# Grilled Whole Salmon



## mkaylady (Jun 13, 2011)

I got a whole Salmon, 5 lbs, at Costco yesterday. So, I didn't know what I wanted to do with it. I looked up recipes and I finally decided to grill it. Has anyone ever grilled a whole fresh salmon and how did you prepare it. Also how did it turn out. 

Mine came out good on the charcoal grill. I cooked in for about 15 minutes on each side. I used fennel fronds, parsley, lemon, sliced red onion and sea salt and  pepper to stuff it and salt and pepper and olive oil on outside and inside.


----------



## 4meandthem (Jun 14, 2011)

I grill alot of whole fish! Pampano being my families favorite. I just toss my whole fish on the grill plain without anything and then serve dipping sauce with it. The sauce is usually a blend of wasabi/soy/sambal/ricewine vinegar and ginger. I set the ingredients on the table and we all have our mix we like so everybody's is alittle different.

I will season steaks or filets most of the time. I love teryaki marinated salmon. Steak seasoning on swordfish.Light granulated garlic and onion on Halibut.

I have never been a big talapia fan and I grilled awhole sea bass Sun. that tasted like tilapia. Family not happy! I have had sweet and sour tilapia which I liked and Sat we went to an Indian fusion restaurant and really liked their tilapia done almost like a tandoori style.If you spice it and mask the muddy flavor it can be pretty good but I usually don't buy it.


----------



## mkaylady (Jun 14, 2011)

I can't have soy sauce so I stay away from the Oriental flavorings. However, I would like to get a good recipe for a creamy type of dip to serve with fish. I heard about a yogurt/dill sauce that sounded good but I have no recipe for it.


----------



## u8sushi2 (Jun 17, 2011)

i grill salmon on a cedar plank. Lemon, dill and pepper.


----------



## mkaylady (Jun 18, 2011)

I found some recipes for grilled whole fish that I was saving from a magazine. When I get a chance I will post them.


----------



## The OutDoor Chef (Jun 18, 2011)

u8sushi2 said:


> i grill salmon on a cedar plank. Lemon, dill and pepper.


Also don't forget orange slices between the cedar plank and the fish 

Added flavor for sure.


----------



## pmeheran (Nov 9, 2011)

A 5 lb. salmon is too thick to cook in a reasonable time.  What I do is split it down the center,[I leave the ribs and backbone in place, it keeps from wasting meat].  I season and oil each filet and lay them on two over sized pieces of foil.  When one side is done, I grab the edge of the foil with two pair of tongs and flip the fish onto its other side.  If it sticks I slide a spatula underneath to loosen it first.  By using this technique I have managed to avoid fragmenting the fish.  By the way, salmon done this way provides leftovers to make some of the best salmon salad.


----------



## Timothy (Nov 9, 2011)

A note about cooking whole fish; A very good friend from the Philippines once told me; "Always cook the fish with its head on! Much more flavor!", and she was correct, a proven by my next 20 whole fish that were cooked with the head still on.

The fats and juices from inside the head will boil out into the fish while it cooks. It makes a remarkable difference in the overall flavor of the fish at the table.

She even showed me how scraping out ALL the goodies from the cooked head will make a fabulous sauce for a dipping sauce!

If you've never tried it, do so just once and you'll probably do it that way for all your whole fish in the future.


----------



## Effington (Nov 28, 2011)

The last time I did salmon like this, I did the whole cure/smoke procedure. It was... quite a project. But the salmon it produced was the best I ever ate, hands down. 

The key is curing it with salt and sugar over a 24 hour period, then putting it in front of a box fan to develop a "pellicle" for the smoke to adhere to. Then just smoke on super low heat to an internal temp of 150 and you're good to go.


----------



## Savannahsmoker (Nov 30, 2011)

Effington said:


> The last time I did salmon like this, I did the whole cure/smoke procedure. It was... quite a project. But the salmon it produced was the best I ever ate, hands down.
> 
> The key is curing it with salt and sugar over a 24 hour period, then putting it in front of a box fan to develop a "pellicle" for the smoke to adhere to. Then just smoke on super low heat to an internal temp of 150 and you're good to go.


+1
Nice to see you talk about the pellicle for the smoke.  
Gotta love Smoke Salmon.


----------

