Quick and Easy Citrus Glazed Salmon
January 20th, 2021A Go-To Recipe That’s Fast and Fancy
Tangy, bright, and a little sweet, a quick and easy citrus glaze brings out the robust flavor of wild Alaskan salmon. This savory syrup elevates an otherwise simple meal of perfectly roasted salmon and, as a bonus, helps to keep your fillets from drying out as they cook. Citrus glazed salmon may very well end up being one of your go-to recipes when you want seafood that’s both fast and fancy.
Notes:
When choosing your portions of salmon, try to pick cuts that are uniform in size. If all you have is a mix of center cut and tail pieces, no big deal — just know that you’ll likely take the thinner cuts out of the oven a minute or two sooner.
A saltwater brine is a simple trick that you’ll want to use in this high heat recipe to prevent that white stuff on salmon from forming on the surface of your fillet — it’s albumin, which is harmless and tasteless, but brining keeps your fillets picture perfect and moist. Additionally, a brine seasons your fish as it pulls in some salt from the solution.
Your citrus glaze will be composed of sweet orange juice and lime juice to balance the acidity of the mix. If you like, try swapping out the juice of an orange for blood orange for something pleasantly bitter. Fresh squeezed juice is always best — and if you have oranges on hand, make sure to cut some orange slices to layer on top of your fillets later on as a sort of citrus blanket to keep them extra juicy.
While there’s sugar in your oranges, using honey or another added source of sugar is pretty typical when making a citrus glaze, since you’d need to simmer down a lot more citrus juice to get your glaze sweet enough. That being said, the glaze you’re making for this citrus glazed salmon will not end up super sweet; if you have a sweet tooth, feel free to play around with the proportions by adding another tablespoon or so.
Soy sauce, garlic, and chili add complexity and savory umami to the glaze. Leave out the chili if you’re spice-averse.
The final component of the glaze is a touch of butter which will give it a satiny sheen, smoothing out the acidity while keeping things zesty. Butter also serves to keep the salmon in this citrus glazed salmon recipe from drying out.
Quick and Easy Citrus Glazed Salmon
By Wild Alaskan Company
Tangy, bright, and a little sweet, a quick and easy citrus glaze brings out the robust flavor of wild Alaskan salmon. This savory syrup elevates an otherwise simple meal of perfectly roasted salmon and, as a bonus, helps to keep your fillets from drying out as they cook. Citrus glazed salmon may very well end up being one of your go-to recipes when you want seafood that’s both fast and fancy.
Prep time
15 minutes
Cook Time
8 minutes
Total time
23 minutes
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
- 4 6-ounce fillets of wild salmon, coho or sockeye
- Enough saltwater brine to submerge salmon (1 tbsp of salt per every 1 cup of cold water)
- ¼ cup orange juice, preferably freshly squeezed
- 2 tbsp fresh-squeezed lime juice
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp garlic, minced
- A few slices of spicy green chili, optional
- ½ an orange, thinly sliced, optional
- 1 tbsp butter
Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Next, briefly brine the salmon fillets in enough saltwater solution to cover them — you can do this in a bowl or a reusable plastic bag. The salmon will only need 10 minutes to brine in this solution. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, combine orange juice, lime juice, honey, soy sauce, and garlic in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then drop the heat to low to maintain a gentle simmer, stirring constantly to keep any of the sugars from burning.
3. Allow this mixture to reduce until it thickens into a syrupy glaze — it will take about 10 minutes — then remove from heat. Stir in butter until it is integrated into the glaze, then set aside.
4. Once salmon has brined, drain and pat dry with a tea towel. Arrange fillets in a small baking dish skin side down and top with orange slices. Brush a layer of glaze on tops of fillets, reserving remaining glaze for serving. Set a kitchen timer for 6 minutes.
5. At the 6-minute mark, check on the doneness of the fillets. If they’re done, they should just flake easily with a fork, or have an internal temperature of 120 degrees for medium-rare salmon if you’re using an instant read thermometer. If they’re not quite done, go ahead and brush on another layer of glaze before returning the baking dish to the oven, then cook for another minute or two. At 450 degrees, wild salmon usually takes between 6-8 minutes of cook time, depending on the thickness of the fillets.
6. Remove fillets from the oven when done and transfer to a platter, serving the glazed salmon with extra citrus glaze on the side. Enjoy immediately, with a generous side of steamed broccoli (because it will taste really good with some of that glaze on it).
Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of food-borne illness, especially if you have a certain medical condition. The FDA recommends an internal temperature of 145°F for cooked fish.
