Sour Orange BBQ'd Salmon Tacos

Sour Orange BBQ'd Salmon Tacos

I am a lucky woman! I have a son who wants to cook for me! And he picked one hell of a recipe this week. It's a Bobby Flay recipe that he found on the Food Network website. I usually don't make Mr. Flay's recipes because they require a bit more time to create all of the separate components but it was Michael's day off and he wanted to spend it cooking something really creative. His current cooking position doesn't allow him any experimentation so he likes to expand his horizons in my kitchen and I of course whole-heartedly support his his educational pursuits. He did a fantastic job with this recipe. It was mind-blowingly good and as it turns out pretty darn healthy too. If you make the barbecue sauce a day ahead the rest comes together pretty quickly. This also makes way more sauce than you need so you'll have leftover to make it again or to use for something else. If you want to make it a little healthier use whole wheat tortillas instead of the flour ones and use light mayo for the smoked chili sauce. The only amendments to the recipe that were made was that he used Savoy cabbage instead of red for the slaw and regular chili powder instead of the ground ancho powder. You really should make this! Enjoy!

















Recipe: Sour Orange BBQ'd Salmon Tacos With Red Cabbage Slaw and Smoked Chili Slaw

Prep Time: 1 hr
Inactive Prep Time: 40 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 20 min

Ingredients
2 (10-ounce) salmon fillets
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
8 (6-inch flour or whole wheat) tortillas
Sour Orange BBQ Sauce, recipe follows
Smoked Chile Sauce, recipe follows
Red Cabbage Slaw, recipe follows
Cilantro leaves

Directions
Heat grill to high.
Brush salmon with oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Grill the salmon skin-side down for 3 to 4 minutes or until charred and a crust has formed. Brush with some of the BBQ sauce, flip over and continue grilling for 2 to 3 minutes for medium doneness. Remove from the grill and brush with more of the sauce. Let rest 5 minutes and flake with a fork.

Grill tortillas for 20 seconds per side. Divide the salmon among the tortillas, top with the red cabbage slaw and smoked chile sauce and cilantro leaves; fold and eat.

Sour Orange BBQ Sauce:
2 cups fresh orange juice
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup white wine vinegar
3 cups granulated sugar
1 orange, zest grated
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 large Spanish onion, coarsely chopped
1 head garlic, coarsely chopped
1 habanero chile, coarsely chopped
3 cups canned plum tomatoes and juices, chopped
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons ancho chili powder
2 canned chipotle chiles, pureed
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Place orange juice, vinegars and sugar in a medium nonreactive saucepan and cook until reduced to approximately 1 cup and thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the zest. Set aside.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the onion, garlic and habanero and cook until soft. Add the remaining ingredients and cook until the tomatoes are soft and the sauce has thickened, about 40 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a food processor and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Transfer the sauce to a medium saucepan and whisk in the reduced orange/vinegar mixture and cook for 10 minutes. Let cool.

Smoked Chile Sauce:
1 cup prepared mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chipotle puree
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Red Cabbage Slaw:
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 small red onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup canola oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 head red cabbage, finely shredded

Combine all ingredients, except cabbage, in a blender and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place cabbage in a large bowl and toss with the vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper and let sit 30 minutes in the refrigerator before serving.


Recipe courtesy of Bobby Flay.