Incredifish

After much experimentation, I've found a consistent way to make really good salmon. If I follow these instructions, it comes out awesome.

 

The trick to making good salmon is to start with high quality fish. In Seattle, that means going to one of the relatively direct fish markets (Ballard Locks, the place in Issaquah that shares space with Fischer Meats). You can find some at places like Whole Foods, but I don't think it's quite as good, and you'll pay an even more exorbitant rate per pound. Usually I buy a whole fish and have them pack it into one-pound vacuum bags (which they do for free if you're getting the whole fish), which I then freeze.

The species is key - you want king salmon, a.k.a. chinook salmon. It's by far the tastiest, richest, tenderest, and probably highest in omega-3s (and spendiest). And did I mention tastiest?

Second very important point: meat thermometer. You want to measure temperature, not time. The perfect temperature is about 135-137. Ideally you want a piece of fish that's the same thickness across its size so that it cooks evenly, but unevenness can be worked around - pull out the pan when the temperature in the thinner part is right, cut that part off, and then put the rest back in. Use multiple meat thermometers if you have them, or if you have one, start it off in a thin section, and then move it to the thicker section after the first round.

Now, an actual recipe! As listed, this is spice-rack-intensive and probably really annoying if you don't have a big alphabetized array of 40+ spices to choose from. The most important ones are listed first within each amount group. Dill, garlic, onion, and ancho in particular make a good mix. Turmeric is an effective anti-inflammatory (I feel noticeably better after eating it), so I look for things to add it to.

• Olive oil
• 2 lbs fish (feeds 4)
• 4T butter
• 2t - 1T each:
• dill
• garlic powder
• onion powder or flakes
• parsley
• chervil
• tarragon
• 1/2 t - 1t each:
  • salt (optional, to taste)
  • ancho chili pepper
  • cayenne
  • turmeric
  • marjoram
  • kelp
• pinches:
  • cardamom
  • nutmeg
• 2 oz lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350F. Spread olive oil in an oven pan (nonstick or Pyrex, preferably) and put your fish in it. Ideally, the pan should be just barely bigger than the fish, so that it's sitting in a bath of butter and lemon and spices coming a finger's width up its side. Take the butter, spices, and lemon juice and microwave them (small pot on a stove would work too) til the butter is melted, give them a mix, and then pour over the fish so it coats the whole surface. Stick in your meat thermometer(s) and put the pan in the oven. Keep an eye on the thermometer and pull it out at 135-137 (will take 15-25 minutes depending on thickness).

If you're lucky (I haven't figured out what determines whether this happens), the spice mix will caramelize on top and make this fantastic, complex-flavored lightly crispy crust. Even if that doesn't happen, it's still dang tasty.

Serve on wilted spinach or just by itself. I like to scoop some of the spiced oil from the pan over the fish after it's done cooking.