Salmon in the rough
Rather than blogging about how I can’t eat, I might as well blog about what you should eat. This is the salmon “recipe” that won such high acclaim from bob and others.
Here’s what you need:
1-2 lbs salmon filets
2 TBSP EV Olive Oil
1 tsp White Pepper
1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1 tsp Ancho Pepper
A few pinches of sea salt (kosher salt would work, but it doesn’t look as cool)
2-4 colves of garlic, minced
Preheat your oven to 350 or so. Then get out your $10 cast-iron skillet that you bought at wal-mart not knowing that it was the most versatile kitchen purchase you ever made. Put it on the stove and crank up the burner to med-high, or about 3/4 of the way around the dial. You want the pan to be pretty hot, so adjust your settings accordingly. We’re going to sear the salmon, but first we need to prep it.
Get out a big plate and drizzle some olive oil onto it, a tablespoon or two should do the trick. Salmon is a pretty fatty fish, so we don’t need very much oil. Next, mince up 2-4 cloves of garlic and mix them into the olive oil goodness. Next, get our your salmon filets and wash them and pat dry with some paper towels. Dredge the salmon in the garlic/oil, covering both sides, and seasoning both sides with salt and pepper. I used a mix of black, white, and ancho pepper and hawaiian pink sea salt.
Now that the salmon is ready, put it in the pan, skin-side down. It should sizzle like a mofo. Let it cook for a minute or two. Then flip it. I use metal tongs to flip, but a spatula would work too. Cook the other side for about 2 minutes. When things are all good and seared, flip the salmon skin-side down again, and put the whole works in the oven. Cast-iron skillets are handy like that.
Let it cook for 10-20 minutes. That should be plenty of time for the skin to get crispy and the fish to cook. Check the temperature with a meat thermometer after 10 minutes. It should be 140F at the very least before you take it out. I think mine was about 160, which was plenty.
Fresh green beans and garlic-mashed potatoes go well with this.
