COFFEE RUBBED SALMON

Prep time 20 minutes     

Active prep time 20 minutes

Special equipment needed – None

Special skills needed – None

Serves 4

I generally pick just about any fish over salmon, but my wife and kids love it.  When they get tired of eating my experiments with other fish, I always give them a break with a big slab of salmon.  This recipe is one that we can all enjoy.  It is hearty and full of interesting flavors.  It works well with a cedar plank or directly on the grill.  You can use a trout, mackerel, or a halibut in this recipe if you prefer.  I don’t think the type of coffee matters that much in this preparation, but I would stick to a plain dark roast coffee.  If you choose to cook it on a cedar plank, you should probably soak the planks before you use them. 

INGREDIENTS:

¼ Cup Brown sugar

1 Tablespoon Coffee – Finely ground

1 Tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon Curry powder

1 teaspoon Cumin

1 teaspoon Garlic powder

1 teaspoon Paprika

½ teaspoon Cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon Cinnamon

4 portions of salmon 4-8 ounces each

Preheat an outdoor grill or a grill pan to medium high.  Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Rinse the salmon and pat dry.  Coat the top with a thin layer of the spice mix. 

You can make it ¼” thick if you want, but the sugar may not melt on top before the fish is done.  If this happens, you can save it by tossing it under the broiler for just a minute or two at the end. You will probably have enough spice mix to make this dish at least twice, so be careful not to contaminate the entire batch if you want to reuse it. 

Cook the salmon to your liking.  I like it cooked all the way through, which takes about 8 minutes directly on the grill or 10 minutes on a plank.  My family prefers it a little more rare, so I pull if off 2 minutes earlier for them.  If you cook it directly on the grill, use a low heat setting on the burners under the fish and crank up the other burners so that you cook it mostly with indirect heat.  This helps slow the cooking process to give the sugar time to melt.