[Roy Hamilton]

Why do we talk about distasteful politics but never food?

I thought I would do a whole salmon on the smoker today. But not just any old salmon, a stuffed salmon! The stuffing is key:

1/2 tube sausage meat
2 avocados (never tried this)
1 sweet onion
mushrooms
bread crumbs
cream cheese
lemon juice and rind
parsely
black pepper
1 egg

Sautee onions and mushrooms and sausage drain and cool.
Chop up the fresh ripe avocado and then mix up the stuffing. Lay out 2 large salmon filets. Pile the stuffing on and tie the baby up like it wants to take to the water once again! (poetic aspect) Lather with olive oil and smoke at 250 for...however long you desire.

Serve with a dill and cucumber sauce, baked potaoes and corn on the cob. Now don't even think about poetry till you're back from the store and everything is well under way!

p.s. Apple crumble and a hot cup of coffee anyone?


[This message has been edited by Roy Hamilton (edited September 07, 2008).]

[Roger Slater]

What happened to the "whole salmon"? The recipe mentions only two fillets. These days I expect youtube videos of all recipes, please.

[Roy Hamilton]

If you go with a whole salmon you'll have to deal with those nasty bones. When I get a yummy idea like this I go online and get ideas to flesh it out. The consensus for this type of recipe seems to be two filets, pin bones removed. There may be pictures...we see.

Now I best get my act together here if I'm going to shop, prep and get this on in good time!

[This message has been edited by Roy Hamilton (edited September 07, 2008).]

[David Mason]

Best way to do salmon if you can't smoke it all day: grilled with a bit of olive oil and lemon--nothing more. I grew up on the stuff.

[Roger Slater]

Dave, you are almost right -- you forgot the garlic. And maybe a touch of salt and pepper?

[Roy Hamilton]

I love it too Dave. I used to make a fresh cucumber and dill sauce to have on the side but then I discovered a brand in the refrigerated salad dressing section called Renee's Gourmet and it is truly fabulous with salmon. Now I just buy it.

[Stephen Collington]

Hi Roy,

Salmon is about the fattiest fish you can buy . . . and you're adding half a pound of sausage?! At that rate, why don't you just deep fry it and serve it in bowls?

Ouch!

Well, for all I know, it may turn out to be a delicious recipe, and I wish you well with it. Do let us know how it turns out.

Steve C.

[Michael Cantor]

Too much of the same thing, Roy. Salmon is fatty, avocado is fatty, cream cheese is fatty, sausage is fatty. And the cooking technique jams everything together like a candy bar, so you don't get the play of distinct tastes and textures.

I'd rub the salmon with soy and oil and minced ginger - maybe crust it with chopped pistachios - and grill it. Use the avocado for a side salad, or guacamole. Save the cream cheese to shmear on a bagel the next day with leftover cold salmon.

Save the sausage, mushroom and onions for dinner tomorrow. Grill them up (alternately, caramelize the onions with a little balsmamic) and serve over pasta with a green salad. Or do a fritatta.

What you've got now is too much of too much. You're drowning the poor salmon in all that other stuff, burying it all in melted cream cheese.

Also, two avocados is way out of proportion to the other ingredients. The avocado is very rich, and just takes over, and with two of them that's all you would taste. I made a a sashimi salad with avocado Friday night, and used three-quarters of a pound of raw tuna in about 1/4" chunks, extra firm tofu chunks about the same size, a half an avacado chopped up, and a pre-packed seaweed salad; and mixed together wasabi mayonnaise, ponzu, some sharp Thai sauce, soy sauce and wasabi powder for the dressing; and there was plenty of avocado. More would have turned it into an avocado salad.

There were also problems with the meter, your syntax was a bit confusing, and some of the rhymes seemed forced ("avacado/salmon is an unusual slant - but works - but I had trouble with "cream cheese/sausage".)



[This message has been edited by Michael Cantor (edited September 07, 2008).]

[Roy Hamilton]

Hey Guys, Good Morning,

Well it is indeed poetry, Michael, and it's nice to see you guys can cook!

A couple of words in my defence I have never used avocado before. I was at an authentic northern Mexican restaurant last week and the avacado appetizer was really rich and buttery so mental note, lets try this. Also my wife loves the salmon well done and while I try not to kill it, it can dry on the smoker. Also her mom introduced me to sausage stuffing (with turkey) and I love that.

I agree though I do have a bit of a cholesterol extravaganza going here...hmmm. I was envisioning something rich that would stand up to the smoker for 3-4 hours without drying out. Ah heck I'm going for it but I will render and drain the sausage well and keep the cream cheese to a minimum. I got two lovely big organic filets, friggin expensive. It's raining, but these things are sent to try us!

[Jerry Glenn Hartwig]

Melt a little butter in lemon juice and baste the salmon steak while cooking on a grill.