Salmon is an extraordinary, healing food. Loaded with omega-3 oils, it's not only incredibly delicious, but eating it lowers your cholesterol, heart rate and blood pressure.

We who are lucky enough to live in Whatcom County have almost unlimited access to chum, pink, sockeye, silver and, of course, king salmon. It's good, and wild, at reasonable prices.

You can bake it, poach it, roast it, pan-fry it and smoke it, or you can cook it my favorite way, on the grill. Here's one of my favorite preparations.

MAKE THE MARINADE

This makes enough for a 2-pound fillet. I prefer king, but any kind of salmon will work.

Ingredients

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning

1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

1 teaspoon curry powder

2 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced

Directions

Remove all pin bones from the fillet. Put the fish skin side down on a cutting board, then slide your fingertips along the flesh until you feel the bones. Remove the bones with needle-nose pliers, pulling them straight out to avoid tearing the flesh.

Cut the flesh into 6-ounce portions and put them in a gallon-size sealable plastic bag. Add the marinade and seal the bag, squeezing out as much air as possible. Refrigerate 4 hours to overnight.

Just before grilling, remove the fish, shake off extra marinade and place on a platter. Discard marinade.

PREPARE THE GRILL

If using charcoal, which produces the best smoky flavor, use a chimney starter, not lighter fluid, which leaves an unpleasant taste on the fish.

While the grill is heating up, clean the grilling grate with soap, hot water and a scouring pad. Remove all burned-on chunks and bits on both sides, then rinse and dry the grate. When you bring it back to the grill, bring some vegetable oil and a few paper towels.

Once the coals have been turned into the bottom of the grill (or if you are cooking with gas) and the grate is in place, pour a generous amount of vegetable oil on a folded paper towel and use a grill brush or long wooden spoon to oil the grate.

That's the secret. With a clean, oiled grate, the fish won't stick and you'll get lovely pieces, seared perfectly on the flesh side without breaking or tearing.

GRILL THE SALMON

Give the grate about 5 to 7 minutes to get hot, then place the salmon pieces, flesh side down, over the coals. They should sizzle. Cover the grill and let them cook 3 to 4 minutes, depending on thickness.

Open the grill, then, with grilling tongs, grab the pieces and give them a gentle shake. They should come right off the grill. Flip the fish over and cover and cook a few more minutes, skin side down.

The rule of thumb is to cook fish about 10 minutes, total, per inch of thickness. I like salmon on the rare side, so I cook it about 8 minutes per inch.

When done, you can slide a spatula between the flesh and the skin so that when you remove the fish, the skin stays behind. Serve hot and juicy!