How to Grill Salmon

When I married my husband, he had a few “tried and true” recipes. Linguini and clam sauce, burritos, and scrambled eggs were his mainstays.  He has expanded his repertoire a bit in the decades since, thanks mainly to our Weber kettle grill. The imperial “we” use the barbecue year round, even in the rain and occasionally when it is snowing. 

Although his burgers are amazing, my absolute favorite husband-prepared dinner is grilled fish and vegetables. When it comes to grilling at our house, I am the sous-chef. Scampering around to find ingredients or to fetch the right size plate, I watch with admiration as he moves the coals, places the food on the grill, and watches over it.

Recently I asked the grill-master to distill his technique with salmon into some useful tips for a beginner. The result is this 5-step guide.  Although I can’t promise that your salmon will taste as good as his, you’ll have a good start toward making an incredible and healthy grilled dinner.

5-Steps to Incredible Grilled Salmon 

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Currant Scones

Even if my husband weren’t Irish-American, I would love scones.  Buttery, crumbly, and altogether lovely, they melt in your mouth.  During my vanillathon with Kelly last weekend, I started playing around with a favorite scone recipe that features candied ginger.  Substituting currants and vanilla for the ginger takes the scones back to their traditional roots, but retains the fantastic crumbly texture of the original recipe.  After a few tweaks and another taste test by the resident scone-master, these currant scones are now ready for prime time.

Why use currants and not raisins?  Both currants and raisins are dried grapes. The difference is in the type of grape they come from, and consequently the size and taste of the dried fruit.  Currants are dried red grapes, typically the zante variety native to Greece.  Raisins (including the type known as golden raisins in the U.S. and sultanas in Great Britain) are dried green grapes.  In general, currants are smaller and a bit more tart than raisins.  Traditionally scones are made with currants and I prefer them in this recipe for their size and taste.

Three Notes About This Recipe:

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Summer Rolls

I came to summer rolls late in life.  When I was a kid, growing up in a New York suburb (during the Mad Men era of chow mein), the only Asian appetizer rolls I knew were so-called Chinese egg rolls.  They were always fried or baked, filled mostly with cabbage, and definitely boring.  I had no idea that infinitely better-tasting and healthier Asian appetizer rolls existed.

Now that I’ve discovered them, I’ve got the zeal of a convert, spreading the word that summer rolls are quick, easy, and inexpensive.  Perhaps their most attractive feature is that summer rolls can be whatever you want or need them to be.  A salad you can hold?  A repository for leftovers that cry out to be used?  A refreshing appetizer for a stir-fry meal?  An elegant and quick contribution to a pot-luck?  A vegetarian dish that easily accommodates adding meat or seafood? The possibilities are endless, and (for those who need or want to avoid gluten), they are gluten-free too.  

This is a guide to making summer rolls, rather than a recipe with specific measurements.  The only required ingredient is the rice wrapper.  I bought a package of more than 30 wrappers at an Asian grocery for $1.75.  In Washington, D.C., the price for 2 summer rolls at local Asian restaurants hovers around $4.50 - 5.50.  Check the menu of a restaurant near you that serves summer (sometimes called spring) rolls, and calculate how much money you’ll save by making these at home.

5 Tips for Making Great Summer Rolls

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