I never realized that the tail of the salmon had such a a succulent taste and tender texture. We were in the mood for salmon and I try to only buy wild caught. The choices were slim, wild caught from Russia or USA salmon steaks. I really don;t care for salmon steaks, however, I noticed behind the steaks were two pieces that kind of sort of looked liked filets. I’ll try to articulate the rest of the story as best I can…The fish monger, was, let’s say a bit on the grumpy side, and when I asked him what the filet like pieces were he kept insisting that they were steaks. Clearly, they were not cut like a salmon steak! The woman standing next to me told me those were the tail pieces left over from cutting the steaks and that she gets them all the time and they are delicious. And then she said, “Oh, and by the way, he is always grumpy!” So he wrapped up the tail and off we went.

I prepared the salmon with walnut oil, salt, pepper, fresh thyme, dill, and Thai basil, wrapped in brown parchment and then foil and put it on the grill. I also grilled zucchini, beets, and small red potatoes in a marinade of olive oil, and dry Italian seasonings. Such an easy meal and perfect this time of the year.