Wild Coho Salmon

A delicious evening tonight. The weather was fantastic with clear skies and temperatures in the lower 70 degree range. The only thing better than the weather was the salmon.

Pictured above is an eight pound coho salmon fresh from Alaska (with the camera lens cap added for perspective). I filleted it into two halves using my trusty ulu, then tossed it on the grill, flesh side down. After a couple of minutes it was flipped over and basted with a barbecue sauce of butter, catsup, Worcestershire Sauce, soy sauce, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and black pepper. It took about seven more minutes to finish cooking.

We tried three wines. The 2006 Meranda Nixon Traminette is a local Ohio wine. Traminette is a hybrid grape, a cross between Gerwurztraminer and Seyval Blanc. It retains some of the spiciness of the Gerwurztraminer but the addition of the Seyval Blanc makes for an interesting combination. It was almost an auslese in style with residual sweetness, but balanced by some nice acidity. Not a bad wine for $12, but nothing great. Not especially good with the salmon but it made a nice drink after dinner.

The Biltmore Estate reserve chardonnay from 2004 is a North Carolina wine. It had a front end that was a little sweet, but there was a nice, dry finish. As it opened up over the course of the evening some oak and vanilla came through. Good wine and very old world in style. Again, not a great wine for $22, but more than drinkable. The acid in the wine was good with the salmon but the vanilla that popped out wasn't.

The Julienas I have talked about before. It was very good and went wonderfully with the salmon, having just enough tannin and acid to refresh the palate between bites. The mature fruit was a nice counterpoint to the fish.

Good friends, good wine and good food. After a long and poor week it was a great way to end things.