Salmon Inspiration!

Have you tried the Bengali(-ish) mustard salmon I suggested upthread yet? Delicious, and different.

Nigella had a fish bharta (also Bengali/Bangladeshi) adaptation that uses fish sticks but it would be very tasty with salmon - you don’t need to mash too much if it’s a nice piece of fish, just use the spice mixture as a topping.

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I like to cook fresh salmon fast and hot.

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat on the stove. My skillet holds about a 1-lb., skin-on filet.

Cover the flesh side with a thin layer of rub: flaky salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and brown sugar. Heat 2 T. of olive oil in the hot pan. Sear the salmon flesh-side down in the hot pan for 2 minutes. Turn over and sear the skin-side for 1 minute. Insert into oven until just shy of flaky and slightly raw in the middle, about a total of 10 minutes per inch, including the time on the stove. If pulled off correctly, salmon will be blackened on the top, and perfectly cooked inside. Frequently I don’t get the fish quite blackened, but it is still delicious. In that case, I’ll buy another one and try again. :yum:

This will make a mess of everything - pan, oven and stove - but to me it is worth it.

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I haven’t tried it yet. Thanks for the reminder.

One of my favourite fish preps is an Indian cilantro-covered fish at a local restaurant, describe as “Tandoori Mahi Tikka
Large pieces of fish marinated in mint & cilantro with its special spices then baked in tandoor”

I also like this specific spice blend, from Jaswant’s, for fish. https://www.jaswantskitchen.com/collections/products/products/masala-fish-seasoning

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BA has a paywall now, but you can likely get a free look–this salmon teriyaki is simple and delicious.

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@Saregama
Takeout inspired by you! I need a break!
image

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I’m going to try a recipe for blackened salmon with key lime tartar sauce from Skinnytaste. I also like a recipe that I have from the Williams Sonoma Essentials of Roasting cookbook. It is roasted salmon topped with a creamy cucumber dill sauce.

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Another one I’ve been wanting to try:

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I made ATK’s Brazilian Moqueca with salmon recently - was a big hit! https://www.kcet.org/shows/americas-test-kitchen-from-cooks-illustrated/recipe-brazilian-shrimp-and-fish-stew-moqueca

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Skillet-cooked salmon, in lemon-olive-oil with lemon pepper is the simple and fast method preferred at our house. In a nonstick skillet heat about 1 T. lemon-infused olive oil and 1 tsp (dust the entire pan) lemon pepper on medium-high. Add (skin side up) 9-12 oz salmon fillet that’s been dried with a paper towel. Cook 5-6 minutes, turn over (carefully, so as not to splash hot oil everywhere) and finish cooking skin-side down another 6 minutes or until done to your liking. I often put a lid on the skillet for the last half of cooking.

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I prefer to do salmon skin down in a hot pan to sear/loosen the skin, followed by finish in a medium oven. various toppings apply…

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This is a winner:

No fresh salmon involved, but that should be easy to improvise.

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This was delicious! I do love anything sichuan. Once the sauce was mixed up it was pretty simple. I recently found ‘facing heaven’ chilis and made Fuchsia Dunlops chili oil. I preferred it to previous times when I made it with dif chilis which resulted in the oil being so fiercely hot that I couldn’t use much. The new batch is more flavorful and just pleasantly hot.
I subbed asparagus for the green beans - should have taken them out sooner, a bit over cooked.

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Is that skin on? Can you do it skinless?

If you’re using non-stick pans you can do it skinless, although I prefer skin side down in really hot stainless, and you can easily remove the skin afterwards if you want. Removed or not, I find skin-on salmon more flavorful.

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Thank you. Husband does the shopping and usually buys skinless farmed Skuna Bay, and for him, I always cook it the same way.

Not a deal breaker, but am wondering about alternatives, including for leftovers. I sometimes do rillette or maybe a pate.

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My fav is in olive oil, followed up with garlic, and then a honey/lemon juice mixture. Second fav is a soy/citrus/aromatic marinade, initially seared and finished in the oven.

As for leftovers… boy, I rarely have them, but maybe a salmon melt (mayo, red pepper, and cheese on grilled rye), or a salmon asparagus quiche.

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this works best with sockeye - I’ve tried with (other) including Arctic Char with not as good results.

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Easier is what I do: Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Start the fillet in a cast iron pan on high on the stove. When the skin side has cooked 3 minutes, put the pan under the broiler until the fish has cooked. No turning needed.

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I love nuking it over a bed of scallions and sauced with oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and hot sauce (sriracha, usually). Takes about 5 min until med/well. While it’s being nuked I heat up about a tbsp of oil until smoking hot, then splash on the filet when it comes out. Shower with cilantro, done.

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@shrinkrap - skillet method (with lemon olive oil and lemon pepper) should work equally well for skinless. If your fillet is long, turning it gently might take 2 spatulas/turners since there’s not skin to keep it in one piece.

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