Daddy’s Smoke Signal

Wild Horse Lake, Steens Mountain, Oregon

Two cedar planks, soaked in water for 8 hours, do salmon wonders when it comes to grilling the fish. The reddish color of the Sockeye and its silver glistening skin make one think of the Pacific Northwest. Father's Day came and went. Our celebration was simple...a Pacific Northwest meal. A combination of grilled cedar salmon, wild rice, grilled asparagus and a bottle of Oregon Pinot noir.

My husband lived in Oregon a few years back. Though the desert of eastern Oregon is drastically different from the western side of the Cascade Mountains, it is still a beautiful place. The immensely breathtaking view of the vast Steens Mountain is hard to describe, but I think we all could agree of its beauty. I was working in the densely populated city of Bangkok during the time that my husband was in Burns, Oregon. After having lived in the US for a while, my expectation of personal space grew. In Bangkok, I was suffocated. Getting photographs from him of the mountains and the deserts gave me a new meaning of fresh air and a longing to breath.

Sockeye Salmon on Cedar Planks

Here's how we remembered the Pacific Northwest:

Mix 1 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of kosher salt, 1/4 cup of sweet paprika, 2 tbsp of ginger powder and 1 tbspn of yellow mustard powder.
Cover the meat side of the fish with the brown sugar mixture.
Turn the fish over and drizzle olive oil and salt on the skin side of the fish fillet.
Let the fish marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Sit the 2 planks in the middle of the grill. If you have a gas grill, turn the middle burner off. If charcoal is your way, situate the charcoal around the plank to get indirect heat.

Once the temperature reaches 300 degree F, lay the fish skin side down.
Let it cook for about 30 min. at 275 degree F.

The asparagus can be in the same grill for 15 min., the drizzled and mixed with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Cook the wild rice in a boiling pot of water for 45 min. Please, no salt when cooking rice. You will taste the sweet, nuttiness better.
Assemble the dish...and serve. 

Our Northwest Meal

This is by far the best way of cooking salmon. The meat is sweet, smoky and delicate. The wild rice gives you an incredible depth that is compatible with the salmon. The asparagus was simply my husband's favorite vegetable.

The Steens Mountain range still seems to have an air of when the first European arrived and chased the Indian tribe away. This is the furthest one could get before it flips over to civilization. We hope to share it with our children one day, where their father used to live, close to their Indian descendants and the mountain where the wild horses run.
For all you dads out there...hope you have a chance to show your little ones where you have been. Happy belated Father's day.

Cheers!
Teera