Grillin' and chillin'

Thursday dawned, misty (just short of foggy), here in Redford. But it was still warm!

I had errands to run at lunch, south and west of here in Westland, so I didn't make it home. I ate a small Greek salad at the Newburgh Grille (and, "small" is not a description, BTW. It took everything I could do to eat it all!) I did my errands, including getting a full tank of gas (first time in I forget how long).

It's supposed to rain tonight, but stay warm until the front moves through. Then we are back to winter. So, I have two objectives. I need to grille the marinated pork chops and cook the wild Alaskan salmon.

Now, obviously, I can't eat both tonight, so my plan is to sear the chops, let them cool and finish them in the oven another day. The salmon however is, I think, an "eat tonight" thing or throw it away.

So, with rain showers threatening, the first thing I did when I got home was to pull out the pork chops and drain the marinade. The solids went through a sieve and into the garbage and the liquid down the drain. I let them sit on a platter to come to room temperature.

Meanwhile, I dragged out the grille and put it on the garage apron. I lit some paper under the charcoal starter and while that was doing its thing, I cleaned off the grates.

I noticed I was getting a few strange looks from neighbors on their way home, BTW.

Back inside, I sliced through the salmon flesh about 1/4 inch deep, diagonally about every inch. Then I rubbed it with the salmon rub from Seattle.

I got the charcoal spread and the grates oiled and then started with the pork chops. Oh, it was sprinkling and getting dark by then. I grilled them for three minutes and then turned them 90 degrees for another three minutes. Then I turned them over and repeated the process and, when the time was up, I pulled them off.

I cleaned and re-oiled the grates and then put on the salmon, skin side down. Now, here's the problem. You are supposed to see it cook from the bottom up and when it's all the same color, its done. But, its dark now and even with the garage lights on, I can't see the color of the fish. So, I guessed at it and picked it up from the skin after about two minutes. It separated nicely, but the skin was burned, so I couldn't use it.

I took it inside to rest and went out to take care of the grille. I spread the charcoal out so it would cool faster, shut all the vents and wheeled it up on the porch (I had put the rocker in the garage before starting). I can't put it in the garage with the charcoal still hot or the carbon dioxide (or is it monoxide?) sensors in the house will go off. Also, it is raining a bit harder and I don't want my grille to get too wet overnight.

Back in the house, I put the chops in a baggie and into the fridge. I plated the salmon with the wild rice I had made on the stove. Delicious!!!

I ate it watching TV (the taped Top Chef from Wednesday night) and when the show was done, I went to bed.