Maple Chili Salmon Recipe
My Favourite Way to Barbeque Salmon
This ultra-delicious recipe creates a harmony of sweet, spicy, and bright citrus flavours to compliment the firm, savoury flesh of great lakes coho and chinook salmon, or rainbow trout.
Harvesting Great Lakes Salmon and Trout
Being on the water year-round I have many opportunities to harvest fish whenever I please. It’s a luxury that I don’t take for granted and love to share with my clients when possible.
Generally I am a catch and release guide who promotes the conservation of fish populations - in a way it’s like job security for me.
However, there are certain fish at certain times of the year that I don’t mind keeping fish with my clients so that they can enjoy a great meal of fresh fish.
With respect to salmon and trout, I prefer to exclusively practice the catch and release of large specimens of any variety, and only keep fish that have come out of deep water before August.
As chinook salmon prepare to spawn in mid to late August, the quality of their meat decreases, and I prefer to release these fish.
The ultimate fish to take home is a Coho salmon, if I catch one, there is a good chance it’s not being released!
Are Great Lakes Fish Safe to Eat?
A question I am asked frequently is whether or not the fish we are catching are safe to eat?
The short answer is yes, absolutely.
Since the introduction of zebra mussels in the early 2000’s, Lake Ontario’s water has become increasingly clean, and fish have fewer contaminants in them than ever before.
There have been a great deal of restoration efforts and restrictions on pollution that mean the future of eating fish is looking bright for lake Ontario.
Before deciding to harvest a fish, it’s best to consult the Consumption Guide, published by the Ontario government.
Maple Salmon Recipe:
Here’s my favourite recipe for enjoying fresh salmon caught on my boat. There is nothing like spending a fun day on the water and enjoying a beautiful dinner of fresh fish that night.
Ingredients
¼ cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili flake
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound chinook or coho salmon, skin on, scaled
Mix ingredients well and add to clean, scaled fillets in a large ziploc bag. Marinade for 2 to 12 hours - the longer the fish is marinading, the more intense the maple flavour will be.
Cooking
BBQ is my preferred method but in the oven works well too.
If barbequing, make sure that you get the grill nice and hot so that the fish does not stick. I like around 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Most fillets take 6 to 8 minutes total to cook, flipping at 3 or 4 minutes.
It is important to place fish skin side down when it is hot, and to be careful not to overcook so that the skin falls off too quickly. If it does, it’s ok, you just wont get to enjoy that crispy, charred skin (my favoutire part).
If cooking in the oven, 350 degrees Fahrenheit is good for 12 to 15 minutes, and does not require flipping.
Citrus additions
I love to add thinly sliced oranges or lemons, and red onions to this dish to add another dimension of flavour. You can also caramelize onions to add as well if you prefer soft onions.
