For the second installment (check out the first linked here) in our employee summer camp cooking series, we’re excited to bring you: Peter’s Campfire Salmon with Spring Veggies! Watch the how-to video here and follow along with the steps listed below. Let us know on social media if you try out this camp cooking recipe!
Don’t forget to enter our camp cooking giveaway with REI for your chance to win $2,000 camp cooking gear to outfit your camping gear by August 12!
Peter’s Campfire Salmon with Spring Veggies
Ingredients
- 2 TB vegetable oil
- 2 – 4 salmon or steelhead filets, skin-on
- 1 zucchini and 1 summer squash
- 1 diced yellow onion
- 2 shallots
- 1 green bell pepper
- ½ cup chopped cashews
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Garlic aioli sauce (recipe below)
Garlic Aioli Sauce
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1-2 teaspoons garlic powder, or 3 cloves minced very small
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Chopped capers, if desired.
- Chopped dill, if desired.
Combine all ingredients and let sit overnight (refrigerated). 
Campfire Smoked Fish
- Start your campfire.
- Dry brine the de-boned fish with plenty of salt, and let sit for 30 minutes. Salt should mostly disappear from the fish after sitting.
- Rinse the filets and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Once the fish is brined and the fire has mostly coals, add a handful of fresh hardwood directly to the coals a minute before putting the fish on.
- Smoke the fish filets (covered) over the coals (on the grate) and hardwood for about five minutes to develop smoke flavor (see video for reference). You may also use a grill cage if you have one.
- The smoking should be done relatively cool, away from direct flame. 5 minutes should be plenty of time to develop some smoke flavor, but longer is OK if it is relatively cool. The goal is not to cook the fish, just add some smoke flavor.
- Remove the fish filets from and generously apply the garlic aioli to the fish. Wrap each filet tightly in foil.
- Place the foil-wrapped filets back on the campfire grate and cook for 15 minutes until the fish reaches an internal temperature of at least 130F degrees.
- Note: if the fillet is wild salmon, internal temp of 120-125 is recommended for better texture. Take a couple minutes off the cook time.
- Let the fish rest for five minutes.
Spring Vegetable Stir Fry
- Chop in-season vegetables and cashews into large bite size pieces.
- Toss in olive oil and salt.
- Add vegetables to a searing hot pan and cook briefly (about three minutes) to develop color on the edges but retain crunch and texture.
Note: For camping, this is easy to prep in a gallon freezer bag, simply toss in oil and salt, and chill inside a cooler until ready to cook.
