Michel Richard Recipes

Salmon w/Cherry-Cola BBQ Sauce

Summary:

Add some southern spice to your salmon entrée with a tangy and tasty cherry-cola barbeque sauce.

Ingredients:

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• ½ cup Richard's Cherry-Cola Barbecue Sauce
• 6 (4- to 6-ounce) salmon fillets or 1 whole filleted side of salmon, skinned
• 1 Cedar Plank (untreated new wood)

Richard's Cherry-Cola Barbecue Sauce

Yield: 3 cups

• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 cups (about 2 liters) cherry cola
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon chopped chipotle chile (canned in adobe sauce)
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Salmon:

• Soak a cedar plank in water overnight. Light and heat a charcoal grill to high heat. Heat plank for 5 minutes, until wood begins to smoke.
• Arrange salmon directly on the plank, brush with barbecue sauce, cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until firm to the touch and dark brown. Transfer to a serving dish and serve with any remaining sauce on the side.

Richard's Cherry-Cola Barbecue Sauce:

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until soft and golden. Add the cola and bring to a boil.
• Cook for 45 minutes, until reduced to one-quarter of the original amount.
• Stir in the ketchup, vinegar, chipotle, paprika, pepper and salt. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until thick. Refrigerate in airtight container for up to 1 month.

Yield:

6

Salmon with Red Wine Shiitake

Summary:

The red wine is a perfect liaison of subtle rich flavor with the salmon steaks.

Ingredients:

Salmon:

• 4 salmon steaks (1 ½ to 2 pounds total), about ¾-inch thick, patted dry
• 2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Red Wine Shiitake Sauce:

• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 2 medium shallots, peeled and minced (minced ¼ cup)
• 2 cups unsalted chicken or veal stock
• 1 cup Pinot Noir, Merlot or other dry, fruity red wine
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 large sprig fresh thyme or 2 tablespoons dried, crumbled
• 1 teaspoon peanut oil
• 1 teaspoon Oriental (toasted) sesame oil
• ¼ pound fresh shiitake or other fresh mushrooms, ends trimmed, thinly sliced and patted dry

Directions:

To prepare the sauce:

• Bring the vinegar to a boil with the shallots in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
• Add the stock, wine, garlic and thyme. Boil until thickened to a sauce-like consistency and reduced to about 1 cup. (This can be prepared 1 day ahead and refrigerated.)
• Heat the peanut and sesame oils in a heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté until golden brown, for about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. (This can be prepared ahead, covered and set aside at room temperature.)

To prepare the salmon:

• Pre-heat the oven to 200°F. Pat salmon dry. Season with salt and pepper.
• Place a heavy large ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and film with oil. Add the salmon and brown both sides lightly for about 1 minute.
• Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the salmon is just opaque throughout for about 15 minutes.

To serve:

• Meanwhile, stir the sauce base over medium-high heat to rewarm. Discard the thyme sprig. Stir in the mushrooms. Place each salmon steak in the center of the plate and ladle the sauce over it until completely covered. Serve immediately.

Planning ahead:

• The sauce base can be prepared 1 day ahead. The mushrooms can be sautéed at any time during the day the salmon is to be served. Cook fish just before presenting.

Technique tips:

• Baking slowly at a low temperature is another technique I use to cook salmon, tuna and swordfish to ensure they will stay moist and cook evenly throughout. Unless you are working with cepes, always sauté fresh mushrooms after slicing to seal in their juices.

Yield:

4

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