Serves 4-6

Clayton Jones, Executive Chef, Bear Tooth Grill, 1230 W. 27th Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska
Cook-Off Winner, Savor Bristol Bay, Trout Unlimited, www.savebristolbay.org
Recipe adapted for home use by Laurie Constantino, Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska, www.medcookingalaska.blogspot.com

Covering the grill for the final cooking time helps set the glaze and melt it into the fish. Use stainless steel bowl(s) to cover the salmon fillets if you don't have a cover for your grill. For those without the time or inclination to make their own chile sauce, Chef Clayton suggests buying canned Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce (I prefer Goya brand) and pureeing it. Substitute 3 tablespoons of chipotle adobo puree for recado chile sauce. Pureed chipotles in adobo are spicier, and not near as flavorful, as Bear Tooth Grill's chile sauce, but are definitely faster and easier to use.

2 pounds salmon fillets, skin on
Salt, Freshly ground black pepper, Olive oil

Ancho Honey Porter Glaze:
3 Tbsp. Bear Tooth Grill "Recado" Chile Sauce (see recipe below)
3 Tbsp. honey
6 Tbsp. Porter beer

Fresh Herb Basting Brush: 1 sprig rosemary, 3 sprigs thyme, 3 sprigs parsley, cotton twine

Start fire.  Wash salmon and dry it well. Using needle-nosed pliers, remove pin-bones (find bones by lightly running fingers over surface of fish). Season salmon with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Brush both sides with oil.

Mix ingredients for glaze in small bowl. Cut herbs into 4" lengths, form into bouquet, and tie tightly together with cotton twine. Bruise herbs with back of knife to release essential oils (don't hit herbs too hard or you'll break them into pieces).

Preheat grate, making sure both it and fire are hot. Cook fillets, skin-side up, for 4-5 minutes. Turn fish and immediately coat cooked side with Ancho Honey Porter Glaze using herb bouquet as basting brush. Close grill (or cover salmon with stainless steel bowl) and cook for 2-4 minutes or until salmon is cooked through (exact cooking time depends on thickness of fish).  Serve immediately.

Bear Tooth Grill "Recado" Chile Sauce
Makes 2 cups

2 ounces dried ancho chiles (about 6 chiles)
1 ounce dried chipotle chiles (about 8 chiles)
1 1/2 cups water
8-10 cloves garlic, peeled (about 1 head)
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 Tbsp. dried Mexican oregano

Preheat oven to 325°F. Fill a bowl large enough to hold all the chiles with water.

Spread chiles on baking sheet and put in oven until you can smell the chiles cooking, about 5-8 minutes. Don't walk away from the oven; if chiles cook too long and burn (which can happen quickly), they are garbage. (If the chiles are burnt, don't use them in the sauce; they will ruin it.) Remove chiles from oven, and put them in prepared bowl of water. Soak chiles in water for at least 15 minutes. Break off and discard stems.

Put chiles in blender with 1 1/2 cups water, garlic, salt, and oregano. Blend until very smooth, adding more water if necessary to get desired consistency (sauce shouldn't be watery, but also shouldn't be like a paste). If blender isn't powerful enough to break down chile seeds and skin, run sauce through food mill or sieve.