Salt Crust Salmon Recipes

PANKO-CRUSTED SALMON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• In a small bowl, mix together the panko, parsley, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Drizzle with the olive oil and stir until the crumbs are evenly coated. Set aside.
• Place the salmon fillets, skin side down, on a board. Generously brush the top of the fillets with mustard and then sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Press the panko mixture thickly on top of the mustard on each salmon fillet. The mustard will help the panko adhere.
• Heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet or large heavy, ovenproof pan. When the oil is very hot, add the salmon fillets, skin side down, and sear for 3 to 4 minutes, without turning, to brown the skin.
• Transfer the pan to the hot oven for 5 to 7 minutes until the salmon is almost cooked and the panko is browned. Remove from the oven, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve the salmon hot or at room temperature with lemon wedges.

SALT CRUSTED SALMON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
• In a medium bowl, combine the egg whites and sea salt.
• Knead with your hands until a thick paste is formed.
• Fill the cavity of the fish with a mixture of lemon, onion, garlic, celery, leeks, and dill. Coat fish with olive oil. Put the fish on the prepared baking sheet.
• Mould the salt paste evenly over the entire fish. Make sure there are no holes in the salt paste.
• Bake the fish until the crust is golden brown and very firm, about 45 minutes.
• Slide the parchment and fish onto serving platter or cutting board. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
• Crack the crust with the back of a large knife and discard the crust. Garnish with haricot verts, Kalamata olives, lemon slices and egg.

CRUSTED SALMON

Steps:

• Place salmon fillets in a shallow dish; add milk. Turn to coat. Let stand for 10 minutes; drain., Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl, combine the pecans, flour, brown sugar, seasoned salt and pepper. Coat fillets with pecan mixture, gently pressing into the fish., In a large cast-iron or other ovenproof skillet, brown salmon over medium-high heat in oil. Bake at 400° until fish just begins to flake easily with fork, 8-10 minutes.

SALT-CRUSTED SALMON WITH COLLARD GREEN SALSA VERDE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Mix the salt and egg whites in a medium bowl with your hands and incorporate until the mixture feels like wet sand.
• Spread 1 1/2 cups of the salt mixture into a thin layer, in the shape of the salmon, on a baking sheet. (You may need to spread the mixture diagonally on the baking sheet.)
• Arrange the lemongrass, ginger, chile, and cilantro over the bed of salt. Place the fish, skin side up, on the bed of salt and aromatics and pack the remaining salt mixture over and around the fish, molding it to the shape of the fillet, sealing the fish and aromatics inside.
• Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The salt crust should have a warm golden color almost like sand and be rock hard. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Present the fish at the table within its salt crust, then, using a wooden spoon, strike the crust to crack it. Carefully lift pieces of the salt crust from the fish in large chunks. Peel back the skin, exposing the juicy, perfectly cooked fish. Divide the fish among plates. Discard the salt and aromatics.
• Serve with the salsa verde.
• In a food processor, pulse the collard greens, Brazil nuts, garlic, parsley and olive oil until thoroughly combined. You can use a flexible rubber spatula to scrape down the ingredients in the food processor to make sure everything mixes evenly.
• Transfer the mixture to a bowl, add the lemon zest and salt to taste (I use about 1 1/2 teaspoons). Stir in the vinegar just before serving.
• Adapted and excerpted from "Between Harlem and Heaven: Afro-Asian-American Cooking for Big Nights, Weeknights, and Every Day" by JJ Johnson and Alexander Smalls with Veronica Chambers. Copyright © 2018 by JJ Johnson and Alexander Smalls with Veronica Chambers. Reprinted with permission from Flatiron Books. All rights reserved. Photography by Beatriz da Costa.

WHOLE SALT BAKED SALMON

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Season cavity of salmon with Maldon salt and pepper. Fill the cavity with the fennel leaves and stalks.
• Fill the bottom of a large roasting or baking pan with a 1/2-inch layer of salt. Place the fish on its side, on top of the salt. Pile the remaining sea salt over the fish, completely covering it by at least 1/2 inch all over. If the head and tail protrude from the pan, place a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum under tail and head to prevent salt from falling into your oven. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons water over the surface of the salt.
• Transfer roasting pan to oven, and bake salmon until cooked through, 45 to 60 minutes. To test if the fish is cooked, poke a metal skewer or kitchen fork through the salt and into the fish where the fish is the thickest. Pull the skewer out: If the skewer is warm to the touch, then the salmon is cooked. Transfer pan to a wire rack, and let rest until cool enough to handle.
• Using your fingers, break off the salt crust from the top of the fish; the skin should have stuck to the salt and should peel away as you do this. If the skin does not pull away when you remove the salt, use a paring knife to gently lift the skin away from the fillet. Carefully lift the entire fish out of the pan. Peel away any remaining skin and salt stuck to the underside; place the fish on a cutting board.
• Cut the fillets off the bones, and serve at room temperature, garnished with Salsa Verde.

WHISKEY-GLAZED SALMON WITH SALT-CRUSTED POTATOES

Steps:

• Make the potatoes: The potatoes should all be the same small size, about 1 inch in diameter, so cut any larger ones in halves or quarters. Place in a large saucepan with 4 cups water and add the salt. Bring to boil over high heat, then continue boiling until a paring knife slides through a potato easily, about 15 minutes.
• About 5 minutes before the potatoes are tender, start the salmon: Combine the sugar, whiskey and Worcestershire sauce in a large skillet, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Season the salmon with salt and pepper, then add to the skillet skin side down (or the flat side if the fillets are skinless). Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the salmon becomes opaque about halfway up the sides, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, carefully tip the saucepan into the sink to pour out all but about 1/4 cup cooking water, keeping the potatoes in the pan. Return the saucepan to the stove with the potatoes and a thin layer of cooking water at the bottom, and set over high heat. Cook, shaking the pan often, until the liquid evaporates and the potatoes are crusted in a fine film of salt, about 5 minutes. The pan should be extremely dry and coated in salt and the potatoes will sound crackly when shaken.
• Flip the salmon and continue cooking until just opaque from top to bottom and a paring knife slides through with almost no resistance, about 5 minutes longer. If you started with a 1-inch-thick fillet, this will be medium-rare. The timing will vary depending on the thickness of your fish and your preferred doneness. If you'd like, use tongs to peel off and discard the skin if there is any. The glaze should have thickened and be syrupy.
• Divide the potatoes and salmon among serving plates and drizzle any glaze from the pan over the fish.