Smoked Salmon and Roasted Padron Peppers

Yummy Smoked Salmon

Ryan: "I made a rub of two parts salt, one part pepper, one part sugar. I rubbed the salmon down with it and let it get to room temp. On the grill: I put all of the coals on one corner of the grill and put a little pan of water on the other side, next to the hot coals. The water helps to regulate the temperature throughout the BBQ. Before I put the grill on, I sprayed it with pan so the salmon wouldn't stick. I kind of messed around with the temperature a little bit by opening and closing the top and bottom vents of the BBQ to get it just right. We do not have a thermometer set up for our grill yet, so just right means, hot enough so that I could feel the heat but cool enough that I could keep my hand over it. Before I put the salmon on, I added a handful of applewood chips to the coals. These chips had been soaking in water for a while to keep them from burning. I cooked it for an hour over the water side of the grill, or in BBQ terms; indirect heat. I also added water to the left over rub to make a little "mop" or basting liquid. I applied it about every twenty minutes. I took off the grill and let it rest for about ten minutes before I split it in two!"

The amazing Padron Peppers:

These peppers are ridiculously easy and so good! Maybe as not kid friendly as some of our other side dishes but very tasty, not spicy and super fun to eat!

So we used our cast iron skillet for these little beauties as well. I got it screaming hot, put a little tiny bit of olive oil in it and tossed the peppers in. Once in they cooked for about ten minutes total. I turned them every once in a while so they got browned but not burned. Right before serving, I added generous pinch of salt and two cloves of finely chopped garlic. Tossed the garlic and peppers around a little bit and then threw them on the plate with the smoked salmon and some fresh summer melon. 

Delicious 

Criticisms:

The heat was a little too high on the salmon so the outside was just a little too cripsy. Overall it was really good, but in the future it would be better cooler and longer.