Monday, June 29, 2015

Oven Roasted Copper River Salmon w/ Clementine Chipotle Butter

This evening I prepared one of my favorites, wild Copper River Salmon. I picked some up this past weekend. I kept it fairly simple by oven roasting it. I prepared a large fillet that was almost 1-1/4 pounds and only about 1/2-inch thick, so I reduced the roasting time by a couple of minutes . It only took 10 minutes to roast and about 5 minutes to sit covered which was just enough time to allow me to wash and cut up our salad fixings.

I wanted to prepare it a little bit different without masking the delicate flavor of the salmon. Since I am on a "clementine" kick here recently and we just happened to have some beautiful ripe and juicy clementines, I went with a very simple Clementine Chipotle Butter Glaze to brush on the salmon both before roasting as well as afterward. It turned out amazing. I served the salmon on top of big fresh salads made with fresh baby romaine lettuce and a variety of colorful baby tomatoes. I drizzled a bit of vinaigrette on my salad. I snapped a couple photos below and included the easy peasy recipe as well. Enjoy!

P.S. - Scroll down for some VERY exciting news. Gourmet Girl Cooks is ALASKA BOUND!








Oven Roasted Copper River Salmon w/ Clementine Chipotle Butter

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pounds salmon fillets, preferably wild
3 tablespoons butter
Zest from 1 clementine (or other small tangerine type orange)
Juice of 1 clementine (about 2 to 3 tablespoons)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt (I used pink Himalayan salt)
1/4 teaspoon ground Chipotle pepper
Sweetener equivalent to 1 teaspoon sugar (I used 1 teaspoon Swerve)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place salmon fillet on a foil lined baking sheet.

In a small skillet, melt butter; add zest, juice, salt, chipotle and sweetener. Simmer on low for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Spoon half of butter mixture over salmon fillet and brush evenly over the salmon (being careful not to contaminate the remaining butter with anything that had contact with the raw fillet).

Place salmon in preheated oven; immediately reduce heat to 425 degrees F. Roast for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness of fillet. Remove and immediately cover with foil. Let sit about 5 minutes. Spoon remaining butter over top of cooked fillet.


         

10 comments:

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

Well ... VERY exciting news, indeed! :-) That's wonderful! Have you been there before or will this your first trip? You will love it, I'm sure. Can't wait to hear all about it! :-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi CyberSis,

Thanks. No, I've never been anywhere in Alaska before. I think it is so fitting that my first trip will be to Cordova..."Copper River Salmon" world. I'm going to get to see it up close and personal...from "river to table". Have you ever been there? Alaska or to Cordova? Atlanta to Alaska is going to be quite a journey and I'm so looking forward to it. :-)

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

We lived in Anchorage for 22 years but never made it down to Cordova. I loved living in Alaska and sometimes I do miss it ... especially in the "dog days" of summer! :-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi CyberSis,

Wow! So technically, you are living in the "south" now...right? ;-) I think we have a 5-hour layover in Anchorage. Is there anything that you recall that was close enough to see near the airport? Or, maybe that isn't enough time. If you think of anything, let me know. :-)

Charlotte Moore said...

How nice for you. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Thanks SO much Charlotte! :-)

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

Yup, I guess we're in the south now ... except we used to call it the "Lower 48." :-)

You could rent a car and take a drive down the Seward Highway for as long as your time allows. The highway begins in Anchorage and is a "destination" in itself ... it's beautiful and scenic with mountains on one side of the road and water on the other (sometimes you can see whales there.) You could stop at Girdwood if you’d like to visit the Alyeska Resort (about 40 miles from Anchorage) or just keep on driving down the road. Either way, it's a spectacular trip! http://www.alyeskaresort.com/

If you'd like to visit the various shops in downtown Anchorage instead (4th Avenue area) you'd still need to get a car, as the airport is on the extreme western edge of the city and not really "close" to anything.

One thing I'd suggest is to contact the "Log Cabin" Visitor's Center in Anchorage before you go and ask them for ideas that would fit into your time constraints. Their contact info is at this web site: http://www.anchorage.net/visit-anchorage-information-centers

When do you leave on your adventure? Give yourself some time when you get back home. For me, going east was always the most problematic direction for jet-lag. I hope you have a great time and make lots of wonderful memories! :-)

Peg said...

Well Congrats, GG! What a grand opportunity for you.

I just bought the last of the Copper River Salmon that was available at my local Kroger's. We will be grilling it on a cedar plank tonight. I absolutely love this salmon.

Can't wait to hear about your Alaska adventures. Alaska is somewhere we've always wanted to go.

Peg

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi CyberSis,

Thanks for all of your suggestions and links. I will look into seeing what we can do on our 2 layovers in Anchorage (coming and going). I go in 2 weeks. My biggest "dilemma" now is whether or not to take my "big" camera which I'd love to do or the more compact camera. I'd love the bigger one but not sure if I want to lug it around and worry about it. I change my mind every other day and probably no matter what I take, I'll wish I had done the opposite.

Thanks so much for your advice...I'm excited to go. :-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Peg,

Thanks so much. I have one more big fillet left and plan to make it again this week. I literally could eat it every single day but don't think hubby would be as happy with that!

I am thrilled that of all places in Alaska to visit that it will be to the "Copper River Salmon" region...couldn't be a more perfect place for me to go. I can't wait to share my adventures when I get back. Thanks again! :-)