BBQ Salmon... foil or direct on the grill?

[Evan B]

I have to say it:
I love my chosen home of the PNW, but c’mon y’all, get with the freaking program. BBQ salmon? No! We are (mostly) talking about grilling salmon with high, direct heat.
BBQ is low and slow and indirect heat cooking. Think brisket and pork shoulder.

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Does nobody else like to peel their salmon skin from the filet as soon as it’s off the grill and then quickly grill the skin up crisp? I do.Yum.

Yeah I do this, too. My wife's family calls all grills "bbq." I correct them every time and they don't understand.

Just propane and nothing else? There's nothing bbq about that.

As for seasonings and all that... The salmon I get is all quite high quality, quickly bled and iced, and vacuum packed. Stays fresh a VERY long time. So I stay very simple. Usually just some salt, often umami salt. I rarely flavor with much else.

 

[Jake Watrous]

Unless it’s very fresh and never frozen:

4. Smoked.

If it’s not very fresh and/or was frozen:

Sea salt, small amount of olive oil, and some lemon are about all a person needs. Maybe some pepper table-side. Cedar plank if you'd like, but for me it's just a matter of cooking it skin-down until the white crap (fat?) comes to the top of the flesh. I don't eat a ton of sockeye, though, as they aren't the easiest species of salmon to target here in Washington.

 

[Evan B]

Unless it’s very fresh and never frozen;

4. Smoked.

Nothing wrong with frozen if you treat it right. If you're just tossing it in a ziploc or something, then yeah... but properly vacuum packed? That can be almost as good as fresh.

 

[Matt B]

Yeah I do this, too. My wife's family calls all grills "bbq." I correct them every time and they don't understand.

That's quite the cross to bear!
Every time? I bet they love that. Maybe they are doing it now to get the reaction. "Watch this, I can make Evan correct me."

 

[Josh]

Everyone likes "Well, technically..."

That's how you get invited to parties.

Also:

barbecue
1 of 2
verb
bar·be·cue ˈbär-bi-ˌkyü
barbecued; barbecuing; barbecues

transitive verb
1
: to roast or broil (food, such as meat) on a rack or revolving spit over or before a source of heat (such as hot coals or a gas flame)
barbecuing chicken for dinner
2
: to prepare (food, such as beef, pork, or chicken) by seasoning (as with a marinade, a barbecue sauce, or a rub) and cooking usually slowly and with exposure to low heat and to smoke

 

[Matt B]

Everyone likes "Well, technically..."

That's how you get invited to parties.

Also:

barbecue
1 of 2
verb
bar·be·cue ˈbär-bi-ˌkyü
barbecued; barbecuing; barbecues

transitive verb
1
: to roast or broil (food, such as meat) on a rack or revolving spit over or before a source of heat (such as hot coals or a gas flame)
barbecuing chicken for dinner
2
: to prepare (food, such as beef, pork, or chicken) by seasoning (as with a marinade, a barbecue sauce, or a rub) and cooking usually slowly and with exposure to low heat and to smoke

What, is that from the Pemco site?

It’s fine, we know what you mean now, no need to get into a big thing; just know that everyone else in the country thinks this is wrong and that cooking out, and grilling, are distinct from BBQ.
But—They also like that farm raised Atlantic salmon.

 

[Evan B]

Everyone likes "Well, technically..."

 

[Evan B]

How to trigger Evan:

Call a gas grill a "BBQ."

Improper use of apostrophes (which is more common than proper use... so I have a hard life).

 

[Josh]

just know that everyone else in the country thinks this is wrong and that cooking out, and grilling, are distinct from BBQ.

I think you VASTLY overestimate the intelligence of the average American google searcher when looking for this sort of information. We are a deeply stupid people, at least on the internet.

Also, do we really care what people east of the Rockies call it in this situation? I mean, what are the chances that they are looking for a deep dive on grilled salmon in TX or NC? This type of thread is really only going to matter to Cascadia folks I suspect.

Even better, how about this recipe. Then everyone's happy, right? Problem solved. Everybody head over to Evan's. He'll have the George Foreman Air Fryer Deluxe cranked up. Mmmmmmnm, good!

Air Fryer Barbecue Salmon | Ray's No Sugar Added

The only thing Ray’s No Sugar Added Barbecue Sauce is missing? A great meal to add flavor to. Explore low-carb and keto-friendly recipes today.

raysnosugaradded.com

 

[Evan B]

I think you VASTLY overestimate the intelligence of the average American google searcher when looking for this sort of information. We are a deeply stupid people, at least on the internet.

Also, do we really care what people east of the Rockies call it in this situation? I mean, what are the chances that they are looking for a deep dive on grilled salmon in TX or NC? This type of thread is really only going to matter to Cascadia folks I suspect.

Even better, how about this recipe. Then everyone's happy, right? Problem solved. Everyone head over to Evan's. He'll have the George Foreman Air Fryer Deluxe cranked up. Mmmmmmnm, good!

View attachment 67862

Air Fryer Barbecue Salmon | Ray's No Sugar Added

The only thing Ray’s No Sugar Added Barbecue Sauce is missing? A great meal to add flavor to. Explore low-carb and keto-friendly recipes today.

raysnosugaradded.com

George Foreman, Air Fryer, and my finest bottle of Heinz.

 

[Josh]

George Foreman, Air Fryer, and my finest bottle of Heinz.

Sugar free Heinz. READ THE RECIPE.

 

[Wetswinger]

I'm sorry but, bbq sauce and salmon should not ever be mentioned in the same paragraph! Seriously..
If you don't like the flavor of salmon have a short rib...

 

[Evan B]

I'm sorry but, bbq sauce and salmon should not ever be mentioned in the same paragraph! Seriously..
If you don't like the flavor of salmon have a short rib...

That's why I just use ketchup, personally.

 

[jasmillo]

I recently ate some freshly caught trout, grilled over gas, sprinkled with adobo seasoning. Goya Adobo dry rub often used in Puerto Rico/other Caribbean Spanish spots. Forgot how much I like that flavor as a kid growing up eating my grandmothers cooking. Pretty basic combo if you look at the ingredients but provides a unique flavor. I’ll be trying a few different brands of adobo on salmon this year. I imagine it will be solid.

 

[Salmo_g]

Adding anything more than salt and wood smoke to salmon is for people who don't like salmon. Troof!

 

[Hoofer]

Adding anything more than salt and wood smoke to salmon is for people who don't like salmon. Troof!

Well, I don’t know. Some fish can use a boost, to my taste. 99% of my salmon is frozen and bagged. Some of it is great and some less great, if I’m honest about it. The best pieces don’t need anything, for sure, but Ol Dad used to put bitters and sugar on the cheap broiler steaks, and he might have been on to something. A squirt or two can help it. The only part of the Costco fillets I’m not entirely satisfied with is the price — but there’s a lot of that going around these days.

 

[Salmo_g]

Some fish can use a boost,

Fish that can use a "boost" should be diverted to cat food. I don't eat salmon of that category.

Salmon that is flash frozen and vacuum packed is not fresh, but is still quite good. The quality of salmon depends on the product you begin with, and then the processing and handling. I recognize that I am very fortunate to not be so hungry as to have to eat poor quality fish, or anything else for that matter.

 

[Hoofer]

Fish that can use a "boost" should be diverted to cat food. I don't eat salmon of that category.

Salmon that is flash frozen and vacuum packed is not fresh, but is still quite good. The quality of salmon depends on the product you begin with, and then the processing and handling. I recognize that I am very fortunate to not be so hungry as to have to eat poor quality fish, or anything else for that matter.

Yeah, crummy fish is no bueno but I don’t like any cats enough to give em the Costco stuff. The dog does get the odd piece of skin. I like a lil’ sugar on lots of stuff — I even put a spoonful of honey on some Hood strawberries last week — but no disrespect to the fish, berries, or steers is intended. There is no accounting for taste, of course.

 

[Josh]

I generally like my salmon plain on the grill. Though I will sometimes do the dill/lemon style.

But I admit that I've had a pretty awesome brown sugar glaze salmon recipe before. I wouldn't want it all the time. But it was a nice change of pace, particularly for a not-perfect piece of fish.

 

[Stonedfish]

One salmon cooking option that hasn’t been mentioned will be extremely popular this summer.
Sun baked, sand panko crusted humpy.
No grill, foil, olive oil or seasoning required except for sand, slime, blood and guts. It’s a favorite PNW odd year beach staple.
SF