• Salmon With Hot Peppers
• Cracked Black Pepper Salmon Recipe
• Cracked Black Pepper Salmon Recipes
• Cracked Black Pepper Salmon Brine

Grilled Cedar-Plank Salmon with Brown Sugar & Cracked Pepper; Grilled Cedar-Plank Salmon with Brown Sugar & Cracked Pepper. A unfilled rating star. A unfilled rating star A unfilled rating star. The dark brown sugar and Black pepper seasoning. This seasoning is a game changer! Wegmans needs to bottle It up for sale. DIRECTIONS Spread 1/2 the black pepper on a plate. Smear 1 tsp olive oil over one side of the salmon fillets. Lay the fillet, oiled side down in the pepper. Place pepper on a small plate. Remove salmon from marinade and pat topside only into cracked pepper to coat. Place fillets, pepper side up, on foil. Bake on the top rack of the oven for.

I wish I had a story on these black pepper biscuits. I so want to say I learned how to make them by spending hours in the kitchen watching my grandmother roll out the dough and dust it with flour and that I had inherited her old, mangled pastry cutter and used it for this recipe. But my grandmother never made biscuits. In fact, I’m pretty sure I was a young adult before I even tried one. I am a product of the great state of Michigan where we toast bagels for breakfast serve rolls with dinner.

However, Michigan does have it’s own culinary advantages. Like a surplus of fresh water fish available just about any time of the year. The salmon I’m using for this sandwich was caught in Lake Michigan just a couple months ago and has been waiting in our freezer ever since to be turned into this tasty dish.

Truth be told, this sandwich came by accident. A direct result of some leftover vegetable dip from a dinner party, some biscuits I made for brunch the day before, and a freezer well stocked with salmon that needed to be consumed. But it works so, so well. The buttery biscuit slathered with a creamy crème fraîche dip that’s studded with chunks of sweet cornichons and a layer of flaky, tender salmon seasoned simply with salt and pepper – oh friends this was too good not to share.

Can we talk about the dip layer? Our cooking club had celebrated with a Picnic and Paris theme recently and the dish I brought was a crudités platter with carrots, cornichons, and a dip made from equal parts cream cheese, crème fraîche, and some additional cornichons chopped up and mixed in. Some of the dip made it home with me and I was able to utilize it in this sammie. If you can’t find crème fraîche, you can use sour cream. I like the crème fraîche because it has a higher fat content and consequently has a richer flavor. And if you can’t find cornichons, mini gherkin pickles will work, too.

I’m using 2 smaller salmon filets that were about 6 ounces each that I cut in half to make 4 sandwiches. The filets they sell in stores are often larger so you could purchase a 12 ounce filet and cut it into 4 equal pieces. I also don’t eat the skin on this sandwich. You could ask your butcher to remove the skin or cook it with the skin on then remove it once it’s cooked.

The biscuits come together in no time and the salmon couldn’t be easier to prepare. This is a great dish to serve at a brunch or luncheon since you’ll have leftover biscuits and crème fraîche dip that you could spoon in a bowl and serve with a platter of vegetables. Try it out and tell me about it in the comments below!

Cracked Black Pepper Biscuits with Salmon

Makes 4 sandwiches

For the Biscuits

Makes about 12 biscuits

• 2 1/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
• 3/4 Tsp Salt
• 4 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1 Tbsp Cracked Black Pepper Pepper
• 1/3 Cup Cold Butter
• 1 Cup Butter Milk
• 2 Tbsp Melted Butter

For the Sandwiches

• 1 12 Oz. Salmon Filet, cut into 4 equal pieces or 2 6 Oz. Salmon Filets each cut into 2 equal pieces (Skin on or off)
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1/2 Cup Cream Cheese, softened
• 1/2 Cup Crème Fraîche or Sour Cream
• 10 Cornichons or Mini Gherkins, chopped
• 1/4 Cup Chopped Chives
• Arugula

Preheat oven to 450. Get started on the biscuits by sifting together the dry ingredients and stirring in the pepper. Use a pasty cutter to blend in the butter, working the dough until the butter is pea-sized. Continue to use the pastry cutter and slowly pour the buttermilk in. Work everything until just combined and roll into a square that’s about an inch thick. Use a 3-inch cookie cutter to cut the biscuits and place on a pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the tops are golden. Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter.

Lay the salmon filets (skin side down, if your salmon has the skin on) on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven for 10-12 minutes then remove.

While the salmon is cooking, combine the cream cheese, crème fraîche, chopped cornichons, and chives in a bowl and stir to combine.

Assemble the sandwiches by slices the biscuits in half and laying arugula on the bottom half of each biscuit. If the salmon has the skin on, use a knife to remove it then place each filet on top of the arugula. Add a dollop of the crème fraîche sauce on the salmon then top with the other biscuit half. Serve and enjoy!

I’ve been writing this here blog for a couple years now, and not once have I posted a salmon recipe. Sure, there are figs and apples from my backyard, hand-picked berries and squash blossoms, all local delicacies to be sure. But no salmon? This is ridiculous. I’m ashamed.

There’s a lot to love about salmon, from the bountiful B-vitamins and omega-3 fats, to the elusive vitamin D and plenty of protein. But that’s not why I eat it; it’s delicious and free when you catch it yourself! I happen to have a surplus of filets in my freezer from last summer, thanks for an awesome fiancé who likes to fish.

Salmon With Hot Peppers

The deep red flesh of sockeye salmon is breath taking, but nothing compares to Alaskan Chinook salmon. It’s so moist and buttery, with a delicate flavor and firm, flaky texture, there’s a good reason they call it “king” salmon. A quick rubdown with olive oil, liberal showering of kosher salt and a hard pan sear are all that’s necessary to let it shine.

But what about the other kinds of salmon? The pinks, steelhead, or in this case, pale (and slightly freezer burnt) chum? Those are fine salmon, albeit not as expensive (or special) as king salmon, and sometimes need a little extra TLC to boost their flavor. That’s where smoking comes in to save the day.

There aren’t many things that elicit the oohs and aahs the way an impressive slab of smoked salmon does. It takes quite a bit more forethought than whipping up a bowl of hummus for a party, but is absurdly easy and well worth the effort.

It’s luxurious, rich and highly flavored. A little goes a long way, so even a small filet of salmon is something to get excited about. Even chum, the lowliest of salmon, eats like a million bucks when brined, smoked over alder wood chips and glazed with maple syrup and cracked black peppercorns.

Maple & Black Pepper Smoked Salmon

I have a propane Smokehouse smoker, which works great. I’m no expert though, and there are many options out there. Heck, you could even jerry rig one of your own.

You could do a smaller batch, but why would you? It takes just as much propane and wood chips to smoke one pound as it does 10 and smoked salmon keeps incredibly well in the freezer.

Ingredients:

185 g (¾ cup) kosher salt

325 g (1 cup) maple syrup for brine, 160 g (½ cup) maple syrup for glaze

3 bay leaves

2 tablespoon whole black peppercorns

Cracked Black Pepper Salmon Recipe

1.9 kg (2 quarts) cool water

2.3 kg (5 lbs) salmon filets

4-5 cups Alder wood chips (or other wood chips, such as cherry, oak, maple or hickory)

Combine the salt, 1 cup of the maple syrup,bay leaves and 1 tablespoon of the peppercorns with 1 quart of the water in a large nonreactive bowl. Whisk vigorously to combine, until the salt is mostly dissolved. Add the remaining water and whisk to combine.

Place the salmon in the brine, flesh side down. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours. Place the remaining peppercorns in a plastic bag and whack with a mallet or skillet to crack them into coarse pieces.

Remove the salmon to a wire rack set on a sheet pan and sprinkle liberally with the cracked peppercorns; discard the brine. Place next to a fan and allow the salmon to dry out for 4 hours, until it is shiny and tacky to the touch. This step is critical, as it forms a “pellicle”, which protects the fish from drying out and better allows the smoke to adhere to the meat. Meanwhile, cover the wood chips with cool water and set aside to soak.

Fire up the smoker to 200°F; mine is propane, and it needs to be on very low to maintain this temperature. Fill up the little box with soaked chips, and pour 2-3 cups water in the water basin. Coat the racks with nonstick spray, then put the salmon on the racks. Close the door and wait!

Cracked Black Pepper Salmon Recipes

After one hour, open the door and brush the filets with some of the remaining maple syrup. Check to see if the water and wood chips need refilling (discard them if they are completely charred black and no longer producing much smoke and add fresh chips). Continue to smoke for another hour. Repeat this process again (glazing with maple syrup, refilling chips) until the fish has smoked for a total of 6 hours, is fully cooked (at least 145°F internal temperature) and is a deepened reddish color.

Cracked Black Pepper Salmon Brine

Allow the filets to cool for an hour, then refrigerate until ready to serve. For longer storage, wrap in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days, or double wrap in plastic and place in a zip lock bag for storage in the freezer. Alternatively, vacuum pack and it should keep for 3 weeks or 6 months in the freezer.