Hickory Smoked Salmon Skewers | dolly and oatmeal

everyone always says: it's never the right time. but as my due date approaches all i can think about is how much this little guy is going to shift and change so many things, for like, the rest of our lives. frank and i keep trying to put it into some form of perspective by naively comparing this life-altering baby to our dog, quint. we can't imagine life without him, and certainly cannot remember what our daily life without quint was like. i know that feeling will be the same with our baby (magnified by at least 1 million percent, i imagine!), but there's a part of me that is scared stupid that these life moments will pass too quickly. i panic sometimes and say to frank that we need to remember these 9 nine months of pregnancy, that we'll never get them back. but in doing so, and probably getting too anxious, i feel like i lose sight of what's in front of me. i'm trying to be mindful that these moments are what we make them, how we see them is how they are defined. and so i'm hoping i can keep that notion in mind for as long as it serves me.

and what's serving me in terms of diet these days is a craving for more protein. i'd be lying if i didn't say that i'm a little apprehensive about sharing a recipe that's not plant-based here. while my eating habits are not centered around a vegan lifestyle by any means, i don't actually cook any kind of meat. i leave that to my husband! and this recipe was actually inspired by him and where he grew up. my man's informed that there's a huge difference between eastern and western north carolina style bbq, and south carolina bbq, so the marinade for the salmon is a riff on carolina bbq flavors in general. combining the vinegar-based bbq from the east, and the mustard-based bbq from south carolina, gave this dish a bit of every sauce that makes up what my husband loves about those hometown-y flavors. we smoked out the grill with hickory chips just to give the skewers that authentic bbq flavor (which i'm sure our neighbors loved - wink-wink), and cooked them with a bit of oil and used reynolds foil so as to have them stick to the grill grates - which is a total life-saver when it comes to cooking fragile things like fish on the grill! and if you're not into salmon, or fish in any capacity, i'm sure this marinade would be awesome with veggies as well! :)

lastly, a quick note! the saveur blog awards are in full swing for the 2016 calendar! every year i'm so incredibly excited about the inspiration and talent that's out there in the blog world, it's both a thrill to be real life friends and acquaintances with some of these fine peeps, and also be super-fans of their work! this blog has been fortunate enough to be nominated a couple of times, so i know how special being recognized can be. you can vote here, and if you feel so inclined to vote for dolly and oatmeal, i think it fits best into the food obsessive category because of the blog's focus on a gluten-free lifestyle. however, feel free to nominate it for whatever category you think fits :) and be sure to vote as many times for all your favorite blogs, voices, recipes, videos - all of it! thank you so very much, and much gratitude! xo's!

*this post was created in partnership with reynolds kitchens in celebration of their endless summer table, you can also check out their super awesome endless table on instagram, too! all opinion, as always, are my own. thank you so much for supporting the sponsors that help keep dolly and oatmeal going!

hickory smoked salmon skewers

i served these skewers with a simple summer salad of garden arugula, and nasturtium leaves and flowers with a spritz of fresh lemon juice, a drizzle of evoo, and some salt and pepper. you could just as easily serve this with a grain salad, or maybe some leftover veg. (i have a few recipes below in case you're in need of some inspiration). limitless options!

| serves 4-6 |

1 pound salmon, skinned and deboned
2 lemons, sliced into thin coins
6-8 wooden skewers, soaked
1/4 cup dijon mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce (i like tabasco or sriracha)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh pepper
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
handful chopped parsley
reynolds wrap non-stick foil

method

cut the salmon into 2-inch chunks. fold the lemon coins in hlaf and thread the salmon and lemon on the soaked skewers, alternating between the them. place the salmon skewers in a shallow dish and set aside.
in a large bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, honey, worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, salt, and pepper to taste. pour marinade over the skewers, turning to coat, and marinate for 15 to 30 minutes.
while the skewers are marinating, prepare your grill. cut a large piece of reynolds wrap non-stick foil and firmly fir it over the grill grate. preheat the grill to medium heat. for a charcoal grill, place 4-5 hickory chunks on top of hot coals and close the grill cover to let the smoke accumulate. for a gas grill, place the chunks in a smoker box or in a large piece of foil; fold up the sides to make a packet. poke holes with a fork and place on the grill. close the cover to let smoke accumulate.
open the grill and lightly oil the foil.
cook the salmon skewers for 4 to 5 minutes per side, until fish is opaque in color. plate the salmon skewers and sprinkle with parsley. serve hot.

enjoy!