Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon

Four ingredients and ten minutes to this brown sugar glazed salmon with fresh dill and a punch of Dijon mustard; broiled so you don’t heat the house up.

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Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, salmon is my very favorite seafood, even though a very small percentage comes from Oregon and Washington. Having been raised on Pacific salmon, I’m very particular about it. My absolute favorite salmon is King, also known as Chinook. Of course they are the least abundant, most tasty and most expensive. If you’ve ever had questions about all the types of salmon, here is a quick { very simplified } breakdown.

Pacific Salmon

• Wild
• From the Pacific Ocean
• Varieties include: King/Chinook, Coho/Silvers, Chum/Dogs, Pink/Humpies, Sockey/Reds, and Steelhead.
• Red/pink color comes from eating krill and shrimp.

Atlantic Salmon

• It used to be wild but is now nonexistent in the wild for a variety of reasons*.
• Red color comes from a phytochemical added to their Purina Salmon Chow*.

As for omega-3s, proponents of farmed salmon say you get more because farmed salmon is fattier and they have more available in their feed. There is a relationship, however, of omega-3s and omega-6s which is out of whack in farmed salmon, plus it is an expensive feed additive and aquacultures are moving to more soy and corn derived feed to cut costs.

So, is now the part where you think I’m going to tell you what to eat? Nope. At the end of the day we are all doing the best we can with food choices and it’s better to eat fish than not eat fish.

So let’s mix it up this week and get some seafood in. We just got back from New Orleans where I probably ate my weight, and the weight of a couple other people, in shrimp and oysters so I am on a seafood kick. This glaze is flavorful but light, a nice change from all the fried po’ boy sandwiches I ate this weekend. If salmon isn’t available or it’s not your favorite (don’t tell me!) this glaze goes great on just about any fish. It’s flavorful enough to stand up to a big fish like salmon or to elevate fish like tilapia and other mild white fish.

So when you’re feeling smug for getting in one of your two per week recommended fish servings, treat yourself to a glass of wine. You know, for the health benefits.*

Chef Shelley

Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon

I use a broiler pan lined with nonstick aluminum foil for easy cleanup. If you use a thin cookie sheet it may warp from the heat of the broiler.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 6 minutes mins

Total Time 11 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• Glaze
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons minced dill or 1 tablespoon dried dill
• Salmon
• 4 - 6 ounce salmon filets
• salt & pepper

Method

 

1. Stir together glaze ingredients.
2. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper.
3. Smear with glaze.
4. Broil salmon about 5-6 inches from element (on my oven that's the second rack level from top) with the door closed.
5. Depending on thickness of salmon, broil for about 6 minutes (for 1 1/2" thick).
6. If glaze is getting brown too fast, just turn off broiler and it will cook by residual heat.

*That’s a pretty old statistic from www.SalmonNation.com.

*Read more about farmed salmon at www.FarmedandDangerous.com and then get depressed and have a glass of wine.

*Phytochemicals typically added include canthaxanthin and astaxanthin, approved for use in US and UK but not AUS and NZ. And just kidding about the Purina Salmon Chow. Farmed salmon is fed pellets but I don’t know who the manufacturer is.

*Seriously EVERYONE agrees about the health benefits of wine; Mayo Clinic, CNN, me.