We’ve turned into real fishermen while living here in Milwaukee, thanks to my wonderful brother-in-law, Lloyd, and his even more wonderful friend, John (John lives across the street from Lloyd and owns a beautiful fishing boat). A couple of years ago, they invited us to meet them in Door County, Wisconsin, about 3 hours north of Milwaukee, to go fishing with them. They towed John’s boat behind a truck from St. Paul (an 8-hour excursion) with my sister, Sharon, and John’s wife, Gloria, riding on a couch in the back of the truck, sipping and watching the portable T.V. I do have a picture of that which I truly wish I could include in this recipe just to add a little “flavor”, but I’m afraid Sharon would kill me! It was great. The guys slept in the truck and in the boat while Gloria, Sharon and I slept in the trailer they rented for us. The trailer was equipped with two twin beds, a double hide-away (where I slept), an oven, a refrigerator freezer, a table, chairs, a shower, commode, etc. where we “roughed” it and were happy little campers. That year, since it was our first trip with them and in view of the fact they were nice enough to invite us to go along with them, we let Lloyd catch the biggest salmon. Since then, I hate to admit it, our salmon make Lloyd’s look like bait fish! Last year, we brought home 90 pounds of salmon fillets. We did, indeed, have a party and here’s how we served it:
TO PREPARE THE SALMON:
Wash fillets, dip them in beaten eggs, LIGHTLY cover them with dried breadcrumbs to which some “Spice Islands-Italian Seasoning” has been added. Place them over medium coals for 3-5 minutes a side depending on how thick your fillets are. Be careful not to overcook or they will flake apart. Make the sauces before you prepare the salmon since the sauces are somewhat time consuming.
BROWN BUTTER ALMOND SAUCE:
- 1 cup heated butter, heated until golden brown, cooled to room temperature
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
- 1 TBS. fresh lemon juice
- 1 TBS. dry Sherry
- 1 TBS. hot water
- 1/2 cup toasted, slivered almonds dash of cayenne pepper
Heat the cup of butter until it melts and turns a golden brown. It is IMPERATIVE that you let the butter cool to room temperature or your sauce will be watery thin. In a medium sized mixing bowl, blend the mustard, the cayenne pepper and the lemon juice to the egg yolks. In a very slow stream, add the browned butter into the egg mixture beating constantly with the mixer at high speed. Remember, make sure the butter is cool and go very slowly at first or the butter will not be absorbed. Beat in the 1 TBS. Sherry and the hot water. Then stir in the almonds. If this becomes too stiff, beat in a little more hot water.
makes about 1 1/2 cups
HORSERADISH MAYONNAISE SAUCE (Doug’s favorite):
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup salad oil
- 3 TBS. prepared horseradish
- 1 cup sour cream
Combine in the blender the lemon juice, salt, sugar and the egg; whirl at high speed. With motor running, remove blender top and add the salad oil in a slow, steady stream; continue whirling about 2 minutes. Stir in the horseradish. Fold in the sour cream. Serve immediately or chill. This sauce will last quite a while in the refrigerator.
makes 2 1/2 cups
REMOULADE SAUCE OR FISH:
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
- 1/2 tsp. tarragon
- 2 TBS. chopped fresh parsley
- 2 TBS. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. anchovy paste
- 1/2 tsp. chervil
- 1/4 cup finely chopped dill pickle
- 1 TBS. chopped capers
- 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
- 1 cup salad oil
- dash of cayenne pepper
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks, mustard, tarragon, parsley, lemon juice, anchovy paste, and chervil. Beat until blended. Slowly add the oil in a steady stream, beating constantly. Stir in the pickle, capers and the hard boiled eggs.
Put a little of each sauce into “mini ramekins” for each guest to do his or her “own dipping”. Small dixie cups work great.