First Place Fish And Other Stuff

I have to admit I was very surprised to take 1st place fish at the Snowshoe Grilling Challenge last month. The main reason is that I very rarely even eat fish at all. But a few people have asked what I cooked so I am posting the recipe, based on what I did at the Snowshoe.

Grilled Salmon With Maple Mustard Glaze

-Salmon fillet, cut into 2 inch sections.

-Lightly brushed with olive oil, then lightly dusted with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

-Cook indirect on a hot grill, only turn once. I cooked them for around 7 minutes on each side.

-When they were almost done cooking, I lightly brushed them with the maple mustard mix.

The glaze:

- Equal parts Vermont Maple Syrup and Grey Poupon Harvest coarse ground mustard.

Once they were removed from the grill, I put them in the turn in box and brushed them with a little more glaze. That's it. Very simple.

What's really funny is that we didn't take a single picture of the fish while it was cooking. In fact, the only pictures we have at all are these, which were taken by Gary of Pigtrip.net.

Of course we did take pictures of our other entries, including the horrible presentation on the burger turn in, which was embarrassing to look at afterwards.

I did practice fish a few times before I settled on this recipe. First I tried grilled salmon with a blood orange buerre blanc, it came out ok but I was not blown away by the flavor. I did love the color though.

But in the end I was inspired by a similar dish at one of my favorite restaurants, Jack's American Bistro in Old Saybrook, CT (which is now called Jack's Saybrook Steak) and came up with the maple mustard recipe. I was especially proud of the first place finish because I didn't work directly off someone else's recipe, and even though I was inspired by someone else's menu item it was something I came up with on my own.

Unfortunately I didn't fare as well in the other three categories at the contest and finished in the middle of the pack.

I've decided that I am going to start posting more recipes, especially grilling recipes. I have decided that competition wise, I am going to just have fun with the grilling and focus on the BBQ. That will be clear when you see what I am planning to do at New Hampshire in June.