Salmon Steaks with Lemon Dill Sauce
Submitted by Marie1223
Grilled salmon steaks with lemon slices tucked into the centers and a warm lemon-dill butter sauce. Hickory chip optional, fresh dill garnish, 40 minutes total.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
30 minREADY
40 minGrilled salmon steaks with a clever lemon-tucking trick: each steak gets a thick lemon slice wedged into the center hole left by the bone, secured with a toothpick. As the salmon grills over hot coals, the lemon roasts gently, releasing its oil and acidity right into the heart of the fish. The result is salmon seasoned from the inside out, not just on the surface.
The sauce is a quick stovetop number: butter, cornstarch slurry, fresh lemon juice, dill, chervil, and a whisper of cayenne. The chervil and cayenne are easy to overlook but worth keeping; chervil adds a soft anise note, and the pinch of cayenne sharpens the lemon without making the sauce hot.
Use hickory chips if you have them. They add a soft smoke that flatters salmon’s natural richness. Salmon steaks (cut across the fish, bone in) hold their shape on the grill better than fillets and stay juicy through the brief 10 to 15 minute cook.
Pro Tips
- Soak the wooden toothpicks holding the lemon in water for 10 minutes so they don’t burn.
- Oil the grill grates well before adding the salmon; the skin sticks otherwise.
- Cook just until the salmon flakes when poked with a fork; one extra minute turns it dry.
- Make the sauce while the grill heats; warm sauce holds better than reheated.
Variations
Ingredients
Directions
sauce over each. Serve remaining sauce separately. For sauce: Melt butter in small saucepan.
Remove from heat.
Combine cornstarch with water; stir into butter in saucepan.
Add lemon juice, salt, chervil and cayenne pepper and stir to blend.
Bring sauce to a boil, stirring constantly.
Cook until sauce thickens and turns clear.
Remove from heat and lemon quarters. Cover and set aside. Cut off and discard the ends of the 2 whole lemons; cut each into ¾ inch- 1 inch slices. Put one slice into the opening of each salmon steak and secure with toothpicks. Grill 6 to 8 inch above hot coals, using hickory chips if desired. Grill for 10 to 15 min., turning once, until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Garnish steaks with dill sprigs and spoon some of the hot lemon-dill sauce over each. Serve remaining sauce separately.
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