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For special holidays like Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas, we often make this BBQ dish to accompany a sunny day and perfect weather in Los Angeles. This dish is the perfect special-party food, because you can easily make however little or much you desire depending on the crowd. The dish is also a great crowd food because it can be served at room temperature, so there is no worry about timing the cooking to keep the dish hot to serve.
Friends and family alike always enjoy the unique combination of zing from the orange marmalade, grated orange peel, rice vinegar and cayenne in contrast to the supple, delicate salmon. The dish stays true to other traditional salmon dishes that are characterized by a moist, luscious texture. This Asian flare on your traditional salmon entree is representative of my family — my Caucasian mother and Japanese-American father. Our family loves pairing this dish with a carb side-dish like rice or potatoes or, for a lighter meal, a salad. Overall, if you are looking for a crowd-pleaser and a dish that is simple to make, be sure to try out this Asian-inspired variation on salmon.

Marmalade-Glazed Grilled Salmon

1/2 cup orange or tangerine marmalade
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 boned salmon fillet (maximum 1 1/4 in. thick, 3 to 3 1/2 lb.)
1 cup cherry or apple wood chips

1. In a bowl, mix the marmalade, soy sauce, ginger, orange peel, vinegar, garlic and cayenne pepper.
2. Rinse fish and place the fillet skin-down in large container. Pour marmalade over and let stand at least 30 minutes (or up to two hours for maximum flavor) in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
3. Cut two sheets of foil four inches longer than fish. Stack together, lift fish into foil with the skin still facing down and trim foil to outline fish. Discard extra marinade.
4. For BBQ, set fish and foil in the grill with medium-hot heat. Cover BBQ and open vents for charcoal.
5. Cook until opaque but still moist-looking in center (cut to test the center of the salmon). Cook time should take about 15 to 18 minutes.

NOTES: For a pronounced smoke flavor, use a charcoal grill; wood chips smolder much less on a gas grill.