Quickest Dinner I Know - Broiled Salmon

Short of opening up some toxic bag of prepared food, broiled salmon is the quickest meal I know of. When preparing salmon simply like this you must keep one thing in mind -like a hernia test, nothing is hidden from your audience. Poor quality salmon will be exposed for what it is so only use this method when you're confident in your raw material. I recently used some borderline salmon and even my emergency lemon tarragon sauce couldn't make up for its lackluster flavor and texture. It was wild Alaskan salmon that had been frozen and was sold defrosted. My gut said to go for the fresh farm-raised stuff but I was lured by the ruby color of the wild stuff. (To a certain extent I also considered the alleged problem farm-raising causes when the salmon inmates escape from the farm and mess with the locals. Who knows if that's true or hype.) The distinction between good and inferior salmon is not always clear because I've had bad salmon from Whole Foods while the grocery store produced a respectable fillet (once). These examples are abberations so I generally follow a couple rules - buy it fresh (not frozen or previously frozen), get it from a trusted source and don't get it from the big chain grocery stores that give you "Member Rewards" cards. (I should add that I've had good seafood from Costco when they roll out their weekend seafood roadshow.) To prepare, pre-heat the broiler (leave the oven door open so it doesn't cycle the heating element on and off) and put the rack in the highest position; rinse the salmon with cold water; dry thoroughly with paper towels and remove bones with a needle-nosed pliers (optional); after placing on a foil-lined cookie sheet, rub with extra chaste olive oil; sprinkle with kosher salt and grind pepper over it according to your taste. When the broiler is nice and orange put the salmon/cookie sheet on the top rack. Unless you have some unusual rack arrangement in your oven or your salmon is incredibly thick it shouldn't be too close to the heating element. If you put it one rack lower it may never form the nice, mahogany crust or the crust will take so long to show up the salmon will be fish jerky. Once under a hot broiler it will cook quickly so don't flip on an episode of Momma's Family thinking you have some time. I crank on the exhaust fan and/or open the kitchen window because sometimes there is a smoky, mini-fireworks show from the oil sputtering and igniting when it hits the element. It makes the wife nervous but it doesn't seem to cause any real problems. After about four minutes it will probably be done or at least close to it. Pull it out and push on it with your finger. If the fattest part of the fish feels like your pushing into someone's double chin it's probably still raw in the center. I like it a touch rare in the very center but if it needs to go back in and the crust has pretty much formed, put it back one rack lower so it doesn't burn the top. You can also put it several racks lower and close the oven so it roasts to finish cooking. The key is not overcooking it (aka ruining it). For a small fillet the total cooking time is rarely more than 6 or 7 minutes. A full-length fillet takes significantly longer. I often get the salmon ready for the broiler then prepare green beans and start the respective cooking processes at the same time. I put the green beans in a pot of boiling, salted water for four minutes and they're always perfect (assuming you're using full-sized green beans and not the little French ones). I drain the water, leave the cooked beans in the pan, squeeze some lemon over them, throw in a pat of butter and let that melt while I put the salmon on plates. To keep it fast I serve it with bread. I don't care about wine "rules" and like red wine with salmon (something lighter, like a Pinot Noir or Merlot*). The whole dinner - from grocery sack to placemat - can take 30 minutes or less if you hurry. If the salmon is good quality, it's a toothsome meal. * The trendy anti-Merlot sentiment, driven by the new wine "connoisseurs" whose wine knowledge is based on watching the overrated Sideways, has made me want to turn my attention back to Merlot. I admit that I pretty much stopped drinking it a few years ago when I discovered some other varieties but I had a glass the other night and it was refreshing to have a red wine that wasn't decribed as "big" or a "monster" or "explosive" with "tons of fruit". Sometimes a little guy is just right. Bucking the Sideways trend is reason enough to choose it.