Grilled Salmon with BBQ Sauce

About two weeks ago, I mentioned a cookbook that holds my fascination and one I am still enjoying. The wonderful recipes are numerous along with the many beautiful photos and articles. Cooking the Cowboy Way by Grady Spears is a-must-have book for all who like cowboy cooking. It is full of recipes like BBQ beef, pork, chicken and everything you perceive in western foods, but it also contains delectable ones in varying the disparity to that notion.
The following is from a chapter about an area, the Brazos River, and of the Wildcatter Ranch.

“The Wildcatter Ranch is a 1,500-acre spread on the ranch land just outside of Graham (Texas), an old town near the beautiful Possum Kingdom Lake, and about ninety minutes northwest of … Fort Worth. The ranch sits in the wide upper Brazos River Valley and has views of the wooded, rocky countryside that pitches and rolls toward the south and west. Close by is the place where the Cattle Raisers Association was founded in 1877 to regulate ranching and put an end to cattle rustling.
A lot of folks visiting the Wildcatter come for the hiking, mountain biking and all-terrain vehicle off-roading. There are good fossils to be found too, as well as old arrowheads left by the Comanche who roamed here long ago.”

Bob Bratcher, from the west Texas town of Seymour, is a real cowboy chef at the Wildcatter. His food was named among the state’s best by Texas Monthly magazine. As Grady states, “if you think you’ve had good salmon, wait until you try it like Bob makes it … you may be surprised at how the barbecue sauce and the grill turn this fish into a hearty, satisfying supper.”

Grilled Salmon with Barbecue Sauce

serves 6

3 pounds salmon fillets
3 cups Barbecue Sauce for Fish –recipe follows

Place the salmon fillets in a long glass dish; cover with 1-1/2 cups of the barbecue sauce. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and allow fillets to marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before grilling time. Discard the marinade before cooking the fish.

Prepare coals or a gas grill to medium heat. Oil the grate so the fish won’t stick. Place the marinated salmon on the grill and cook for 6 to 8 minutes per side; baste with 1/2 cup of the sauce during cooking. Serve the fish with the remaining 1 cup barbecue sauce.

Barbecue Sauce for Fish
makes 4 1/2 cups

4 cups of your favorite bottled sweet barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 chipotle peppers, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Working in batches, process mixture in a blender or food processor until smooth. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 or 5 days. This is good on many types of fish.