Looking for a new way to fix an easy baked salmon dinner? Here it is!
It may have been my daughter Sara who told me about a recipe she’d found on Jenn Segal’s website, Once Upon a Chef. Jenn is a full time mom and wife now (now blogger and cookbook writer) but at one time she was a classically trained chef, so she brings a certain amount of perfection to her recipes. She also uses tons of photos for every post. You’ll never have any guesswork about what the different steps look like!
Her recipe for this easy baked salmon was just the ticket for me one night recently. I quickly defrosted a nice piece of salmon and this dinner came together so easily and quickly. First you make up a honey mustard mixture (my honey was quite thick, so I heated it in the microwave briefly) with butter, Dijon, salt and pepper. Since I was making this recipe just for myself, I guess-timated at the amounts, and I ended up with more than I needed. I certainly didn’t want to waste the rest of it (after I’d spread some on the top of the salmon), so, I added a bit of water to it and used it as a deglazing for a pan full of sliced Brussels sprouts. You can see them in the background behind the salmon in the photo.
Salmon Temps:
Current advice says farm-raised should cook to 125°F. Wild salmon is done at 120°F. Reason: wild salmon contains less fat and goes from raw to cooked (or overcooked) more quickly.
Then you make a little mixture of pecans (chopped) and panko. I forgot the parsley, so added it on the top when I served it. You can add it in with this mixture (per the recipe) and just garnish with some additional sprigs. The pan is popped into a hot oven and baked very briefly – 7-10 minutes only, until the thickest part of the salmon has reached 125°F.
There’s been recent discussion about the inherent differences between farm-raised and wild salmon, and to what temperature it needs to be cooked. Chefs (many, not all, I’d suppose) say that wild salmon (which has less fat in its tissue) is done at 120°. But farm-raised, with higher fat, needs to go to 125°F. The FDA says to cook salmon to 145°F. I never cook it that far because it’s dry. In this dish, with a thinner piece of salmon, it was done at 6 minutes, but you’ll want to test it with an instant read thermometer to make sure you don’t overcook it.
The BRUSSELS SPROUTS: I didn’t use a recipe for this one – I just made it up as I went along! The leftover honey mustard was the inspiration! As the fish was baking, I prepared the Brussels sprouts, and added the remaining honey mustard mixture, (to which I added a little bit of water so the sprouts would steam a little bit) at the very end and tasted it for seasoning. TJ’s sells a package of Brussels sprouts already sliced up – that’s what I used. I greased a large frying pan with a little bit of canola oil, tossed the Brussels sprouts many times, covered it briefly so it would steam-cook a little bit, then when it was nearly done, I added in the thinned-out honey mustard mixture and stirred and tossed. Done. Dinner was finished in a matter of about 25 minutes including the time needed to preheat the oven!
What’s GOOD: how quickly this dinner came together. I truly liked the honey mustard on both salmon and sprouts. You might think the same seasoning on both would be too much – it wasn’t. Perhaps because the Brussels sprouts are savory and almost bitter (although I don’t think Brussels are a bitter green), if you know what I mean. There’s not enough honey or mustard added to the Brussels sprouts to make a lot of difference, but I definitely knew they’d had something added. Loved the salmon – the honey mustard added a lovely sweetness, and I liked the crunch of the panko and pecans. An EASY dish to make. I’ll be making both of these again.
What’s NOT: nothing that I can think of. This is a great combo – both are keepers for sure.
SALMON: printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook 15/16 file (click link to open recipe)
BRUSSELS SPROUTS: printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook 15/16 file (click link to open recipe
* Exported from MasterCook *
Baked Salmon with Honey Mustard and Pecan Panko Crust
Recipe By: Once Upon a Chef (blog) 2017
Serving Size: 4
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons unsalted butter — melted
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt — divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets — cut into 4 even pieces
1/4 cup panko
1/4 cup pecans — finely chopped
2 teaspoons parsley — finely chopped (optional for color)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 whole lemon — for serving (optional)
NOTES: If you’re going to use some of the honey mustard mixture in a side vegetable (as I did with shaved Brussels sprouts), increase the mustard, butter, honey, salt and pepper mixture by half, then set aside about 1/4 to 1/3 of it to use on the vegetable.
1. Preheat the oven to 450°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy cleanup, and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, melted butter, honey, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
3. In another small bowl, mix together the panko, pecans, parsley (if using), and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.
4. Spoon the honey-mustard mixture evenly over the salmon fillets. (Don’t worry if it drips down the sides a little.) Sprinkle the panko-pecan mixture over the glaze, pressing it lightly so it adheres.
5. Bake for 7-10 minutes per inch of thickness, depending on how well done you like your salmon. (If you find that the topping is browning more than you’d like before the fish is cooked through, loosely cover the salmon with foil.) Serve hot or at room temperature. (Note that if your salmon has skin, it may stick to the foil; to remove the fish from the pan, slide a thin spatula between the skin and the flesh, leaving the skin behind.) Garnish with additional parsley, if desired, and add lemon wedges for serving.
6. Make Ahead: The salmon can be glazed, coated with the panko-pecan mixture, and refrigerated up to 3 hours ahead of time.
Per Serving: 332 Calories; 17g Fat (45.0% calories from fat); 36g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 104mg Cholesterol; 620mg Sodium.
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* Exported from MasterCook *
Shaved Brussels Sprouts with a Honey Mustard Slurry
Recipe By: My concoction, inspired by some leftover honey mustard made for baked salmon.
Serving Size: 3
1 tablespoon canola oil — or EVOO
3 tablespoons yellow onion — chopped finely
1 garlic clove — smashed, chopped
12 ounces Brussels sprouts — shaved (sliced thinly)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons butter — melted
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons water — or more if needed
1. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat; add oil and allow it to heat until the oil begins to shimmer.
2. Add the onion and saute for a few minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and stir very briefly (no more than 45 seconds or so) then add the Brussels sprouts and stir well, continuing to turn and stir until all the vegetables have been coated with a little bit of the oil. Turn heat down to medium and continue cooking for 3-5 minutes until the sprouts are cooked just barely tender.
3. Meanwhile, combine the mustard, melted butter and honey in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper. Add water and stir to make a slurry. During last minute of cooking the sprouts, add the slurry and continue cooking, stirring to make sure all the sprouts are coated. Allow sprouts to simmer and steam until most of the liquid has evaporated. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately.
Per Serving: 172 Calories; 13g Fat (62.0% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 21mg Cholesterol; 167mg Sodium.
Toffeeapple
said on November 22nd, 2017:
That looks good!