Blackened Salmon with Pineapple Salsa
This recipe for Blackened Salmon with Pineapple Salsa has been adapted from Against All Grain. I have her cookbook and really like it.
I want to refer back to this recipe for the blackening seasoning alone - the melted butter mixed with the spices smelled so amazing and tasted great, too. This recipe calls for grilling the salmon, but I just cooked it in my cast iron pan on the stove. Medium-high heat with the flesh side down first for about 2 minutes, then lower the heat and flip over on the skin side for about 5 minutes to crisp the skin.
Ingredients:
- 1½ to 2 pounds wild salmon fillets, boneless and skin on
- 3 teaspoons melted grassfed butter
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1½ tsp paprika
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp oregano
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp cracked pepper
- ¼ tsp thyme
- ¼ tsp cayenne
Mango Salsa (I used Pineapple instead)
- 1 large ripe mango, seeded, peeled and diced (pineapple substituted)
- 1 large avocado, seeded and diced
- ¼ cup diced grape tomatoes (used 2 roma tomatoes)
- 2 tablespoons diced red onion (used 1/4 red onion)
- 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice (half a lime)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions:
Slice the salmon evenly into 4 to 6 smaller fillets. Combine the butter and all of the spices in a bowl. Rub all over both sides of the salmon. (I only rubbed the fleshy side, not the skin.) Leave at room temperature while the grill heats.
Preheat a grill to medium-high heat. (or a cast iron pan on the stove with coconut oil)
Meanwhile, combine the salsa ingredients together in a bowl and store in the refrigerator while the fish cooks.
Sear the salmon, skinless (flesh) side down first. Close the grill lid. Cook 1-3 minutes on the first side, depending on how thick the fillets are. (Try not to move them until you are going to flip them over to help keep them in one piece.) Using tongs and a metal spatula in the other hand, carefully turn the fish over, so that the skin side is down, and reduce the heat to medium. For charcoal grills, finish cooking over indirect heat furthest from the coals. Close the grill lid and finish cooking for another 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets.
Salmon should be just barely opaque and will start to flake along the center of the fillet when done.
Serve hot with the (pineapple) mango-avocado salsa spooned over it.