Pale salmon with asian flavours

Salmon is a beautiful fish.  Beautiful on the eye because of its colour, beautiful because of its moist flesh, beautiful because………….

When I worked up in Iceland, oneday a few of us were rounded up and asked to leave the tables we were working on and head over to the building adjacent to where we were. Tons of salmon needed to be worked and worked ASAP.  So we were all put into a production line, shown what to do.  The salmon were big and very lively.  I cant remember my exact job but I know there were various tasks to be done in very cold conditions and they had to be done fast.  Because of its high fat content, it spoils fast hence the hurry. 

I love its  striking silver colour on the  outside and bright pink on the inside.  They were eventually packed into white polystryrene boxes and sent off to fly around the world to various destinations.  Once the salmon had landed , you could easily work for 16- 18 hours straight.  Hard work !!

So the other day Antonio mentioned he had some salmon which was rather pale.  I decided to get some.  I am not a frozen fish fan as I still believe fresh is best but…………..

I believe the best way to defrost is slowly in the fridge so thats what got done.  I then seasoned the fillets with  freshly ground black pepper and a tiny amount of salt. I then made a paste of grated garlic, ginger and chilli and spread that over then topped it with slices of lime.  Did a tiny dollop of butter ( for the decadent flavour only butter gives ) and popped it under the grill for only 8 minutes as they were thin fillets.  It was moist and aromatic.  Although it didnt have the vibrant colour salmon is known for, it was absolutely delicious.  A green salad with leaves picked from the garden and a few potatoes and we had a decadent dinner.

A bit of home smoking…………….chicken that is

I love smoked chicken .  It is so versatile and in summer it can be combined with a variety of fresh herbs and turned into a beautiful pasta, salad, put into wraps, the list is endless.

However I don’t like the smoked chicken one finds in the shop as I find it far too salty and that is because I am sure they soak it in a brine first.  I enjoy using the breast on the bone as well as the skin as they each serve their different purpose.  The skin to retain moisture and the bone to keep it plump.  I used to haul out our camping equipment before but now I use a far easier way and do it in the kitchen and a beautiful smell permeates the house.

I use oak barrel chips or dust, whichever is available and because it can be quite a messy affair, I resort to aluminum foil dishes to hold all the bits and this makes cleaning up a breeze.  I season my fresh chicken breasts with salt and freshly ground black pepper and then for a bit of a twist , a generous drizzle of honey.  These are placed in a foil dish.  The oaks chips or dust is placed into a another foil dish and sprinkled with a bit of water to encourage the smoke.  The tray holding the chips are placed into a big pot and sits directly on the bottom of the pot, then I have a steel tray which I am not sure where it came from but it serves the purpose perfectly, which gets placed on top of the wood and finally the tray holding the chicken.  The pot is then sealed with a thick layer of foil and the lid put on.  It is placed onto a high heat to get it all going and once it is smoking I leave it for 15 minutes on the heat.  It is then removed from the heat and the breasts are then transferred to a covered dish and placed into a moderate oven for a further 10 minutes then left to rest.

Result is succulent smoked chicken breasts and so simple. The juices that run out has a salty,sweet , smoky flavour and is delicious.  The chicken is left to cool before slicing.  Absolute heaven on a fresh bap .