Alyssa’s Honey-Glazed Salmon

Our recipe theme this week is honey.  My first thought was to do a fun dessert, maybe a honey-thyme ice cream.  But I know Carla is going to show you a fancy sweet treat, and I’m not even going to try to compete with it!  So I decided to incorporate honey into a savory dish instead.  When given the choice between salty or sweet, I go with salty any day (see Carla’s popcorn post vs. mine! Can you tell who has the sweet tooth?). 

Salmon is a really affordable protein option in Japan, and I love eating it as a healthy lunch.  I usually incorporate Asian flavors, making a marinade of miso, soy and ginger.  But after playing around with honey glazes this week, I am definitely adding this into my rotation.  The honey makes a thick, sticky sauce that caramelizes under the broiler.  These blackened bits may look like a mistake, but they’re actually the best part of the fish!  I added a little cayenne pepper for a touch of heat, and some soy sauce to cut through the honey’s sweetness with a bit of saltiness.  This is such an easy recipe, and you probably have all of the glaze ingredients in your kitchen already!

1/18/2014 update: I made this with chipotle instead of cayenne the other day.  Fantastic!  A great, smoky twist on the original recipe.

Honey-glazed Salmon
serves 1

2 salmon fillets or 1 steak (depending on their size and how hungry you are!)
1/4 c honey
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you want it)

Preheat your broiler. Line a pan with tinfoil and coat with nonstick spray.  Place the salmon skin-side down on the tray (if using fillets).
Whisk together the honey, soy sauce and pepper.  Brush the glaze liberally over the salmon.
Broil for 3 minutes.  Flip salmon, brush with more sauce and return to the broiler for 3 more minutes.
Brush again with glaze and return to the broiler until done.  My fillets were fairly thin so they only took 6 minutes (and I like my salmon cooked on the medium side, rather than well-done).  You may need a few more minutes, especially if you’re using steaks.  The edges should caramelize, so don’t be afraid if it turns black in some spots!
Remove from the broiler and brush again with sauce.  I liked the glaze so much that I ended up just pouring it over the salmon!

Enjoy!