Lemon Thyme Salmon

I've talked before about how the preparation of salmon has always eluded me. My dad suggested the "3 minutes per side" rule, which worked quite well. Last night I realized my biggest failure: I was using frozen salmon. I have never attempted to cook fresh salmon (though I realize it was frozen at some point - it just hasn't been sitting in a vacuum-packed freezer bag for years).

After discovering Paleo Grub, I found a salmon recipe that seemed so simple even I couldn't screw it up. The recipe called for a 32oz piece of salmon, which obviously will need to come from the butcher case. My choices were farm raised salmon at $6.99 per pound, or wild caught salmon at $10.99 per pound. Normally, I am the biggest cheapskate on the planet, but there was something about that wild caught salmon I just couldn't turn away from, despite the fact that it was almost double the price. It had a deep red color to the meat (compared to the off-pink color of its farm-raised counterpart), and because I'd spent the day reading Paelo stuff, I was already in the mindset of "natural is better." I swallowed hard and asked for the biggest piece of wild caught salmon he had.

My fish was just over 24oz, so a far cry from the 32oz called for in the online recipe. I'm glad I didn't go any bigger, because the fish barely fit on the largest baking sheet I had - and it was at an angle. Aside from this difference, I followed it to a "T." So, can't take credit for anything here, but it was so yummy I had to share. Kudos to Paleo Grub for a salmon recipe that is fail-proof.

As an aside, I don't think I can ever eat farm raised salmon again. The wild caught salmon melted in my mouth.

Ingredients:
1 large piece of wild caught salmon
1 lemon
Sea salt & cracked black pepper
Drizzle olive oil
1/4 tsp thyme leaves
2 T. capers, drained well

Directions:
Do NOT preheat your oven. According to Paleo Grub, the salmon will turn out so much better if it comes up to temperature the same time as the oven. I trust her.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the fish, skin side down, on the prepared baking sheet.

Slice lemon very thinly (I used a mandolin). The thinner the better. Sprinkle sea salt and pepper over the fish, then drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle thyme leaves and arrange capers evenly over the fish. Last, arrange lemon slices in a single layer, covering the fish entirely.

Place fish in the oven, and set oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove from oven. Check fish at the thickest point to ensure it flakes easily with a fork. Serve immediately.

This probably should have made about 6 servings, but we killed it in 3.