Rad Recipes: Perfect Salmon, Two Ways (GF, P)

Cooking fish can be tricky, but these two recipes for salmon will yield a perfect dish pretty much every single time. Be sure to select the freshest filet possible. I prefer wild caught over farm raised, but it tends to have a firmer texture and more flavor than farm raised. Either way, it should not smelly “fishy” and if it does, it’s been sitting too long to enjoy. Once you have your big beautiful filet home and in your kitchen, give it a good rinse in cold water and gently pat dry with a paper towel. If you feel any bones in the filet while rinsing, go ahead and pull them out carefully and discard.  Now, all you have to decide is which way you want to cook it: in the oven or on the grill?

Perfectly Baked Salmon

• Preheat oven to 375F
• Place prepared salmon filet skin side down on lined and lightly oiled baking sheet
• Bake uncovered 8-10 minutes; test to make sure it’s cooked through (no translucence) but not overcooked. 15 minutes should be the max for a thick filet
• Remove from oven and let rest for a hot minute while you are plating the rest of your meal. Enjoy!

Perfectly Grilled Salmon

• Get your grill good and hot
• Place prepared salmon filet skin side down right on the hot grill (be sure to lightly coat salmon skin in oil and a bit of coarse salt)
• Cover and let cook unbothered for 8 minutes; check to see if it needs a few more minutes (Skin will get crispy and lift off the grill easily when it’s done)
• Remove from grill and let rest for a hot minute while you are plating the rest of your meal. Enjoy!

Perfect Salmon Preparations  (always rinse first with cold water and gently pat dry with paper towel)

• Asian Garlic Sesame
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
  • 2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds (white or black)
    • saute garlic in sesame oil for about a minute, then add in soy sauce and sesame seeds. Remove from heat, let cool, then pour over salmon to marinate.
• Classic Lemon-Herb
  • 1/2 lemon, sliced into rounds
  • 3-5 pats of butter, depending on size of filet
  • 3-5 sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • fresh cracked pepper
  • extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
    • lightly coat the salmon filet in olive oil (if grilling, add a bit of coarse salt to the skin as well)
    • sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper
    • arrange butter, lemon slices, and rosemary sprigs across top of fish