Alaska Salmon recipes
This list is a collection of favorite Salmon recipes that has been given to me by past and present clients of Jim Rusk Fishing as well as some family recipes.
1. Grilled Salmon
We wipe a filet with a canola oil; then rub both sides with Emerils original seasoning followed by grilling until done to preference. We prefer it when slightly undercooked leaving more flavorfull and moist. Less is more.
2. Pan Fried Salmon with Warm Corn Salsa
Quickly sautéed corn and herbs are a light, pretty complement to salmon.
5 tablespoons butter
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 ½ cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen (thawed)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh dill or tarragon
Juice of ½ lemon
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook the pepper until softened slightly. Add corn, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, about 7 minutes. Stir in dill or tarragon and lemon juice, and remove from heat.
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Season the fish all over with salt and pepper. Sear the fish 2 minutes per side, then reduce heat and cook 2 minutes longer per side.
To serve, divide the corn mixture and place on four serving plates. Top each with a salmon fillet.
Serves 4.
The Totally Salmon Cookbook by Helen Siegel, Celestial Arts Publishing, 1997.
3. Fusilli with Baked Tomatoes & Salmon
This quick, healthful baked pasta sauce was inspired by the Italian cookbook Mare by Evan Kleiman.
¼ cup olive oil
5 medium tomatoes, cored & cut into small wedges
1 pound skinless salmon fillet, cut in 1-inch cubes
½ cup thinly sliced fresh basil or sorrel
1 tablespoon minced garlic
salt & freshly ground pepper
1 pound fusilli or corkscrew pasta
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Lightly coat a medium ceramic or glass baking dish with oil. Cover the bottom with half of the tomatoes. Top with half the salmon, half the garlic, & half the basil or sorrel. Season with salt & pepper, & drizzle with oil. Repeat the layers, seasoning the top & drizzling lightly with oil. Bake, uncovered, 20 to 25 minutes, until the tomatoes soften & the juices run together, stirring once.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. Drain & transfer to a serving bowl. Top with roasted sauce & toss well. Adjust seasonings with salt & pepper & serve.
Serves 4.
The Totally Salmon Cookbook by Helen Siegel, Celestial Arts Publishing, 1997.
4. Sauteed Salmon with Capers and Vinegar, Stimparata Style
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup onion chopped very thin
6 tablespoons celery chopped very fine
2 tablespoons capers, soaked and rinsed
2 pounds Salmon fillets
2/3 cup flower, spread on a plate
Salt, Black pepper , ground fresh from mill
1/4 cup good quality wine
vinegar, preferably white
Put 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauce pan and turn heat on to medium. Cook and stir onion until it becomes colored a pale gold then add the chopped celery. Cook stirring from time to time until the celery is tender , 5 or more minutes, stirring steadily, Turn off the heat.
Put enough vegetable oil in a frying pan to come 1/2 inch up the sides and turn on the heat to medium high. When the oil is hot, dredge the fish on both sides in the flour and slip into the pan. Do not crowd the pan at one time with more fish than will fit comfortablywithout overlapping. Cook the fish briefly about 1 minute or a little longer if thicker than 1/2 inch.
Turn the heat on to medium under the pan with the celery and capers. When the contents of the pan begin to simmer, add the sautéed fish from the platter, turn it gently to coat it with sauce, then add the vinegar, Let the vinegar bubble for a minute or so, then transfer the entire contents of the pan to a warm platter and serve at once.
5. Salmon Gravlax
If you’ve never tried gravlax, go to the link below and try this – it’s quick, easy and DO-licious – just outstanding. Plus, you don’t have to follow the recipe very exactly at all, as any variation you want will work. We cured it with the salt (no variation here, you gotta use the salt), fresh ground black pepper, brown sugar, dill and lots of fresh ground horseradish. After just two days in the fridge, amazing! Aside from eating it plain, we serve it on a bagel with a thin slice of red onion, green pepper, tomato, a big gob of cream cheese of course, and even something sweet like a thin slab of apple or mango. You won’t regret it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBnMshiQya0
6. Salmon en Papillote
Ingredients:
1 Fresh Salmon Filet
1-2 Fresh Lemons (You can use oranges, limes, or any other citrus fruit if you prefer, but lemons are the classic choice.)
Several sprigs fresh dill
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
1 Cup Wild Rice
½ Cup Hollandaise Sauce
Fresh Broccoli or Asparagus
This is a classic presentation similar to Fish “Oscar” bit without the lobster.
Salmon
1. Cut 1 large piece of parchment paper into a heart shape.
2. Place the salmon filet on the parchment paper skin side down.
3. Sprinkle a four-finger (thumb and three fingers) pinch of Kosher salt over the filet.
4. Sprinkle a two-finger (thumb and forefinger) pinch of freshly ground pepper over the filet.
5. Cut the first lemon in half.
6. Squeeze the juice from the first lemon over the filet.
7. Cover the filet with fresh dill.
8. Seal the filet inside the parchment paper by rolling up the ends.
9. Place the package on an oven-safe pan.
10. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.
Hollandaise
Note: You can buy hollandaise from a store, but you can also make it fresh yourself. When cooking for myself, I just buy from the store. If cooking for others, I make it from scratch. Making fresh hollandaise requires significant patience because if you add the clarified butter too rapidly or allow the mixture to get to warm, the emulsion will break and you have to start over.
1. Heat the hollandaise until it is warm (not hot!) to the touch. This can be done using a gas stove on low, an electric range on low, or a microwave for about 30 seconds per cup. (I do not use the microwave method so the timing on that one is a guess.)
2. Keep the hollandaise at a low simmer. DO NOT allow it to boil.
Wild Rice
Being from Minnesota, wild rice is a standard accompaniment to many dishes. If you do not have or do not like wild rice, you can use a standard rice like basmati.
1. Add 1 cup wild rice to a 3 -4 quart sauce pan with 3 cups of water.
2. Sprinkle in a three-finger pinch of salt (about ½ tsp.)
3. Bring the mixture to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to low.
5. Cover Sauce pan
6. Simmer for about 30 minutes until rice is tender.
7. Drain.
Asparagus
The classical presentation here is with asparagus, but if you prefer broccoli, peas, or nearly any other fresh green vegetable, there is no reason not to use that instead.
1. Put 2-3 quarts of water into a sauce pan.
2. Pour in kosher salt and stir.
3. Taste water to make sure amount of salt is correct. (Water should taste like the ocean)
4. Bring the salt water to a boil.
5. Use chef string to tie together a bunch of rinsed asparagus. Make sure there is enough string for you to hold one end outside the pan.
6. Boil the asparagus in the water until it changes color to a richer green. (Probably no more than a minute or two.
7. Remove and set aside.
Plating
As any chef will tell you, plating is an integral part of any meal. It turns out we eat with our eyes and then our noses before the food ever enters our mouths.
1. Use a large soup or casserole spoon to put your wild rice on the plate. The rice should spread cover about half the plate like a half moon, no more than ¼ inch tall.
2. Carefully unfold the parchment paper so the top of the salmon is exposed.
3. Use a fish spatula or other long spatula to gently ease the salmon onto the rice while at the same time slowly peeling the bottom section of the parchment paper away from the fish. (This is the hardest part of the recipe.) The salmon should lay in the center of the plate, with part of it lying on the rice.
4. Lay several asparagus spears across the salmon so the tops are the salmon and the stems on the plate not touching the rice.
5. Pour hollandaise sauce over the asparagus. (If you get sauce on the rice or the salmon, this is not a problem.)
6. Cut the second lemon into small wedges or slices (whichever you prefer) for a garnish.
7. Yummy Salmon Dip
Approximately 1 pound of cooked salmon OR
One pint of Canned Salmon
Mayonnaise
Onion
Sea Salt
This recipe is essentially a Tuna Salad with Salmon instead of Tuna. Mix mayonnaise to taste and chopped onions to taste. I normally would put probably 1 cup in mine as we like a lot. Dash of sea salt.
This Recipe is light on ingredients but big on taste. We enjoy it with Saltines. Sometimes the simple things are really the best things. Of course you can always add other ingredients. I could suggest some liquid smoke, a little cream cheese for a creamier consistency and a little different flavor, but I wouldn’t suggest skipping making this dip just as described because it is delicious. I have yet to come across a person who didn’t love this simple dip, even people who normally do not like Salmon love this dip.
8. Asian poached Salmon
Ingredients:
Salmon fillet
chopped green onion
soy sauce
olive oil
Place desired amount of Salmon fillet in a frying pan skin side down, next add about a 1/2 inch of water, place on medium heat. Next sprinkle chopped green onion on top of fillet. Poach fillet till cooked making sure not to over cook. Then drain water from pan and poor a liberal amount of soy sauce over the top of fillet. Finally in a separate pan heat up 2 table spoons of olive oil till it just starts to smoke, then drizzle over the top of fillet and serve. This goes great with rice and fresh steamed broccoli.
9. Baked Barbecue Salmon
Ingredients
Salmon fillet
spicy barbecue sauce
fresh chopped garlic
salt
pepper
Place salmon on tinfoil skin side down in a casserole dish. Next season with salt and pepper. Then place minced garlic on top of fillet, followed by a thick coat of a spicy barbecue sauce on top. A SPICY bbq sauce is key. Cook in oven at 400 till fish is done watching close as to not over cook.
10. Blackened Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
- Heat oven to 400° F. Cook the rice according to the package directions.
- Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl, combine the paprika, cayenne, thyme, garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon of the salt.
- In a saucepan, over medium heat, melt 2 ½ tablespoons of the butter. Add the lemon juice.
- Working with 1 salmon fillet at a time, dip the top and bottom halves first in the lemon butter, then in the spices.
- Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the salmon until blackened, 2 minutes per side. Transfer to the oven for 8 minutes.
- Stir the corn, parsley, and remaining salt and butter into the rice. Transfer the salmon and rice to individual plates and serve with the lemon wedges.
11. Glazed Salmon with broccoli rice
Hands-On Time
Ingredients
Directions
- Heat broiler. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and soy sauce. Set aside.
- Cook the rice according to the package directions, stirring in the broccoli during the last 3 minutes.
- Let the rice and broccoli stand off the heat until the broccoli is tender, about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
- Meanwhile, place the salmon and onion on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil and season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
- Broil until the salmon is opaque throughout, 8 to 10 minutes, spooning half the soy sauce glaze over the fish during the last 2 minutes of cooking.
- Serve the salmon and onion with the rice and the remaining glaze.
12. Cheddar Salmon Quiche
Ingredients
1. Either 1 quart of canned Salmon or 3/4 of a sockeye fillet. If you use a fillet you will need to lightly poach then flake apart skin and bones removed.
2. 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3. 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
4. 1/4 cup chopped onion
5. 1 Tbs. flour
6. 1/2 Tsp. salt
7. 1/8 Tsp. pepper
8. 3 eggs beaten
9. 1 1/4 cup milk
10. prepared pie crust
Directions
In a bowl combine Salmon, cheese, green onion, pepper, onion, salt spoon into crust. Combine eggs and milk, pour over Salmon mixture bake for 50-55 minutes or until knife comes out clean.
