Eat This: Fish Friday - Maple Mustard Salmon

Stone Ground Mustard and Maple Glazed Salmon

I love salmon. When the wild caught, Copper River Salmon is available, I am always a step away from a feast.  Tonight, I made something a little different; Mustard-Maple Glazed Roasted Salmon.  It was DELICIOUS and so easy. 

Sadly, I was very lazy and only have the final product photographed, but I'll walk you through the process.

Eat This: Sunday Fish

Italian salmon with tomatoes and herbs and redfish in lemon butter.

Two fish for dinner this evening:  one redfish, pan roasted in a simple butter and lemon and salmon cooked in the Italian manner.  Both delicious. Both easy. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Using two oven proof pans; I used one Calphalon all stainless and one non-stick (which I used for the redfish).

So here's how I did it:

Sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil - you will need 1/4 Cup.

One can of fire-roasted tomatoes and fresh oregano (you can substitute dried but I like the taste of fresh) - about 1/4 Cup loosely packed fresh oregano or 2 Tablespoons dried.

One fresh redfish fillet - As small or as large as you like - this one was 1# and at $14/lb. was very nice.

One half of a salmon fillet (fresh, wild caught) - this was about 1# as well.

Combine the fresh oregano, tomatoes and the sun-dried tomatoes.

Add 2 Tablespoons capers, drained, 1 Tsp. garlic powder, 1 Tsp. onion powder, 1 Tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, 4 Tablespoons lemon juice, 1/2 Tsp. black pepper, 1/2 Tsp. Kosher salt and

... five chopped green onions. Substitute fresh garlic and onion for the powder (my original recipe called for the powder)

Oh yeah, and a glass of wine while doing this is almost required, right?

For the salmon, put the tomato mixture in the pan and sit the salmon fillets on top.

Spoon about 3 Tablespoons of the mixture on top.  For the redfish, I combined 3 Tablespoons of butter and 4 Tablespoons of lemon juice.  Pour the butter mixture over the redfish fillet and shake freshly ground pepper over the top.

I roasted the pans together for 25 minutes.  Be sure to check at 20 mins. Overcooked fish is nasty.  The saving grace is that both these recipes are really forgiving.

The results:

Salmon in tomatoes and herbs.

Redfish in lemon and butter.

Let's Eat: Perfect Salmon Every Time

I love fresh salmon. In the past I've had challenges making it just right.  But I found the holy grail of roasting a whole side of salmon.  Easy Peasy.

In the past I spent a long time skinning the fillet. No more.  Now I line a heavy half-sheet pan with aluminum foil.  Rest the salmon skin side down.  After cooking, you use a heavy spatula or a fish turner to lift the flesh and the skin sticks to the foil! Easy to dispose and even better, cleanup is ridiculously easy.

I started with a whole fillet of Copper River salmon. Fresh. Nice.  Dried dill (I forgot to buy fresh), minced green onion tops (they have a lot of flavor.)

Thinly sliced lemons and a little roasted garlic grey salt and that's it.  Don't over think it.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees while you get the salmon ready.  Pop it in for 12 minutes.  NO LONGER.  It comes out just a tiny bit on the rare side, but after you let it sit, covered with a sheet of foil for 10 minutes, it is perfect.  Really. It's idiot proof.

The finished product. It was DELICIOUS.