What did you sa-mon'? (sorry)

A fantastic Salmon sauce/glaze.

If you’re like us, salmon is one of those dishes that each time you have it you think, “Why don’t I have more salmon?” Sometimes, months will go by before you have it again. Regardless of the availability of fresh seafood in your area, this simple recipe will is a great reason to break your “salmonless streak” and will make any type of salmon better. King is ideal, with its high fat content, and rich flavor, but Atlantic, Copper River, or whatever type will work beautifully.

You will need:

1. Butter

2. Brown sugar

3. Low sodium soy sauce

4. Of course a nice full salmon fillet or pieces

Soooo here we go…

Oh, a couple of things first:

If you can get a full salmon fillet and cut it into smaller portions, this can be a lot cheaper, and you can always freeze some for later. Some people prefer to leave the skin on, but if you prefer to have it off, here is how to do it:

- Use a nice, long chef’s knife. Many people think that a fillet knife is better, because of its flexibility. Actually, LENGTH is more important (insert joke here). A nice 8” Chef’s knife will to the trick. You will also want it to be sharp.

1. Start at the slimmer end of the fillet and keeping the knife at a slight angle, cut to create a bit of separation between the “meat” and the skin.
2. Then, leveling the knife out-even with the cutting board- slowly move it back and forth until you are in about 5-6 inches.
3. Then, you are going to reach under the knife and get a hold of the skin that has been separated, wrapping your hand around it like cloth.
4. HERE’S THE KEY: You are going to keep the knife as stationary as possible, and actually move the fillet back and forth slightly, pulling it toward you. You will want to stop and wrap a bit more of the skin, as you go. The flatter the knife, the better. You don’t want to cut through the skin, or cut through too much of the fillet.
5. Work slowly but surely, and before you know it, you will be all the way to the end, and most of the skin should be off of the fillet. Practice makes perfect. Remember, a long sharp chef’s knife is probably the best tool, but a nice long fillet knife-at least 8 inches- will work in a pinch. Just try to keep it level

And, you can also de-bone a fillet by running your finger along it-against the grain- until you feel the bone poke your finger. Then, you can take needle-nosed pliers and slowly pull the bones out. Try to keep them as straight as possible, so as not to tear the meat.

Okay, now that we have a beautiful, skinless, boneless fillet, we can cut it into 5 to 8 inch sections. If you like, you can even take your knife and do some crosshatching on the fillet, so it will “receive” the sauce better. This is not necessary.

Drizzle your dish/pan and fish with some olive oil or spray with Pam, sprinkle with salt ant pepper and cook at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes on the middle rack depending on thickness.

After about 5 minutes, go ahead and start your sauce. Of course this works with grilling as well, except you want to drizzle the sauce on for the last 2-3 minutes of cooking-NOT before- as, with any sauce containing sugar, the sugar will burn, and create something similar to road tar.

Now for the sauce:

- Put 2 Tablespoons of butter into a small to medium saucepan over medium heat.

- Let the butter reduce down some, all while keeping it moving with a wooden spoon.

- Take a Tablespoon or so of brown sugar and put it in with the liquefied butter. If everything is smoking or starting to get too “crystallized” you can turn the heat down a little. Keep it moving.

- Once that mixture is all nice and liquefied together, pour a splash of soy sauce. The low sodium kind is best, just because the butter will likely have plenty of salt.

- At this point it is probably best to either turn down the heat, or take the pan off of the burner and put it on a cutting board or another burner. Keep stirring until it is off of heat. You should now have a nice sauce, with a slightly lighter consistency than maple syrup.

Drizzle some on your salmon and serve to your family or friends, soon to be in awe of your abilities!