Salmon is one of the quickest, simplest, healthiest foods to prepare. And I prepare it often! Obviously! There are so many salmon recipes on my blog that I’ve considered renaming it “The Salmon Concerto”.
Far and away, my most viewed recipe is Stuffed Salmon, followed closely by Salmon with Dill Sauce. Both of those recipes will convince you to make salmon tonight. 😊 One of the best things about salmon is that you can make a restaurant-worthy entrée in basically no time, and with very little effort.
I have fallen in love with Falksalt. This large flake salt from Sweden adds amazing taste and crunch to salads, soups, veggies, and meats. Just a few flakes adds a powerful boost to basically any dish.
One of these days, I will experiment with topping sweets with this incredible crunchy-saltiness. I’ve purchased Falksalt at delis over the past few years, but recently ordered the sampler pack from their website. Now I get to play around with smoke, garlic, rosemary, and chipotle salts!
I use sockeye salmon for this recipe — not for any particular reason, except it is the type I can purchase with NO added color, is wild-caught, and happens to frequently be on sale. Win, win, WIN! My sister in Alaska goes fishing every summer for her annual quota of sockeye salmon. It is a family tradition, and quite the social event! As a land-locked Minnesotan, I have to fish at the store.
Cut the salmon into serving-sized pieces – for us, that means about 1/2 pound each. We like salmon.
Combine the brown sugar and smoke sea salt, and rub half of it over the fish. Preheat a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat, add a teaspoon of oil, and make sure it spreads around. (I actually use my olive oil spritzer, but a basting brush, or even a paper towel to smear the oil around, works just as well.)
Cook the salmon FISH side down for 2-3 minutes. Then flip to cook SKIN side down for 2-3 minutes. During this time, preheat the broiler.
Gently pat the remaining sugar/salt mixture onto each fish piece.
Before putting my piece under the broiler, I drizzle it with a small amount of maple-infused balsamic vinegar. YUM!!! I happen to live with two people – who shall remain nameless because I cannot fathom this character flaw – who aren’t big fans of balsamic vinegar. Sigh. All the more for me!
Once the broiler is good and hot, broil for 2-3 minutes – watching carefully! This is not the time to multi-task. Remove before the fish is completely cooked, as it will continue to cook for a few minutes after removal from the oven.
With or without the extra delicious drizzle, the salmon will be bubbling, caramelized, and perfectly cooked in a total of 6-8 minutes, depending on how thick the fish is. Be prepared to give out this recipe to everyone, because it’s just that good!!!
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Caramelized Salmon
- Total Time: 13 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Fancy enough for weekend company, quick and easy enough for Tuesday.
Ingredients
- 1 – 1 1/2 pounds sockeye salmon
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp smoke sea salt, brand Falksalt
- 1 tsp oil
- Maple infused balsamic vinegar, optional
Instructions
- Heat a large, oven proof skillet over medium heat, and coat well with oil
- Combine the brown sugar and smoke salt, and rub half of it on the fish
- Cook fish side down for 2-3 minutes, then flip and cook skin side down for 2-3 minutes
- While it’s cooking, preheat the boiler
- Gently pat the remaining sugar/salt mixture onto each piece of fish
- Drizzle with balsamic vinegar, if using (maple syrup would probably work too, but might be too sweet)
- Put the skillet under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, watching carefully, until bubbling and caramelized, and the fish is slightly under cooked (it will continue to cook for a couple minutes after removal from the oven)
Notes
This is ready so quickly that you will want to prepare side dishes in advance, or employ the assistance of your family.
Serve with rice or on top of a large salad
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
