The first time I had flame-grilled salmon was at a Christmas market in Hamburg. The salmon fillet was placed on a wooden plank, secured with a metal clip, and angled over a blazing wood-fired grill. Watching the salmon cook over an open fire, with its mouthwatering aroma, and eating it outdoors in the chilly air amidst the bustling market was a culinary adventure in itself. I had never tasted salmon so moist and flavourful.
One of our wine deliveries surprised us with a complimentary cookbook called “Das große Buch vom Fisch” (The big book of fish—and it certainly is big!). The cookbook is divided into in-depth knowledge about the range of fish, followed by creative recipes. As I flipped through it one Saturday morning over coffee, I came across a recipe for flame-grilled salmon on a wooden plank, and was immediately transported back to that Christmas market experience.
Choice for a Nordic Rub
The recipe offered two rub suggestions: Asian and Nordic. The Nordic one stood out to me, likely because we live so close to Denmark. I showed the recipe to Ralph, and we immediately agreed it should be our dinner that evening.
Ralph originally set out to find a wooden plank and a metal clip, like this one, with no luck. So he decided to make the salmon with the Nordic rub anyway. The weather that evening was not ideal for a charcoal grill as it was wet and windy, so Ralph grilled the salmon on the BBQ instead.
The beautiful thing about salmon is that, especially if you have a fresh piece (it is always sushi quality here), you don’t need any spices to enhance the flavour of the fish. But with the combination of the Nordic rub and smokiness from the grill, the salmon was out of this world. I felt like a Viking.
We served it a few weeks later for our salmon-loving friends, and this time Ralph grilled the salmon over the charcoal grill using two grills wired together to sandwich the salmon between them.
Maybe one day he will opt for the full culinary adventure with a wooden plank and metal clip.
Don’t worry if you can’t find all the listed ingredients for the Nordic rub; as you’ll see, Ralph couldn’t find a few either.
Ingredients:
- Salmon fillet, deboned but skin-on, as large as your hunger demands. The thick end is preferable.
Ingredients for the Nordic Rub:
- 20 g black peppercorn|20 g schwarze Pfefferkörner
- 10 g onion powder|10 g Zwiebelpulver
- 5 g allspice|5 g Pimentkörner
- 20 g mustard seeds|20 g Senfkörner
- 5 g dill seeds | 5 g Dillsamen
- 15 g fennel seeds | 15 g Fenchelsamen
- 1 cinnamon stick | 1 Zimtstange
- 15 g Dried Juniper berries | 15 g Wacholderbeeren
- 20 brown sugar | 20 g brauner Zucker
- 5 g savory | 5 g Bohnenkraut
- 15 g stinging nettle seeds | 15 g Brennesselsamen (Ralph couldn’t find them, so he didn’t use them, but later remembered we can get Brennessel tea here, so might try that)
- 15 g dried elderflower | 15 g getrocknete Holunderblüten (Ralph couldn’t find this either)
- 20 g salt | 20 g Salz
Place the larger, harder ingredients (pepper, cinnamon stick, dried berries) into a grinder (we use an old electric coffee mill) and grind them to a consistency similar to freshly ground pepper. Add the remaining ingredients and blitz until everything has a similar consistency.
Instructions:
- Generously sprinkle and rub the Nordic rub onto the salmon, flesh side only.
- Cover the salmon and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours to marinate.
- Prepare your charcoal grill or BBQ. If using coal or wood, make sure there are no flames left (fatty salmon will flare up easily). You should use a grill with a lid so you can snuff out the flames and control the heat with the vent. If you only have an open grill, make sure the fish is farther from the coals so it doesn’t burn; it should char.
- If using a gas grill, keep it on high for now and leave the lid up.
- Lay the salmon on the grill, skin side up, and char until the flesh is nicely blackened but not burned, and the skin is flaking off. If using coal/wood, place the salmon directly over the heat and put the lid on if the flames flare up too aggressively.
- Once the flesh has a nice sear/char, flip it onto the skin and cook until the desired doneness is achieved—we prefer it to be glossy and very pink inside, not dry at all. With a gas grill, turn the heat to the lowest setting and close the lid, keeping an eye on flare-ups. With coal/wood, close the vents almost completely to prevent flames.
- The skin should crisp up while protecting the flesh from burning.
- The basket should hold everything together nicely and allow for easy flipping. If the flesh starts to drop through the grill, take it off immediately!
Note:
- Double the Nordic rub recipe so you have the spice mixture on hand for the next time you grill salmon.
Flame-grilled Salmon with a Nordic Rub
Ingredients
Method
- Place the larger, harder ingredients (pepper, cinnamon stick, dried berries) into a grinder (we use an old electric coffee mill) and grind them to a consistency similar to freshly ground pepper.
- Add the remaining ingredients and blitz until everything has a similar consistency.
- Generously sprinkle and rub the Nordic rub onto the salmon, flesh side only.
- Cover the salmon and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours to marinate.
- Prepare your charcoal grill or BBQ. If using coal or wood, make sure there are no flames left (fatty salmon will flare up easily). You should use a grill with a lid so you can snuff out the flames and control the heat with the vent. If you only have an open grill, make sure the fish is farther from the coals so it doesn’t burn; it should char.
- If using a gas grill, keep it on high for now and leave the lid up.
- Lay the salmon on the grill, skin side up, and char until the flesh is nicely blackened but not burned, and the skin is flaking off. If using coal/wood, place the salmon directly over the heat and put the lid on if the flames flare up too aggressively.
- Once the flesh has a nice sear/char, flip it onto the skin and cook until the desired doneness is achieved—we prefer it to be glossy and very pink inside, not dry at all. With a gas grill, turn the heat to the lowest setting and close the lid, keeping an eye on flare-ups. With coal/wood, close the vents almost completely to prevent flames.
- The skin should crisp up while protecting the flesh from burning.
- The basket should hold everything together nicely and allow for easy flipping. If the flesh starts to drop through the grill, take it off immediately!