This recipe is a page out of Cowgirl's playbook, I believe she posted it about 5 years ago and it's been a favorite of ours and several friends ever since. It's also fantastic when served chilled as an appetizer at a party and I take it on one of those grilling planks, they make a perfect cutting board.
I started with a skin-on side of salmon, and removed the tail section and belly which were cured and smoked.
I lightly steamed two crab leg clusters and picked all the meat. The claws come into play later.
The picked meat is seasoned with chopped onion, Old Bay, mayonnaise, parsley, garlic and lemon juice and allowed to chill for a couple of hours. After making some slits in the fillet, the flesh was rubbed with blood orange infused oil. The seasoning for the fillet is Oakridge Smoked Chile Lime rub and cracked black pepper.
And here is the final assembly. I only cook salmon to maybe 136° +/- and the half lemon slices really keep it moist. I chill the fillet for 2 hours before grilling.
I only use a handful of flavor pellets, for maybe 8 minutes of smoke. Once the internal is 100° or so I added the claws until they were warm to the touch (I had a steamer warmed up for them right before plating)
In a few minutes the lemons turn opaque and albumen starts to show at the slits, this is a sign it's done enough for my liking.
I started with a skin-on side of salmon, and removed the tail section and belly which were cured and smoked.
I lightly steamed two crab leg clusters and picked all the meat. The claws come into play later.
The picked meat is seasoned with chopped onion, Old Bay, mayonnaise, parsley, garlic and lemon juice and allowed to chill for a couple of hours. After making some slits in the fillet, the flesh was rubbed with blood orange infused oil. The seasoning for the fillet is Oakridge Smoked Chile Lime rub and cracked black pepper.
And here is the final assembly. I only cook salmon to maybe 136° +/- and the half lemon slices really keep it moist. I chill the fillet for 2 hours before grilling.
I only use a handful of flavor pellets, for maybe 8 minutes of smoke. Once the internal is 100° or so I added the claws until they were warm to the touch (I had a steamer warmed up for them right before plating)
In a few minutes the lemons turn opaque and albumen starts to show at the slits, this is a sign it's done enough for my liking.