The other day I was cooking for some friends from out of town and I had a request for some fish for dinner. I knew that they had enjoyed my baked salmon from last time, but this time, I wanted to do something different. I decided to grill the salmon and top it with a basil infused BBQ sauce. Just the sound of this creation had my mouth watering.
I went to the store and asked the fish monger for 4 salmon filets with the skin on. I like to leave the skin on when I grill my salmon, the skin acts as a protective shield while grilling. There is also natural oil in the salmon skin that will help the fish to stay moist. I also picked up some fresh basil to use in BBQ sauce.
Once home, I seasoned my salmon filets with salt, pepper, garlic and a dash of lemon pepper. I got my grill nice and hot and sprayed my grill racks with some oil spray. I placed my salmon on the grill, skin side down. I cooked the skin side for about 5 minutes and then flipped the salmon over to the meat side. I let the meat side cook for another 5 minutes and then removed the fish to a sheet pan.
I placed my salmon in the oven at 350 degrees for another 10 minutes. Make sure that you do not over-cook the fish in the oven. The salmon should be nice and moist. While the fish was finishing in the oven, I started my BBQ Sauce. Once I had the sauce made, I added cup fresh basil to the sauce and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. I let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes on low.
I removed the salmon from the oven and poured the sauce on top. I served it with some yellow rice and mixed vegetables. Needless to say, my guest were more impressed with the grilled salmon than the baked salmon I had done before. I got rave reviews about the sauce. The addition of the fresh basil to the BBQ sauce added incredible flavor to the dish.
I hope you get a chance to try this grilled salmon recipe, It is fantastic!
Eat Well!
Chef Brian
http://htbbqsaucemix.com
