Garlic-Honey Glazed Salmon
Skip the fancy plating and the unnecessary steps. This dish right here is a true 30 minute meal! I like to run this recipe for meal prep and keep a few in my fridge for the week. But it's also versatile enough to be a standalone dish for dinner parties, potlucks, or catering jobs.
The greatest part about this recipe is that it is substitute friendly – you don’t need to have EVERY SINGLE ingredient on hand to still make it work. No salmon? Fine, replace it with chicken. No apple cider vinegar? That's life, lemon juice works too. I’ll provide a list of suitable swaps in the notes, but keep this one in rotation and tweak it to your liking!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Cleaning Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
2 lbs. of salmon, cut into 6-8 oz. portions
Kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
Neutral oil, like canola, vegetable, or Avocado oil
Fried garlic chips (optional)
White rice
Lime wedge
Fresh cilantro
Ingredients: For the Glaze
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup honey
¼ cup molasses
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
Splash of water
Directions:
Begin by patting your fish dry with a few paper towels and seasoning all sides of the salmon with salt and pepper. Place the seasoned fish aside for a few minutes while you prepare the glaze.
For the glaze: In a small bowl, combine the minced garlic, honey, molasses, brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, red pepper flakes, and a splash of water. Whisk together to combine and set aside for plating
To cook the salmon: Heat a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Stainless steel is my favorite, but non-stick or cast iron is fine too. Apply a thin layer of oil to the skillet and add the fish skin-side down. We will allow the fish to cook on this side for about 60% of the time, about 3-4 minutes, or until the skin is crispy and the flesh turns opaque on the sides. Flip the salmon onto the remaining 3 sides and cook on each side for about 1 minute each.
Shut the heat off and add a few cubes of butter to the skillet to begin basting the top of the fish. Continue cooking on all sides until the interior reaches 135ºF - 145ºF. Remove the cooked salmon from the skillet and allow it to rest for a few minutes before serving
To Serve: Place the salmon on a bed of white rice or your favorite grain. Generously brush or spoon the glaze over the fish and top with fried garlic chips, fresh cilantro, and a lemon/lime wedge.
Good Ingredient Substitutes:
Molasses > Maple syrup or dark corn syrup
Brown sugar > granulated sugar or coconut sugar
Soy sauce > Tamari or coconut aminos
Apple cider vinegar > any type of vinegar or citrus