Secrets of the Tulalip Chefs

 

The award-winning chefs who design and oversee the restaurants at the Tulalip Resort Casino share their favorite recipes and tips with our readers. Although the dishes look and taste like gourmet treats, even household cooks can follow these instructions to put the wow factor back into family dinners.

 

One of the most rewarding aspects of being a chef is, of course, the love of food and all of the different varieties and styles of foods found throughout the world. I spent seven years working on small cruise ships traveling the waterways of the east and west coast, the Great Lakes, Mexico and the Caribbean. I love trying new foods and learning from different cultures and cuisines and, of course, eating.

I have also spent the better part of my career as a restaurant and hotel chef in the Pacific Northwest, which is my home. As the chef of Gardeners Restaurant in South Bend, WA, I came up with an idea many years ago to promote our restaurant by having a booth at various fairs and local festivals where we served signature foods from our restaurant to people outdoors. I love street foods of all kinds, and cooking for people at wine events and other festivals, especially outdoors, is something I enjoy doing very much.

In the spirit of outdoor festivals and the beautiful yet brief northwest summer weather, I wanted to come up with a very simple, fun summer appetizer using seasonal local wild king salmon that could be served on the go.

The recipe is a King Salmon Corn Dog with my signature tartar sauce. It is simple to prepare and, although it may sound a bit strange, it is very tasty. It will also be the featured special at one of our upcoming outdoor summer concerts starring Pat Benatar. It can be made with any variety of salmon; however I would always recommend using fresh wild salmon whenever possible. I have even made these with our own house-smoked salmon.

I encourage you to give this recipe a try. Experiment with it and enjoy your summer with great food and fun.



Salmon Corn Dog

Serves 8, 3 oz. appetizers

1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup corn meal

2 Tbsp sugar

1 egg

1 Tbsp baking powder

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups buttermilk

1 cup corn kernels (I prefer fresh sweet corn, but canned or frozen will work.)

2 ounces butter

*1 lb. of fresh king Salmon cut into 8-2 oz. strips about 3/4" by 2" long

*I have used smoked salmon to make these, which also come out very nice as well.

8 skewers - thick round or bamboo, approximately 4" to 6" long; thin ones will also work.

1/2 cup water for coating skewers

1/4 cup flour

Method:

In a mixing bowl sift together flour, corn meal, baking powder and salt and mix well. Sauté the corn kernels in butter briefly about 5 minutes and blend in a food processor or blender with 1 cup of the buttermilk. In a separate bowl mix egg, oil, 1 cup of the buttermilk, then add the buttermilk corn puree. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.

Cut the salmon into eight 2 oz. strips approximately the same size and length. Dip the end of each skewer in a little water, then coat in flour. This will make sure the salmon will not slide off of the skewers. Coat each salmon skewer in corn batter and deep fry at 350 degrees until golden brown. They may need to be turned to get each side golden brown.

Serve in a ramekin or shot glass filled with 1 to 2 oz. of homemade Dill Tartar Sauce. Corn shoots or long chives make a great garnish. I like to serve on a piece of banana leaf to keep dishes from sliding. Paper doilies, or other leaves will also work.



Tartar Sauce

Makes 3 cups

2 cups mayonnaise

6 Tbsp dill relish

1/2 cup onions, fresh diced

1Tbsp lemon juice, fresh squeezed

1/2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar

2 1/2 Tbsp dill fresh chopped (Dry if you must 1/4 tsp)

1/4 tsp seasoning salt (I prefer Johnny's)

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp Tabasco

Method:

Dice onions and fresh dill, and juice lemon. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Let sit a few hours before service.

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