Orange Glazed Salmon

As much as I know how to cook, making salmon has forever eluded me. Try as I might, I have never been able to get it moist. I mean, it's always been okay, but never great. My dad was in town last week and was talking about some of the new things he'd been trying recently, one of which was salmon. I commented, "That's the one thing I've never been able to do right, what's your secret?" His answer was simple: "Three minutes per side."

That seemed simple enough. I'd always baked it. I guess that's what I was doing wrong.

I still think I overcooked it. My pieces were probably smaller than what he was using. It was still a little on the dry side, but not too bad at all. Three minutes per side is probably good for bigger pieces, I would recommend two and a half minutes per side for smaller pieces.

Weird thing: three minutes seems like an eternity when you're standing at the stove watching something cook. Just sayin'.

I was never a black pepper fan. Just the smell of it made me want to take off running. If you like black pepper, good for you! I found, though, that freshly ground black pepper is soooo much better than the stuff that comes in el cheapo shaker. It's considerably more money for a pepper grinder, but it's so worth it! If you don't have one, go get one. I find myself using ground black pepper when the dish is "missing something," whereas I used to use garlic. So there you go.

I found the glaze recipe on a paleo website. The secret to the glaze, I promise you, is letting it reduce significantly. By the time it was reduced to a sticky syrup, the flavors were so much more potent than they were when I first started it. So be patient with it, and don't start the salmon until the glaze is almost finished.

Ingredients:
4-6 salmon filets (about 4 oz. each)
2 oranges
1 tsp ground ginger
1 T. onion flakes
1 T. honey
Sea salt & ground black pepper
Lemon juice (for drizzling on the salmon)

Sprinkle salmon filets with salt & pepper and set aside.

Zest one of the oranges directly into a small saucepan. Juice both oranges. I have a fun little gadget that squeezes out every little last bit if juice, but if you don't have one, just squeeze out the juice the best you can. Add juice to sauce pan along with ginger, onion flakes, honey, salt & pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk frequently, simmering until mixture has reduced by at least half - it should be thick. This will take 15 to 20 minutes, more or less depending on how much juice you get from the oranges.

When glaze is almost finished, preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Coat pan generously with cooking spray, then put salmon filets in the pan in a single layer, not touching. Drizzle with lemon juice. Cook "three minutes per side," or until salmon is cooked through. As I said, if filets are smaller, go 2 1/2 minutes per side. Depending on the size of your skillet, it may take two batches. If so, put salmon on a plate and cover with foil to keep warm until all fish is done cooking.

Spoon glaze on top of salmon, spreading it around with a spoon. Serve on top of cooked quinoa or brown rice.