After a month of cooking in a Paris apartment rental with no grill anywhere in sight, I couldn’t wait to pull out my Weber after returning home. The temperatures, hovering in the 90s in New England every day this week, have also been an incentive to move my kitchen outdoors.
Instead of the usual medley of steaks, chops, and burgers, though, I opted for fish, and settled on a delicious combination of salmon fillets and fresh corn on the cob, both brushed with a refreshing lime and cilantro-scented butter. This recipe is a breeze to make. You marinate the salmon for 30 minutes in a mixture of lime and oil seasoned with garlic and ginger, and halve and blanch the corn quickly in a pot of boiling water. Both are then brushed with the seasoned butter while they cook atop a hot fire.
Arranged on a platter, the coral-hued salmon, which is fork tender, and the charred golden corn make a colorful grilled duo to serve on sweltering summer nights. I added cooked sugar snaps sprinkled with fleur de sel to round out the offerings, but a platter of heirloom tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and sherry vinegar or a salad of sliced romaine paired with torn mint leaves and diced ricotta salata dressed in lemon and oil are other tempting options.
Grilled Salmon and Corn Brushed with Lime Butter
Lime Butter
6 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 tsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp grated lime zest
1 1/2 tsp minced ginger
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp Tabasco or hot sauce
Six 6-t o 7-oz salmon fillets, about 3/4 inch thick
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
6 ears corn shucked and cut in half horizontally
1 1/2 tbsp chopped cilantro for garnish
6 lime wedges for garnish
1. Lime Butter: In a medium bowl, blend all the ingredients together until well combined. If not using immediately, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. (The lime butter can be prepared 2 days ahead. Bring to room temperature to soften before serving.)
2. Remove any bones from the salmon with clean tweezers and place the fillets, flesh side down in a shallow nonreactive pan. In a small bowl whisk together the lime juice, 1/2 tsp salt, and several grinds of black pepper. Whisk in the olive oil, and pour the mixture over the fillets. Marinate at cool room temperature for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the corn and 1 tbsp of salt. Cook the corn until just barely tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove, drain in a colander, and pat dry.
4. When ready to cook, oil the grill rack and prepare the grill for a hot fire.
5. Place the corn on the grill and brush lightly with some of the lime butter. Cook, turning with tongs several times for 5 minutes until the kernels start to char lightly. Then add the salmon fillets, flesh sides up. Salt and pepper the fillets and brush with some of the lime butter. Cook the corn and salmon together, turning the corn often, and brushing both several times with lime butter. The fish is done when the flesh is opaque and flakes easily when pierced with a sharp knife, and the corn ready when charred nicely. Count on 5 to 8 minutes for the fish and about 5 minutes more for the corn. Watch carefully as the cooking time can vary widely depending on the type of grill and the intensity of the heat.
6. Arrange the salmon and corn on a platter, and brush with any remaining lime butter. Sprinkle with cilantro and garnish with lime wedges for squeezing over the fish. Serves 6.
Copyright Betty Rosbottom 2013
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