Salmon Swimming in the Seasonings | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Salmon is best appreciated when sauteed in a buttery sauce of common herbs and served on a clean plate. If prepared properly everything else is secondary; even the abundance of a perfect craft beer - the same beer that sustained me throughout the process.

   This Christmas Day, with my home full of family and friends, I will drink my craft beer, and I will prepare this wonderful salmon dish, but there will be one change - I will double the recipe. Hmmm, I wonder should I double my consumption of beverage. No matter anyway, first the cooking, and for you the recipe.

   The Recipe: Salmon Swimming in the Seasonings.

   Cooking is a process, fraught with experimentation, some frivolity, and a total devotion to the consummation of the creation of an edible product. This is even more important than the consumption of the craft beer ... so pay attention.

   First - get a large cutting board and a proper knife, wide and preferably very sharp. Ladies: no serrated edge contraptions, on this one you must sharpen, without fail, your big flat knife. There is quite a bit of cutting ahead.

   Second, round up your favorite fresh herbs - nothing from a container except the salt, and possibly a bit of cracked pepper. This is when you need the large cutting board and large sharp knife.

   And husbands, if you have not been particularly: kind, nice, sweet or amorous to your significant other this Christmas season, it might be a good idea, at the point, to leave the kitchen until called to the table ... or, at least until she puts that big knife away for the evening.

   Here below, I will take you through the recipe, which is more of a process than formula achieved. Some of these pictures, especially the ones of the end product may be replaced after Sunday's meal celebrating our Lord's presumed date of birth.

   And one more thing: Don't let the duration of the process, or the presumption of a poor presentation (in pictures) deter you from finishing the perusal of, and then trying this recipe. I will place the quality of this piece of finished fish up against any I have ever eaten anywhere, cooked by anyone. I have eaten much fish in my day, and it is very good.
The board and the big knife -remember, they are important: Above. Pick your seasonings this season well. I chose an onion (sweet or otherwise is fine), fresh garlic, red string peppers (they are plentiful and cheap, and you can substitute), sea salt, cracked pepper: Below.     photos by Stan Deatherage

   The Garlic: Use the appropriate quantity to effect flavor; however, if you do not use at least half of a head, stop immediately, and feed the raw fish to your cat. He / she will love the sushi. I I used about 3/4 of a large head of garlic for one 2 3/4 lb. piece of salmon and it was perfect.

   Use the large, wide, flat knife to your advantage in take off the husks of the garlic cloves by laying the flat side of the knife on top of the garlic cloves and apply pressure. The husk will break away from the meat once the proper pressure is applied. Peel away the loosened skin and push the skinned garlic to the side.

   Retrieve the onion and cut in thin sections, and be careful to use the positioning of the flat of your knife against the flat of digits to cut in complete safety (see the picture). Also, remember this: Dull knives are not safe in a kitchen where real work is getting done. This may seem like an oxymoron, but I assure you that a dull knife cuts inefficiently, and as one compensates for its ineffective nature, they are prone to slice human flesh rather than a firm onion. I will also concede, on the other hand, that a sharp knife is not safe either if one imbibes too much of the craft brew - even on Christmas Day, so be careful - all things in moderation, excepting good cheer.

The work is done on the cutting board: Above and below.     photos by Stan Deatherage
Use your big knife to chop the herbs and vegetables in small pieces. The flashes of red are the peppers that I have cut will my kitchen scissors: Above. Next put the pieced product in a large sauce pan, where you have already melted about an ounce of salted butter into about 3 ounces of extra-virgin olive oil, on low heat: Below.     photos by Stan Deatherage
   At this point, one should prepare the fish, if they haven't already, and let the seasoning cook on that same low heat (this is very important). I prepare the fish by slicing it into chapters, and drizzling the olive oil on the fish flesh, with some cracked pepper and seal salt. Do not use too much salt, but use enough. The salt acts as an agent to literally draw out the natural flavor of the salmon. And why the low heat? Garlic has much natural sugar in its meat, so it will burn over even medium to low heat. Let this sauteing process occur at its own slow pace. Find some other kitchen chore to occupy your time and let the fish marinate a bit in the refrigerator.

The herbs will eventually soften into a translucent composition. At that point one must mash into a paste: Above. The marinating salmon: Below.     photos by Stan Deatherage