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Plum Glazed Salmon + Fish Brine

Similar to last week’s post, today’s article is a double feature.

Plum Glazed Salmon

Recipe #1 is Plum Glazed Salmon, a simple dinner recipe that comes together in a snap. Recipe #2 is a Fish Brine recipe that may just vastly improve your fish-making skills (it definitely improved mine!).  Let’s dive into #1.

Over the past several years, I’ve found that I really enjoy cooking salmon fillets during the week. They’re simple to prepare, healthy and cook up in a matter of minutes. Just what I need when I come home tired from work. But, I recently realized that I’ve yet to share a single salmon recipe here on Kitchen Konfidence! That’s all about to change.

The glaze for this salmon is a simple mix of pantry/fridge staples: plum jam, Dijon mustard, soy sauce, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. The salmon then gets cooked under the broiler until firm, glossy and golden. A final scattering of sliced scallions provides contrast in color and flavor. So simple, but so incredibly delicious. PS. If you can’t find plum jam, apricot would work well here too. Continue reading for the recipes plus more on #2.

Salmon Brine Animation

Let’s talk Fish Brine. I’m a big fan of brining in general, but I’ve grown especially fond of brining fish. A brine is a simple mixture of salt and water. I’ve also thrown some sugar in the mix to balance the salt.  The fish sits in the brine for about 30 minutes (or up to overnight), and after a quick rinse and dry, it’s ready to cook!  Here are the benefits of brining fish:

  • Protection against overcooking. Fillets cook quickly, and the time frame between perfectly cooked and overdone is a small one. Brining helps the fish retain moisture as it cooks, so it’s harder to dry out.
  • Seasoning throughout. As the fish sits in the brine, the salt will penetrate the flesh, resulting in a well-seasoned finished product.
  • Albumin in check.  Albumin is the white protein that can leach out of salmon as it cooks.  It looks gross and I hate it.  Brining prevents the albumin from surfacing, resulting in a gorgeous cooked piece of fish.

Definitely give this brine a go the next time you are cooking salmon (or any other fish fillet!).

Salmon with Glaze

Plum Glazed Salmon

Plum Glazed Salmon
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Plum Glazed Salmon

If you've got 30 minutes to brine the salmon in advance (see Fish Brine recipe below), I would highly recommend doing so. If not, you can make the recipe as is without brining.
Servings 4 servings
Author Brandon Matzek

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets (skin-on or skin-off is fine), brined or not
  • 1/4 cup plum jam (apricot would work too)
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon grated garlic (or minced)
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Sliced scallions, for serving

Instructions

  1. Preheat a broiler to high. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. If the salmon was brined, rinse under cold water, dry thoroughly, and place on the prepared baking sheet.
  2. In a medium bowl, stir together jam, mustard, soy sauce, olive oil, garlic, a small pinch of salt and several turns of black pepper until well-combined. Taste and add more salt if needed. Brush the glaze all over the salmon fillets, then move the baking sheet under the broiler.
  3. Cook until the salmon is firm and the glaze starts to darken in spots (6 to 8 minutes), or until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the salmon reaches 131°F. Let salmon rest for 8 to 10 minutes before serving.
  4. To finish, sprinkle salmon fillets with sliced scallions. Round out the plate with white rice and greens (steamed bok choy shown above).
Salmon Brine Animation
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Fish Brine Recipe

Servings 1 cup
Author Brandon Matzek

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • Fish fillets (any type or quantity)

Instructions

  1. Whisk together water, kosher salt and sugar in a medium bowl (preferably with a pour spout). Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds on high. Whisk again to dissolve salt and sugar. If needed, repeat heating and whisking until salt and sugar are completely dissolved. Let brine cool completely before using.
  2. To brine fish, cover fillets with brine, cover and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight. The fish should be completely submerged in the brine, so scale up the recipe as needed. For example, I used 3 cups water, 3 tablespoons of salt and 3 teaspoons of sugar to make enough brine for the 1 1/2 pounds of salmon above.
  3. Once you are ready to cook the fish, take the fillets from the brine, rinse under cold water and dry thoroughly.

Here are some other fish recipes on Kitchen Konfidence:

Crispy Fish Tacos

Crispy Fish Tacos

Ceviche Tostadas with Cilantro Crema

Ceviche Tostadas with Cilantro Cream

Tomato and Horseradish Cocktail Sauce

Cocktail Sauce With Shrimp

Roasted Shrimp with Spicy Cocktail Sauce

Roasted Shrimp

Cornmeal Crusted Fish Tacos with Rhubarb Salsa

Cornmeal Crusted Fish Tacos with Rhubarb Salsa

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Thanks Dixya! Yeah, I am always looking for new salmon recipes to keep things interested.

  3. I want to plum glaze everything!!! And that brining tip is soooo good. Moses is gonna love me (thanks to you) when I make this for him!!

    • Mmmmm, plum glazed chicken thighs perhaps?! I might just try that. I hope you two enjoy the recipe 🙂 Thanks!

  5. Your idea of brining the fish has me wondering if we would like farmed salmon if I brined it. We will only eat wild, but it is such a short season. We would definitely love the plum glaze.

  6. This salmon looks delicious. I think I would prefer it with the apricot jam. I am going to try brining my salmon next time I prepare it. I found your post so informative and the pics are lovely.

    • Loooove pluots. They’re so pretty! I’m sure they would work here as well if you turn them into jam. Thanks Phillip!

    • This would be a perfect use-up for extra plums. If you’ve got extra jam, send it my way please :)!

    • Hi Gabriel, that’s a great question! In this recipe, I season the glaze well, but don’t add any additional salt to the fish.

      If you want to cook the brined fish without the glaze, I would definitely go light on any added salt. One time, I was searing a piece of salmon that I had brined, and I thoughtlessly sprinkled both sides of the fillet with a good amount of salt before adding to the hot pan. The finished fillet was edible (with some lemon!), but definitely on the over-salted side. So just be mindful when you first try this out 🙂

  13. We eat a lot of salmon around my house and I am always looking for new ways to make it. This plum glaze sounds amazing. I have to try it! Beautiful photos too!

  14. I am a sucker for salmon!! Love, love, love the idea of combining it with a sweet and salty sauce. Beautiful photo by the way, makes me want to jump right into your blog 😉

  15. Hi Brandon

    Not a big fan of salmon, I know, I know!, I love, love whitefish, can I use the brining technique and the plum jam with it instead? Will the flavor be just as good?

    • Hi Connie! You can brine any fish, so whitefish would certainly work. Also, I’m sure you could use this glaze on other fish as well. Usually whitefish fillets are thin though, so they’ll cook quickly, and you might not get those caramelized glazed bits.

  16. FISH BRINING!!!! What an awesome idea… I’m not sure why I’d never thought of this. I think I season fish pretty well, but it never penetrates the flesh as much as I’d like. So, yeah, I’m totally trying that technique.

    And the plum glaze… damn! I love that plating with the bok choy. Might throw some cilantro on top too when I give it a try (even though Eric might protest).

  17. Ah this looks like the perfect easy dinner- salmon is my favourite. Love the way you have sliced the bok-choy length ways too – looks so much prettier than the way I normally tear the leaves off so will definitely try that next time! Same goes for the brining – another thing I have never attempted but sounds really useful, thanks for the tip!

  19. This is just an outstanding post! First, because I love easy, healthy salmon recipes (and the plum jam sounds fabulous). And second because your tips on brining are really insightful. Bonus: you offer people the flexibility to still make the salmon without the brine if they’re short on time, but demonstrate how they could make the salmon recipe even better if they have a few extra minutes for brining the next time around! When time is tight, that sort of flexibility can really make a difference for a harried cook. So great – definitely pinning this to share!

  22. All of those additions to the plum jam sound like a perfect glaze! Gorgeous pics too 🙂

  24. I would have never thought about brining fish before but this is really genius, especially if you are a roasting a larger piece of salmon! I’m always looks for new ways to cook filets too and that plum jam glaze sounds delicious. Will have to give it a go soon.

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