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Chef critique

Ají-Grilled King Salmon

This is a stellar recipe that perfectly applies salt and temperature guidelines, requiring only minor tweaks to the salmon portioning and glaze application.

Score: 9/10

Suggested fixes

  • In step 1, explicitly instruct the user to cut the 12-ounce king salmon fillet into two equal portions before seasoning.
  • In step 5, modify the cooking technique to grill the salmon flesh-side down first without the glaze, then flip it and brush the cooked flesh with the ají glaze to prevent the honey from burning on the grates.

Issues

  • low / clarity: The 12-ounce salmon is left as a single whole fillet during preparation and cooking, but the plating instructions mention setting 'a salmon portion on each plate' without explicitly telling the cook to divide the fish.
  • low / cookability: Applying a honey-based glaze to the salmon before placing it on hot grill grates (especially if grilling flesh-side down) increases the risk of scorching the sugars and sticking to the grates.

Strengths

  • Perfect calculation and application of salt by volume, adhering precisely to the 1.25% standard for fish and 1% for vegetables using Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
  • Flawless temperature guidance for the king salmon, correctly recommending pulling at 125°F for a moist medium finish.
  • Excellent formatting of complex mixtures, using correctly placed and spaced bulleted lists to keep the instructions clean.
  • Highly plausible timing, cost, and nutritional estimates.