper

· 1/4 t dried thyme

· 1/4 t dried basil

· 1/4 t dried oregano

· Extra virgin olive oil

· Approx 1 to 1 ½ lb salmon in 2-4 skin-on or skinless fillets,

Mix spices in a small non-reactive bowl.

Rinse salmon fillets and remove any bones. Drizzle salmon with olive oil, rub to cover. Sprinkle evenly on all sides with spice mixture.

Heat cast iron skillet over high heat (6-8 minutes) on gas grill until very hot. Add olive oil to skillet 1/16” deep, allow 3-5 minutes to heat oil. Place fillets in hot oil – watch out for flying oil. If using skin-on fillets, cook meat side first.

Turn after approx 4 minutes and cook 4-5 minutes more until blackened and salmon flakes easily with fork (138 degrees internal temp). 

An alternative method is to cook for two minutes on each side, then place the skillet in a 350 degree oven for five minutes. This is a little safer if you do not have much experience cooking fish, which can go from under- to over-done rapidly.

"Can't Beat Pete's Meat!"

Salmon with Brown Sugar-mustard Glaze

Here is an alternative to the mustard/mayo slather recipe in the planked salmon above. Prepare the salmon the same way and brush half the glaze on before cooking and the remainder after.

· 1 T extra virgin olive oil

· 1 large shallot, minced

· ¼ cup red wine vinegar

· ¼ cup whole grain mustard

· ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar

· Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

· Lemon wedges

Heat oil in a small saucepan. Add shallot and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add vinegar and cook until almost evaporated, about 1 minute. Add mustard and brown sugar stir until warm and well mixed. Remove from heat. This can be made a day ahead and stored in an airtight container.

Ceviche is a Mexican seafood dish that can serve as an appetizer or a side dish. There are all kinds of variations of ceviche but most use lime juice as a marinade that serves about the same purpose as cooking the fresh fish. The following recipes are adapted from those of Rick Bayless, the preeminent Mexican chef and writer in the U.S. and brother to the goofiest sports writer in the U.S. (Skip).

Red and Green Shrimp Ceviche

· 12 ounces of fully cooked shrimp, 50-60/lb size

· 1 large red pepper

· 1 large green pepper

· 1 jalapeno pepper – use about 1/3 of it, more if you are adventurous

· 1 jicama – use about 2/3 of it

· 1 white onion – use about 1/3 of it

· Three ripe Roma tomatoes

· Fresh cilantro

· 4-6 garlic cloves

· ½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice

· Olive oil

· Salt and pepper

· Corn nuts for garnish

In shallow pan over low heat, toast the garlic cloves by cooking slowly and turning often until they are brown in spots and soft. Will take about 10 minutes.

Rinse shrimp 2 or 3 times in cold water to get rid of the salty water that they ship it in. Remove all tails and any remaining veins. Cut into chunks, two or three chunks per shrimp. Set aside and refrigerate until right before serving.

Rinse, seed (if needed) and chop vegetables. Chop the red and green peppers to about 3/8” pieces, chop the jicama to ¼” pieces. Finely chop the onion (1/8”) and mince the jalapeno. Combine peppers, onion and jicama, set aside and refrigerate until right before serving.

Remove seeds from tomatoes, chop (3/8” or so) and drain. Rinse cilantro, cut and discard stems until you have a cup or so of primarily leaves with minimal stem, chop so that most leaves are cut in half or so. Set vegetables aside and refrigerate until right before serving.

Dressing - Mash garlic cloves in a small bowl to make a paste. Add 6-8 T olive oil and mix together. Slowly add lime juice and whisk to make an emulsion.

When it is time to serve, mix all vegetables together in a large glass, ceramic or stainless steel bowl. Toss shrimp in dressing and fold shrimp/dressing mixture in with vegetables. Add kosher salt and pepper to taste and more lime juice if you like.

Serve as an appetizer or side dish with a few corn nuts as a garnish. They add a nice crunch. If you can’t find corn nuts something else with crunch and salt will do but corn nuts are better than anything else we have tried with this.

Ceviche is usually summer food but your old pal Pete made this as an appetizer for a Christmas party. The bright red and green made a nice Christmas look and it was a great prelude to a nice meal.

Three notes: You might have to go to a gas station to find a small bag of corn nuts but look until you find them. They are just perfect with the citrus and acid in this dish. Also, don’t mix this together more than an hour before you eat. 

Finally, if you don’t know what jicama is, you are a meathead (I mean that as a compliment) and it is time you used some. Pronounced hick-u-ma, it is a great vegetable to eat raw. It looks kind of like a potato (you have to peel the thick skin off, then it is white inside) and tastes kind of like a very mild, sweet radish. It adds crunch and flavor and very few calories. Get you some!

Ceviche – appetizer style

· 1 lb skinless fresh fish, cut into ½ inch cubes. Use a white fish with firm flesh like snapper, bass or halibut.

· 1 ½ cups fresh lime juice

· 1 medium white onion, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

· 1 lb ripe tomatoes, chopped into ¼ inch pieces

· Fresh, hot, green chiles – stemmed, seeded and finely chopped. Use 1 or 2 jalapenos or 2 or 3 serranos, depending on your taste.

· 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, leave a few leaves for garnish.

· 1/3 cup chopped pitted green olives (optional)

· 1 T extra virgin olive oil

· Salt to taste

· 3 T orange juice (or substitute ½ tsp sugar)

· 1 large or two small ripe avocados, peeled pitted and diced

Marinate cubed fish in lime juice in steel or glass bowl for four hours, covered and refrigerated. Be certain that fish is all covered with juice and stir once or twice. The lime juice will essentially cook the fish so it needs to happen uniformly. Do not leave the fish in lime juice for more than four hours or it will get mushy. That is also the reason to use firm fish instead of trout, tilapia or other softer fish. Drain off juice after marinating.

In a large bowl, mix tomatoes, chiles, cilantro olives and oil. Stir in the fish, taste and season with salt, and add orange juice. Cover and refrigerate if ceviche will not be served immediately.

Just prior to serving, stir in diced avocado. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve. This is best served with something crunchy, like commercial tortilla chips or even saltine crackers.

Tuna Ceviche with Avocado and Cilantro

This is a very simple recipe but with high quality ingredients is waayy good. If you can get excellent tuna, make this. If you can get pretty good tuna, make something else and wait for excellent tuna.

· 1 pound sushi grade tuna, sliced ¼ inch thick

· 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced – you may prefer a little less

· ¾ cup fresh lime juice (about 5 limes)

· 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

· 1 large Hass avocado, diced (1/3 inch cubes)

· ¼ cup coarsely chopped cilantro, plus a little more for garnish

· Salt to taste

Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap. Arrange tuna slices in a single layer on the baking sheet and freeze until fairly firm, about 15 minutes. Slice tuna into ¼ inch cubes and place in a glass bowl with the lime juice, red onion and black pepper. Cover and refrigerate for one hour, stirring gently every 15 or 20 minutes. Note that the tuna will change color in the lime juice. Just before serving, dice and fold in avocado and chopped cilantro. Salt to taste. Serve in individual glasses with cilantro garnish and good quality tortilla chips on the side.

Ceviche – side dish style

· 1 lb small to medium shrimp, cooked, peeled, deveined and cooled completely.

· ½ cup lime juice

· ½ cup medium white onion, chopped into ¼ inch pieces and rinsed in cold water

· 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus some leaves for garnish

· ½ cup ketchup

· 1 to 2 T bottled Mexican hot sauce

· 2 T extra virgin olive oil

· 1 cup diced peeled cucumber, jicama, or ½ cup of each

· A small ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and cubed

· Salt to taste

· Lime slices for garnish

Mix all ingredients except avocado, salt to taste and refrigerate if not being served immediately. Just prior to serving, add avocado, mix gently, garnish with cilantro and enjoy.

This ceviche can be served in small bowls or glasses with something crunchy on the side, like tortilla chips. Another option is to add a few corn nuts to the top of the serving.