Topper's Grilling Advice!

[Topper]

Was that Lucy Mae Brown? Also had a small after-hours lounge in the basement. Interviewed there once, kitchen the size of a closet. Andrey Durbach ran that place, awesome chef.

[Blob Mckenzie]

I know how to cook salmon, but I’m in a pinch as a couple of different folks are stopping by. I have a nice slab of Coho and a bigger chunk of Spring. I want to do it on the Weber. I don’t slather it with Mayo. Got chives, dill ,,garlic, basil, oregano, butter, evo, any advice old timer?

[Topper]

Make sure the skin is bone dry then a skiff of EVO on it. It is your only hope of not having it stick. Salt and pepper on the flesh side. Mix dill with melted butter and and refrigerate. Salmon should be medium rare, or rose" in the centre.

Cook the salmon skin side down, lid closed and do not turn. Once off the grill Put a slab of the dill butter on it.

I hate salmon on the grill. Very difficult to keep it from sticking. I put a slab of cast iron on the grill if I'm cooking salmon.

Lately I've been brushing a skiff of maple syrup on the flesh side just before serving then hitting it with a torch to add a maple sugar crust like a cream brule crust.

Why would anyone put mayo on a salmon to cook? The mayo will break in the heat and become a grease mess.

It is asparagus season, a great accompaniment. Blanch in boiling heavily salted water for 3 minutes then into an ice water bath to stop cooking. After they've cooled, out onto a towel to dry and onto a large plate. Season with salt and pepper, balsamic vinegar and EVO. Finish on the weber for a couple of minutes.

[Cousin Strawberry]

My fast salmon recipe is to grab that golden dragon thick teriyaki sauce and slather it up and lay the fillet skin down on the grill and roast it indirect at 400° til the flakes open a cunt hair then slide your thin metal flipper between the skin and meat to remove. Toss the skin to the dags

[Topper]

My local coffee roaster changes the beans on their Paupau New Guinea coffee and are selling Jikawa Natural. Taste notes say very fruit forward with tastes of pineapple.

Their previous PNG offering was my go to so I decided to give it a try. Fuck me is it disgusting. All weird tropical fruit with little coffee that I cherish. Now I've got 2lbs of this to go through forcing myself to keep the regular 6 shots of espresso a morning going and get rid of it in two weeks.

[Meds]

My local coffee roaster changes the beans on their Paupau New Guinea coffee and are selling Jikawa Natural. Taste notes say very fruit forward with tastes of pineapple.

Their previous PNG offering was my go to so I decided to give it a try. Fuck me is it disgusting. All weird tropical fruit with little coffee that I cherish. Now I've got 2lbs of this to go through forcing myself to keep the regular 6 shots of espresso a morning going and get rid of it in two weeks.

You’re telling us that you of all people cannot create some sort of fancy dessert recipe that calls for coffee grounds with a hint of citrus fruit?

[Topper]

Last night's dinner.

Braised oxtail, charred onion, roasted garlic, fresh paparadelle, reduced beef stock.

[UWSaint]

Make sure the skin is bone dry then a skiff of EVO on it. It is your only hope of not having it stick. Salt and pepper on the flesh side. Mix dill with melted butter and and refrigerate. Salmon should be medium rare, or rose" in the centre.

Cook the salmon skin side down, lid closed and do not turn. Once off the grill Put a slab of the dill butter on it.

I hate salmon on the grill. Very difficult to keep it from sticking. I put a slab of cast iron on the grill if I'm cooking salmon.

Lately I've been brushing a skiff of maple syrup on the flesh side just before serving then hitting it with a torch to add a maple sugar crust like a cream brule crust.

Why would anyone put mayo on a salmon to cook? The mayo will break in the heat and become a grease mess.

It is asparagus season, a great accompaniment. Blanch in boiling heavily salted water for 3 minutes then into an ice water bath to stop cooking. After they've cooled, out onto a towel to dry and onto a large plate. Season with salt and pepper, balsamic vinegar and EVO. Finish on the weber for a couple of minutes.

I avoid the outdoor grill with salmon, but use a grill pan on the stove.

Pat the filet dry, both sides. Don't skip this step. Season with salt and pepper (lighter hand). Can do dry herbs to crust or cajun for kick, but salmon is flavorful and doesn't need it unless you need variety. Score the skin if you intend to eat it, drying, scoring, preheating grill are all critical steps to crispy skin.

Lightly oil (olive) preheated pan (should be fully preheated -- do not try to save time -- this is critical to fish not breaking apart). Medium to medium-high heat. Oil should be right near smoke point. Brush oil on flesh side immediately before putting on grill. I've taken to putting flesh side down first. 3-4 minutes, depending on thickness. DO NOT MOVE OR FIDGET WITH IT. Flip to skin side -- if the pan was preheated, oil lightly applied, it will not break up but will release. Another 3-4 minutes depending on thickness. During this stage, if you are into melting herbed butter or a sweet sauce (maple, teriyaki, bbq), this is the time to apply. If you don't use something sweet, finish with a squeeze of lemon and fresh herb if desired.

Asparagus is perfect side. I prefer to roast in convection oven. Trim stems (nothing should be woody), olive oil and lemon juice, kosher salt, pepper, diced garlic (more than you think) and freshly grated parmesan cheese -- more than you think. (dump garlic on asparagus first, then drizzle olive oil and squeeze lemon (half should do, but to taste), then salt and pepper, then parm). How much parm? Enough to fully cover times two. Apply only layer one to start. 375 degrees (preheat!), about 8 minutes, then apply the rest of the parm. Cook another 4 minutes or so. (cooking time is dependent on asparagus size -- I prefer medium width and these times should work -- steakhouse asparagus is stupidly gargantuan). Apply parm in two phases so you get baked in crispy bits of parm and also melty bits.

[Topper]

I prefer a flat griddle for salmon. I'd do skin side first if you want a crispy skin. Reason being is your pan is hotter when the fish hits it. I have done flesh side first but used two pans so that flipping to skin side goes into a hot second pan.

Asparagus, as with any green veggie, big pot blanching in highly salted water, never longer than 7 minutes, breaks the cell walls and frees the chloroplasts to give that bright green colour. Over cooked, they end up hospital wall dull green.

[Per]

I brush the salmon with garlic oil, than sprinkle a sesame seed/wasabi dry mix over it. Gives a nice zest to it.
I often serve it with broccoli and hollandaise, but sometimes I instead use a cold sauce made from mixing sour cream with roe and a sprinkle of chives.

Asparagus is great, whether blanched, grilled or heated in a skillet. I love asapargus.
Usually serve it with melted butter and a ton of freshly grated parmesan.

I've made many mistakes in my life. Adding more cheese than the recipe calls for was never one of them.

[Blob Mckenzie]

Per, how do you cook your flounders?

[Topper]

Baby Food

https://x.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1825850986482618723

[Topper]

A little appy for gathering at friend's house this afternoon. Mini brioche, gravlax, cream fresh, capers and dill.



They are all OLD. Discussion will revolve around favoured hip/knee replacement specialists and who's the next read in the obituaries.This will go nicely with the deviled eggs the retired Saskatchewan farmer's wife will be bringing.

[donlever]

Looks good.

How were rhe eggs?

[Topper]

Looks good.

How were rhe eggs?

No deviled eggs, she bought a baked some weird spanikopita ring that was raw soggy dough in the middle (it was a coiled roll of spinach in pyllo, kind of like a sausage coil) with store bought container of Tzatziki. She started carving it up and plating it for folks while raving about how good it is. Barf.

Best discussion - one guy was lamenting that since his doctor took away his driver's license he's been trying to sell his Arizona Snowbird RV site but every time he has a potential buyer lined up they die before closing the deal. He's had at least two buyers die just before cutting cheques.

Somehow I didn't burst out laughing.

I left early as the host was snoring on the couch while the other guys were watching the Steelers/Eagles