This recipe, from the Alice Bay Cookbook by Julie Wilkinson Rousseau, is my go-to barbecue sauce for salmon. I use it regularly for my weeknight dinner service as well as catering. Julie's recipe was also featured in Fish Tales: Alaska Fishermen Dish Up the Secrets of Great Salmon BBQ, an article I wrote for Fiery Foods magazine in 2006. Pair this exceptional salmon barbecue dish with mashed potatoes and a fresh green salad.
Alice Bay Barbecued Salmon
by Julie Wilkinso Rousseau from the Alice Bay Cookbook
Serves 10 to 12
1 cup butter
3 large cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
4 tablespoons ketchup
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
4 pounds Alaska salmon
Vegetable oil
For the Sauce:
Place the sauce ingredients in a small (1- to 2-quart) saucepan and cook the mixture over medium-low heat until the butter is melted, stirring occasionally. Set the mixture aside.
For the Fish:
Heat your grill to medium-low. Oil the grill with vegetable oil and center the fish over the coals, skin side down. Baste the salmon generously with the barbecue sauce. Grill the fillets, turning once, until it flakes easily when tested in the thickest portion with a fork. For a fish 1 inch thick, allow about 10 minutes total cooking time. When the fish tests done, transfer it to warm serving platter. Garnish the fillets with lemon wedges and serve them with warm barbecue sauce on the side.