Salmon-chanted Evening

Last week was a busy week. I finally got some time this weekend to edit photos and create this blog post about a salmon class I took at the co-op. Salmon – King of the Sea was the name of the class, but Chef Cris Mckone (our instructor) thought “Salmon-chanted Evening” would have been a better course title. 🙂

As some of you know from reading my blog, I have a small fear of cooking fish. Not because I don’t like it, just because I am afraid of doing it wrong or selecting “bad” fish from the market. This co-op class increased my confidence enough – I’ve got this whole salmon thing down. I came away from the class armed with several different cooking techniques and I promise to feature them all on the blog when I actually get around to making them myself at home.

We started off the evening with snacks provided by the co-op. Olive tapenade and multi-grain crackers. I’m a huge fan of olive anything, so this was perfect.

The wine for the evening was King Estate – Acrobat Pinot Gris 2009. I really liked the crisp/fruity flavor and I felt it paired well with all 4 of the salmon dishes. The Oregon wine is a favorite of Chef Cris – especially at $12 a bottle – affordable quality wine is always a good thing.

We started off the evening with a simple recipe for a Smoked Salmon Spread.

Chef Cris used Raincoast Trading Smoked Wild Sockeye Salmon for the spread.

The spread used a cream cheese and sour cream base with added lemon juice, minced fresh dill, horseradish, salt and pepper. The spread was served on Sesame Rice Crackers.

The spread can be made ahead of time. It stores for up to 3-4 days in the fridge. Chef Cris reminded us that all dips like this have about a 2 hour life off ice – so it’s best to serve in a chilled dish or remember to put it back into the fridge after a few hours and continue serving after it has re-chilled. The spread would also be great for tea sandwiches.

Next up was my favorite dish of the evening – Roasted Salmon w/Mustard-Herb Crust, Arugula Mayonnaise, and Pumpernickel Toast.

I pretty much dove right in. This dish was billed as a great appetizer, but it can also be made as a main course – which I will be cooking soon. I would just skip the pumpernickel toast part. I promise to follow up with step by step photos and a recipe as soon as I purchase the ingredients to see if I can do this one on my own. I honestly could have swam through vats of the amazing green sauce… you think I’m kidding?

One take away from this dish – we learned that the general rule of thumb when cooking fish is 10 minutes per inch of thickness. It’s also important to calculate carry-over cook time into the equation – it WILL continue to cook after you take it out of the oven. Chef Chris taught us a little trick – someone had asked if it was recommended that we use a thermometer to gauge internal temperature – she said that you could, but then explained her knife test. She pokes a knife into the center of the fish and feels for “no resistance” – then she pulls it out and places the knife blade on her lip. If the knife blade is warm, the fish is done. If the knife is cool or cold, it needs more oven time.

The next dish of the evening was Grilled Salmon with Soy and Brown Sugar Glaze. The marinade was pretty simple – it included 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 6 tablespoons olive oil, 1 Teaspoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger and 2 tablespoons honey or brown sugar.

Chef Cris used king salmon from Alaska – sold at the co-op. She showed us how to make a mock smoker out of a cheapo store bought aluminum tray. You poke a bunch of holes or make slits in the bottom of the tray – fill it with a few inches of wood chips that have been soaked in water for several hours and then you place the salmon directly on the wood chips (skin side down) and place the whole tray on a preheated grill.

Close the lid and let the smoking begin. Grill until the salmon is just cooked through without turning – approximately 10 minutes. Ours took a lot longer because it came right out of the fridge and was super chilly to start.

The soy and brown sugar glaze was drizzled on top and OMG, the photos do not do the piece of fish justice. Such a simple recipe and the smoked flavor combined with the glaze was incredible. I know Dan would like this and he’s not a huge fish fan at all. The marinade could easily be used on chicken or veggies as well.

The last dish of the evening was Poached Salmon with Tarragon Sauce.  Again,  the sauce delivered. It brings me so much joy to be armed with two sauce recipes for fish or just about any piece of meat. The poached salmon was Kristen’s favorite of the evening and was a very close second for me.

Just like the Roasted Salmon with Mustard-Herb Crust – I will be recreating the recipe for the blog with step by step photos. A small sneak peek into the sauce ingredients – Fresh tarragon, chives, parsley, shallot, mayo, rice vinegar and Dijon mustard.

Kristen and I both agreed – had it just been us at the table, we would have licked our plates clean.

The poached salmon can be served either hot or cold. Chef Cris enjoys it cold on a lightly toasted everything bagel the next morning. Sign me up! One of the take aways on the poaching method is that you can use the poaching liquid 2 x’s – you just freeze it in between uses. Just remember, you must use the same fish or meat you used the first time. I’ll be sure to include the poaching liquid recipe when I make it myself.

The class topped the list of my favorites. Chef Cris is a really great instructor. She really welcomed questions, told hilarious stories and really explained things well. We learned about the different kinds of salmon, how to remove pin bones, different cooking and serving methods, etc.

I honestly have not stopped dreaming about the green sauces. That’s it, I’m making one of the salmon dishes this weekend. Who wants to come over?