Summer is for grilling – and we’ve had some glorious weather for it {okay, it’s been hot and humid but at least it’s been sunny!} in New York. Sadly, we haven’t had the grill for it! We’re moving, so the grill is all boxed up along with most of our other stuff, and all we have left out are the few things I’m taking to Virginia with me for school when I head down there right after we get back from Spain and France. It’s a travel-filled summer, folks! Right when this is published, I’m probably going to be in Barcelona, getting ready to talk about the science behind reputation management – or heading out for a flamenco lesson. Who knows? 
In the meantime, I don’t want to interrupt my regularly scheduled recipes! I haven’t interrupted my cooking even though most of our stuff is in boxes, and I’m kind of running with the same recipe challenge that I ran with the last time we moved. It’s kind of improvisational cheffing – a pantry-sized MasterChef mystery box challenge. What do we have? And how can I cook it all up!
For this particular recipe, I wanted to do something different with salmon. We eat a lot of salmon – great for those Omega 3s and essential vitamins – but instead of the usual spice and ginger, I wanted something sweet. I guess I’m thinking ahead to our Alaska trip, and the sweet Northwestern salmon bakes we used to have when I was stationed in Washington…yum! Anyhow, this honey glaze gave me just the sweet I was looking for, and surprisingly, our griddle cooked the salmon so evenly it’ll be hard to go back to the outside grill! Okay, I lie. I love the hickory taste and crispiness you get from a regular grill, but this was extremely good, too!
Honey Glazed Grilled Salmon
What you’ll need:
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp molasses
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp mustard powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 large salmon fillets
How to make it:
- Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Add the brown sugar, honey, and molasses and stir until mixed and heated through.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the mustard powder, chili powder, olive oil, and soy sauce.
- You can do this on a regular grill covered with aluminum foil, but I like using my tabletop griddle for a nice even cook. Heat the grill to medium heat, or if you’re using a griddle, heat it to 300F.
- Baste the salmon in the sauce and place it on the griddle. Cook for 5 minutes or so on each side. Test a slice for doneness – it should flake.
- Serve and baste with more sauce.
I like to serve this with a nice summer salad in a sweet wine vinaigrette, like my pear or strawberry gorgonzola salads. It also goes well with cottage-style sweet potatoes, and you can use a little bit of the glaze on those as well!
Here’s hoping you’re all having a lovely week – and making some time to enjoy your family, the long warm evenings, and that grill, and if you’re out traveling like me, be safe, see the sights, and drink in the moments!
