smoked salmon

I just finished grilling and smoking, with mesquite wood chips, a large salmon fillet. Monte is out of town again and I usually grill either salmon or chicken breasts to have leftover cold on salads. I could eat this way all the time - simple, and GOOD!

After preheating the grill and getting the soaked wood chips going, I like to grill the flesh side of fish quickly on the hot grill. Then I turn it over with the skin side down, sprinkle with pepper and spread with mayonnaise. Then turn the heat down and let slow cook with the smoke flavoring it.

If the fish isn't very fresh, I always do a presoak in the sink with some salt and milk and sometimes some sugar. It seems to help draw out anything 'fishy'. Then rinse (pull out any bones with needle-nose pliers if any) and dry.

When grilling chicken breasts, I cut them in fairly thin pieces and marinate them in an Italian salad dressing for a bit before grilling. And brush them with the marinade while grilling, so they don't dry out.