Maple Glazed Salmon

Fresh salmon marinated in sweet-salty maple-syrup and soy sauce, then dusted with pepper and baked. Simple enough for a weeknight, special enough for company.

~ Skip Straight to the Recipe ~

COMPLIMENTS!

• "Our dinner was extra-special, thanks to you!" ~ Manisha
• "Wowwwwwwww. Talk about easy and really good." ~ Lesley

BEST RECIPES!

• Maple-Glazed Salmon Made the List!
• Best Recipes of 2006

---

Every week, another story emerges about the miracles worked by salmon. If the claims are to be believed, it’s the cancer-curing, figure-fending, wrinkle-ravaging, memory-mothering, clock-stopping, energy-saving, chocolate-tasting (okay, not that last one) food of the decade.

Whether the claims prove true hardly matters since salmon is so readily available, tastes so great and gets to the table so fast.

My recipe box includes a dozen great ways to cook salmon but this maple syrup-glazed treatment trumps them all. It’s a reincarnation of the French-classic and 1980s-trendy peppered steak, this time with buttery fish and cooked in just minutes under high heat.

Truth be told, it is a miracle food.

---

QUICK SUPPER: MAPLE GLAZED SALMON

Sweet & peppery marinated salmon

Up-front prep: 5 minutes
Then marinate 4 – 48 hours
Then prep: 5 minutes
Then time to table: 25 minutes
Serves 8 (easily halved or quartered or even "eighth-ed" for a single serving)

• 2 pounds salmon (see ALANNA’s TIPS)
• 3/4 cup (220g) maple syrup (see TIPS)
• 1/4 cup (65g) soy sauce

• Cooking spray
• Plenty of coarse black pepper (see TIPS)

Combine the salmon, maple syrup and soy sauce in a ziplock bag. (If you like, place the bag in a bowl to hold it up straight.) Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours (no skimping!) and as long as 48 hours, turning occasionally.

Move an oven rack to the top position and preheat to 500F/260C.

Cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spritz with cooking spray. Remove the salmon (discard the remaining marinade) and arrange (skin-side down for filets with skin) on the baking sheet. Thickly and firmly, press the pepper into the top side.

Cook the salmon for about 6 minutes for individual filets or 10 minutes for fat filets or steaks. (The rule of thumb is 10 minutes per inch of thickness or use a digital thermometer to cook to 145F/65C.) The salmon is done when the flesh has turned pale pink but remains moist.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS This salmon pairs beautifully with Roasted Zucchini with Lemon. Both require a 500F oven, a rarity. I also like to serve the marinated and peppered salmon over fresh asparagus, combining this recipe and the one for Roasted Salmon & Asparagus.

RESOURCES Arrgh, it's easy to both overcook and undercook fish, extra hard since salmon is not inexpensive. That's why I rely on a digital thermometer to get the temperature right each and every time. I think this is especially important for someone who doesn't cook often and so isn't as familiar with the visual cues of perfectly cooked fish. My Disclosure Promise

ALANNA's TIPS Salmon steaks, individual filets and thick filets from warehouse clubs all work well. If the skin’s still on one side, the salmon will be slightly tastier. Believe it or not, pancake syrup, even sugar-free pancake syrup, is a decent substitute for pricey maple syrup. My aunt uses sugar-free syrup to make this salmon and recommends the sugar-free syrup from sugar-free syrup from Joseph's. (Not a sponsored link.) Commercial coarse pepper works better than freshly ground pepper. Do use a lot of pepper, more than seems imaginable! as much as a quarter cup. If it’s too peppery for someone, it’s easy to scrape off later. The salmon can be grilled as well.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Serving: 207 Calories; 3g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 58mg Cholesterol; 536mg Sodium; 19g Carb; 0g Fiber; 17g Sugar; 23g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 4 & PointsPlus 5 & SmartPoints 6 & Freestyle 4 FREESTYLE TECHNICALITIES Salmon marinated in anything sweet doesn't technically qualify for Freestyle, nor does salmon skin. Me, I choose to ignore the first technicality but not the second. I ignore the first on the basis of (1) frequency and (2) consistency and (3) real food. At least in our home, salmon is a special treat, so it's not like this is the supper choice every night or even every week or every month. Freestyle works in other recipes with sugar, you just do the math and depending on the other ingredients, there's a point or two difference in points between SmartPoints and Freestyle. And this recipe calls for maple syrup, a whole food, not processed sugar. So for me, Maple-Glazed Salmon works with Freestyle so long as there's no skin (or the skin is uneaten) and I use maple syrup (vs other sweeteners). To be conservative, I also assume that 100% of the maple syrup is eaten, even though not all of it is absorbed by the fish as it marinates. If these Freestyle stretches don't work for you, then may I suggest, use the "SmartPoints" figure in your count or choose another recipe, either Roasted Salmon & Asparagus or Simple Grilled Salmon?

Adapted from a recipe from my cousin Lynda.

---

More Salmon Recipes

(hover with a mouse for a description; otherwise click a photo to view the recipe)

~ more salmon recipes ~

---

Shop Your Pantry First

(helping home cooks save money on groceries)

~ salmon recipes ~
~ maple syrup recipes ~

~ All Recipes, By Ingredient ~
~ How to Save Money on Groceries ~

---

Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

---

© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012 & 2019