Ideas for salmon fillets

[dEhiN]

Hi my name is Hiran, and I just found this forum community. I've been cooking for some years, and know how to cook. I'm always looking to try new things, and am very creative. The problem is that I don't always know if certain ingredient combinations go together.

In this particular case, I'm cooking salmon fillets. Unfortunately, they're the frozen kind you buy in a package. I have a bottle of sherry, and I want to try cooking with it. Now, usually if I've never cooked with an ingredient, I scout around for recipes. Even if I don't use any posted recipes, I get an idea of how to use the ingredient from how others are using it.

In this case, I found two recipes that I want to combine in a way. The first one uses sherry, brown sugar, and soy sauce. The second one uses brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic powder, and lemon powder. Now I don't plan to use lemon since I doubt it would go with sherry. But I have some questions about what I do want to use.

Firstly, the sherry I have is a Bristol Cream made/sold by a company called Harveys. I believe it's a 13, and it's supposed to be a blend of various sherries: finos, amontillados, olorosos, and PX. Secondly, based on the two recipes above, I was thinking of doing a marinade of sherry, maple syrup (instead of brown sugar), soy sauce, garlic powder, salt, and a bit of chili powder for kick. Would these ingredients go together? In particular, would the garlic go with the sherry? Also, has anyone tried combining soy sauce and brown sugar or maple syrup before? How does it taste? It obviously works since recipes call for it, but I'm having a hard time seeing how it goes together. Thirdly, would it be better if I grill the steaks or bake them? If I were baking, I would bake wrapped in foil so the fish doesn't dry out.

Thanks for any help you can provide. I can figure out quantities and specifics on my own. I'm just looking for a bit of guidance from those who have experimented along these lines before.

God bless
Hiran

 

[GrillingFool]

I've done a VERY Similar marinade, and it was pretty tasty.
I used brown sugar instead.

What I do is mix up a tiny batch of the marinade and taste it.....
If it's good, I use it.

 

[dEhiN]

Thanks for the reply; when you do your marinade, do you grill or bake it?

God bless
Hiran

 

[Alix]

I have a very similar marinade too, except I use rye instead of sherry. Sherry will work, but I think I'd put in a bit of brown sugar with the maple syrup. I think it will taste just fine!

Is it warm enough in TO to BBQ right now? That would be yummy done on the grill!

 

[dEhiN]

Thanks for the suggestion Alix; it's not warm enough to BBQ. I was thinking of grilling in the oven or using a toaster oven to grill.

God bless
Hiran

 

[GrillingFool]

It's NEVER not warm enough to BBQ!!!

I do it both ways...

 

[Alix]

It's NEVER not warm enough to BBQ!!!

I do it both ways...

LMAO! Maybe not where YOU live.
I am not about to stand outside in -30C just to BBQ supper. Today would have been perfect though. Warm and sunny, just digging your way through the snow would have been tough.

 

[Andy M.]

Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry is about as sweet as sherrys get. If you use that, you probably won't need brown sugar or maple syrup. I'd guess those ingredients were meant to go with a dry sherry.

You could flavor your sherry with some garlic and soy and reduce it to make a sweet glaze for the salmon. That would give you a nice fruity accent to the fish. Consider cooking the salmon in a parchment or foil pouch with the glaze.

Also, I'd use real garlic and lemon rather than the powders.

 

[theages]

I agree with Andy M about using real garlic and lemon. The flavors should meld well together. GrillingFool's suggestion about making a small batch and tasting it is perfect. If the marinade tastes good then it should be good on the salmon as these components are frequently used with salmon in various ways. Add the brown sugar after tasting it without it first. The maple may be enough. Also, if you grill it, watch it carefully as the maple and/or sugar will cause the salmon to caramelize more quickly and will have a greater tendency to burn. If possible, make your coal bed a little cooler than normal, or move the majority of the coals to one side to create a cooler spot to grill.