Peppered Salmon

Peppered Salmon

Photograph by France Ruffenach
SERVES 8 to 10
TIME 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, plus at least 4 hours to marinate

Ingredients

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
6 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. minced fresh ginger
2 or 3 dried bay leaves
1 tsp. crushed whole allspice
1 salmon fillet with skin (2 1/2 to 3 lbs.; 1 to 1 1/2 in. thick)
About 1/3 cup mixed-color whole peppercorns*
About 1/2 cup hickory wood chips
1 tbsp. honey

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water, the sugar, salt, ginger, bay leaves, and allspice to a boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Let cool slightly.

2. Rinse salmon fillet, pat dry, and lay, skin down, in a large rimmed baking pan. Pour liquid over salmon. Cover and chill at least 4 or up to 24 hours, occasionally spooning brine over fish.

3. Prepare a charcoal grill for indirect heat (hot coals mounded on opposite sides of firegrate). Meanwhile, soak peppercorns in hot water and wood chips in warm water, 15 minutes.

4. Drain salmon and discard brine. Rinse fish and pat dry. Set, skin down, on a sheet of foil; cut foil to fit outline of fillet. Rub honey over fish. Drain peppercorns and pat evenly onto fish.

5. Drain wood chips and scatter 2 tbsp. over each mound of coals. Set cooking grate 4 to 6 in. above firegrate. Lay salmon on foil in center of cooking grate. Set an oven thermometer on top of fish. Cover grill and open vents 1/4 in. Maintain temperature at about 160°. If temperature drops, open vents slightly; if it rises, close 1 or 2 of the vents.

6. After 30 minutes, add 3 briquets to each mound of coals; repeat every 30 minutes of cooking. Add wood chips as needed to produce a faint, steady stream of smoke. Moisture that accumulates on fish will evaporate.

7. Cook salmon until a thermometer inserted in center of thickest part reads 140°, 1 to 11/4 hours. 8. Using wide spatulas, slide fillet with foil onto a rimless baking sheet, then slide fish from sheet onto a platter. Serve salmon warm, cool, or chilled. Cut across grain into wide slices.

*For mildest flavor, use mainly pink and green peppercorns.

PER SERVING 178 cal., 33% (59 cal.) from fat; 21 g protein; 6.6 g fat (1 g sat.); 8.4 g carbo (0.9 g fiber); 839 mg sodium; 56 mg chol.

Fresh horseradish sauce

Peel 4 oz. fresh horseradish root* and grate finely. In a small bowl, mix horseradish with 2 tbsp. white-wine vinegar. In another bowl, whisk 11/2 cups crème fraîche or sour cream until slightly thickened. Stir in horseradish mixture, 3 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley, and salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Makes about 2 cups.

*If you can't find fresh horseradish, substitute 1/4 to 1/2 cup prepared and omit the vinegar. Either way, make sauce a day ahead of time.

PER TBSP. 44 Cal., 84% (37 cal.) from fat; 0.5 g protein; 4.1 g fat (2.6 g sat.); 1 g carbo (0 g fiber); 7.9 mg sodium; 9.4 mg chol.