Grilled Lemon Basil Salmon

Ingredients

8 ounces unsalted butter, softened
8 leaves fresh basil
Juice and zest from one lemon
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
2 (6 to 8 ounce) salmon fillets
Vegetable oil for cooking


Directions

To make the compound butter, place butter in a mixing bowl. Layer basil leaves on top of one another and roll tightly, like a cigar. Thinly slice, creating slivers of basil. Place basil in the bowl. Add lemon zest and lemon juice and incorporate all ingredients using a potato masher, pastry blender or a spatula. Add salt to taste. Place butter on one end of a 10-inch square piece of parchment paper. Roll butter in the paper, creating a cylinder, about 5 inches long. Twist the ends and freeze for about an hour before using.

For the salmon, heat a grill or grill pan over medium high heat. Brush salmon on both sides with oil. Sear skin side down 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and cook 3 to 4 minutes longer. The general rule for coking fish fillets is 10 minutes per inch of fish, but in the case of wild salmon you definitely do not want to overcook the fish. I hear that medium to medium rare is preferred by most wild salmon connoisseurs.

Remove salmon from grill and take butter out of the freezer. Thinly slice one or two medallions of compound butter right though the parchment paper. Peel away the parchment paper and top salmon with the butter. Garnish with basil or lemon wedges to the plate, if desired.


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This Week's Cravings: BBQ/Grilling