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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Music to Cook By

I can’t imagine cooking (or baking) in silence.  Sometimes I chat with whoever is around or listen to a conversational show on radio, but it’s music that really gets me in the mood to whip, chop, stir, and simmer .  

My musical talents are nonexistent; I can’t sing on key and when I gave up clarinet lessons in fourth grade, my father gave my clarinet to an Israeli kibbutz in case I had second thoughts. Although I enjoy listening, I am timid about exploring new genres and artists. I may have the courage to experiment in the kitchen, but music is an entirely different story. 

Like much else in life, finding my “music mentor”, Stephanie, was happenstance. Although music is a huge part of her life, she is multi-talented and our initial connections were – as you might guess – food-related. 

Besides being an amazing singer, an insightful therapist, and a fun person in general, Stephanie is a great cook and baker. Years ago, she brought a fabulous ginger cake to a party and, when I asked for the recipe, introduced me to its creator, David Lebovitz. (Remember my obsession with all-things ginger, especially David’s candied ginger?) The cake remains one of my favorite desserts, even though it doesn’t include chocolate, and I'm indebted to Stephanie for introducing me to it.  

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Spice Tips and the Spice Set Giveaway

Whether I'm roasting vegetables, grilling meat or fish, cooking a stew, baking chicken, or making a salad, I almost always use spices.  There is no better way to enhance flavors of main ingredients than to add a touch of spices.  I enjoy mixing spices and vowed earlier this year to learn to make my own curry powder.  

The best way to decide which spices you like is to experiment. To get you started, here are 5 tips for using dried spices:

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