Balsamic Cilantro Salmon Kabobs

So, my friends, it has been a little over two months since I have shared any food exploration with you because I have been getting used to my NEW JOB! Yeah, figuring out how to cook in the nice, natural light of day (for the picture quality) has been kind of a tricky concept considering I am at my desk...Do you think they would mind if I whipped out a charcoal grill and my camera around 2 P.M.? I'm guessing no, so maybe I should get on that.

In the meantime however, I have been able to enjoy the last little bits of summer by utilizing our grill as often as possible. Just an FYI, that does not mean we stop grilling as soon as summer ceases, it just sounded good in the sentence. We are actually full-blown fall grillers. We probably grill even more in the fall than the summer. However, as this is the last official day of summer, I wanted to share with you one of our favorite summer grill dishes...that we continue to make throughout the fall, into the winter, through the clouds of spring black flies, and behold, back into summer!

Who here likes salmon? Peter did not raise his hand. In fact, I have made it a personal challenge to serve a salmon dish that he genuinely likes enough to request again for dinner without my influence. It has been impossible until now. My mom always serves the best salmon kabobs and her mysterious recipe pleases everyone. These kabobs are so fantastic, in fact, that Peter actually requests them!

I have finally gotten my hands on the secret, and let's just say the ingredients are the most beautiful combo I have evah seen! Just glorious!

When Mom sent the recipe to me, this was the note attached to the email. I just had to include it because I love it:

Use your own judgment - I substitute and don't follow it exactly. For example, I mix all the stuff together, skin and chunk the salmon, use a combo of white vinegar and regular balsamic, cut way back on the sugar. Don't overcook :-)

-Mom

So, as Mom said, we are going to do just that- throw everything into a bowl, go light on the sugar, and hope we don’t overcook it!

To celebrate all that summer was, on the last precious day of this season, I bring you…

Balsamic Cilantro Salmon Kabobs
serves 4 | prep time: 10 min | marinate time: 1 hr 30 min - overnight | cook time: 3 min

• 1 lb salmon fillets (ask to have them skinned)
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 T fresh lemon juice
• 1 ¹/₂ T white balsamic vinegar (or you can use ³/₄ T regular balsamic and ³/₄ T white vinegar)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T green onions, chopped
• 1 T fresh cilantro, chopped
• ¹/₂ T onion powder
• ¹/₂ T sugar
• ¹/₂ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• salt & pepper to taste

Cut the salmon into 2-inch chunks and place in a bowl with enough room to toss the salmon in the marinade.

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.

Pour the marinade over the salmon and toss to coat. Allow to marinate for 15 minutes at room temperature.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, although making the morning of and having it marinate all day or even overnight always produces amazing flavor. I toss it throughout the marinating time (when I think of it), to evenly coat.

When you are ready to cook, take the salmon out of the fridge 15 minutes prior to grilling.

Preheat the grill on high heat.

Place the salmon in a grill basket, in a single layer, with a plate underneath to catch extra marinade. Spoon any leftover marinade on top of the salmon.

Grill for 2-3 minutes total, until just cooked through, flipping the basket or kabobs once. (Remember it will continue to cook after it has been removed from the heat!)

You may have noticed none of these pictures are actually of kabobs. Welp, that’s because although you can certainly spear all of these salmon bites onto skewers, we think this grill basket is the way to go.

Now, go sit outside and ignore the fact that fall starts tomorrow! GO!

BAKE OPTION:
Although I have not tried this method yet, the recipe does suggest an alternative cooking method if you do not want to grill:

After making the same marinade but keeping the salmon fillets whole and going through the marinating time, preheat the oven to 450˚ F.

Arrange the salmon on a broiling sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Increase heat to 500˚ F, turn fillets, and broil 5 minutes more.



RECIPE QUICK VIEW