Caramelized Salmon Food

SALMON WITH CARAMELIZED LEEKS

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with foil, and spray with cooking spray.
• Trim away the root end, tough outer leaves, and dark green tops of the leeks. Cut the leeks lengthwise into quarters, then crosswise into thirds. Wash the leeks well to remove any grit, and drain in a colander.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook and stir the leeks until they have started to soften, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the leeks with brown sugar, and cook until they turn brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the matchstick carrots, sprinkle with kosher salt, and cook and stir until the carrots are tender, about 5 minutes.
• Place the salmon on the prepared baking sheet, rub the fillets with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the salmon until the flesh is opaque and flakes easily but isn't dry, about 10 minutes per 1 inch of thickness. Remove the cooked fillets to plates, and top each fillet with 1/4 of the caramelized leeks and carrots.

SPICY SALMON WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS

Steps:

• Combine the black pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, brown sugar, onion powder, and salt in a small bowl. Stir in 1 tablespoon of olive oil to make a paste. Spread the paste all over the salmon fillets, and set aside to marinate at room temperature 30 minutes.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and cook until tender and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Heat a separate non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the salmon fillets in the hot skillet until golden brown on each side, and no longer translucent in the center, about 4 minutes per side. Pour the browned onions and olive oil over the salmon fillets to serve.

CARAMELIZED SALMON

Steps:

• Combine the sugar, salt, and black pepper in a shallow bowl. Dip each filet into the bowl and coat the entire surface of the salmon with the sugar/salt mixture.
• Heat a little bit of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the salmon, skin side down in the pan, and saute for about 5 minutes. If you're worried about the burnt sugar in the pan (or if there's too much oil/liquid) just drain it off or spoon it out of the pan. If there's a lot of oil splattering, turn the heat down. I would not recommend going higher than medium heat.
• Flip each salmon filet (carefully! keep the skin on there because it helps the filets hold together) and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Flip to the side and saute each of the sides for another 2-3 minutes, if the filet is thick enough.
• Preheat the broiler to 450 degrees. Sprinkle the top of each salmon filet with a teaspoon or two of additional sugar/salt mixture. Transfer the pan from the stovetop into the oven. Let the salmon broil for 5-10 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure it's not burning. The sugar in the pan might look burnt but that's okay as long as the tops of the salmon are looking golden brown. When the salmon is done cooking, remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes (that sugar gets HOT). Gently peel off the skin before eating - it will be very dark because it's totally caramelized with sugar, and it should come off very easily.

VIETNAMESE-STYLE CARAMELIZED SALMON

Steps:

• Sprinkle salt on both sides of the salmon steaks and set a side. (Note: 1/2 teaspoon of salt is the total amount to use for all the salmon steaks)
• Thinly slice shallot, ginger and tomatoes. Smash the garlic. Remove seeds from the bird's-eye chili. Set aside.
• In a small saucepan, add 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of water. Bring to a boil, the sugar will fully dissolve. Lower the heat to medium, continue to simmer. You will see that a lot of bubbles on the surface. The mixture will then turn from clear to yellow, and get darker as you simmer it. When it has a honey color, reduce the heat slightly. Keep watching closely, until it has a dark caramel color, turn off the heat and carefully add 1 tablespoon of water. Swirl the saucepan to combine (add 1/2 - 1 more tablespoon of water if the caramel sauce is too thick) and remove it from the stove. Set aside.
• In a pan over medium high heat, sear salmon steaks for 2-3 minutes each side or until golden. Transfer them to a plate.
• Place a pot that can fit all the salmon in a single layer on medium heat. Add oil and sauté shallots for a few seconds Add garlic and ginger and sauté for a few more seconds until fragrant. Arrange them to cover the bottom of the pot and place tomato slices on top. Place salmon steaks on top of the tomatoes.
• Add 1 1/2 cups of water or enough to cover the fish, add fish sauce, caramel sauce and bird's-eye chili and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer (low - medium low heat). Sprinkle plenty of black pepper and simmer 10 minutes then gently flip the fish. You can taste the braising liquid and adjust to taste, but remember it will get saltier as we continue cooking and reduce the liquid further.
• Continue to simmer for 20-30 minutes, flip the fish one (or two) more time. Occasionally spoon the braising liquid over the salmon. If the liquid reduces too rapidly, you can add a little more water. In the last 5-10 minutes of cooking, watch closely because it may burn. The liquid will reduce, thicken like a sauce. Turn off the heat when there's just enough sauce to coat the bottom of the pot (or sooner if you prefer more sauce).
• Transfer salmon to a shallow serving bowl and sprinkle some more black pepper. Serve with rice.

CARAMEL GLAZED SALMON

Steps:

• Sprinkle salmon with salt and cayenne; set aside., In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, mustard, butter and dill. Place salmon skin side down on a greased broiler pan. Broil 4-6 in. from the heat for 5 minutes. Brush half of the glaze mixture over fillets. Broil 7-10 minutes longer or until fish flakes easily with a fork, brushing occasionally with remaining glaze.

WHISKEY CARAMELIZED SALMON

Steps:

• Place butter and brown sugar in a large skillet over medium heat.
• When butter is melted, place salmon fillets in the pan & add whiskey; Be careful of flare-up.
• The sugar will start to caramelize & the alcohol will cook off; 2 to 3 minutes.
• Cook in the sauce until salmon flakes; this depends on the thickeness of the salmon.
• Serve sauce over the salmon ; garnish with lemon slices, Enjoy.

CARAMELIZED SALMON

Steps:

• Combine basil and ginger.
• Coat the salmon fillets with basil/ginger mixture on both sides and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
• When ready to cook for serving, combine the soy sauce, orange liqueur, orange rind, and shallot in a bowl; set aside.
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
• Combine the black pepper and sugars in a shallow dish.
• Press one side of the salmon fillets into the mixture, then sauté the fillet, sugar-side-down, to caramelize the sugars, for about 2 to 3 minutes.
• Then quickly pour the soy mixture into the pan before the sugar burns, stirring to dissolve any caramelized bits floating around the pan.
• Turn the fillets over and lower the heat to medium; cover the pan and cook for 5 to 8 minutes longer, until fillets are cooked through (they will be dark pink in the middle).
• Remove fillets from skillet and place on serving platter; melt the butter in the pan then add the Marsala, stirring the bottom with a wooden spatula, and simmer for 3 minutes to deglaze the pan, then pour over the fillets.
• Decorate with orange slices, serve, and enjoy!
• Adapted from a recipe posted to Gail's Recipe Swap by PegW.

BAKED HONEY MISO SALMON

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk together the mirin, rice vinegar, miso paste, honey, a tablespoon of soy sauce and grated garlic.
• Pour the mixture over the salmon and allow to marinate for 10-20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 220ºC/430ºF and switch on the oven's broiler/grill.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Remove the salmon from the marinade and place on the sheet pan, skin side down, then brush over the marinade.
• Place on the middle rack of the oven and allow to bake (and broil) for 10-12 minutes until the salmon is cooked through and caramelized.
• Remove the salmon from the oven then serve with rice and greens of your choice.