Herb-Crusted Salmon

Herb-Crusted Salmon is first brined then coated with a sauce before adding a crispy panko topping.  You’ll find a crispy exterior with a flaky and moist interior.  A great method for cooking salmon.  

Seafood is one of  those things that I love eating in restaurants, but rarely fix at home.  It doesn’t smell up my kitchen and I don’t have to pre-plan to make sure I purchase it and then cook it while it’s still fresh.  It seems a little intimidating to me.  I don’t mind cooking shrimp, as we can always get that fresh and it’s hard to mess up, but otherwise, I’m a novice when it comes to seafood. For my first foray into the world of salmon, I relied on America’s Test Kitchen to help me with the technique.  This season, they have an episode on making this recipe which looked so easy, I decided to give it a try.

I started with a brine of salt water. While I was getting all the ingredients together and toasting the breadcrumbs, I let the salmon soak in a bowl of salt water.  Toasting panko in butter made it even crispier and of course butter makes everything better. To keep it moist and give it flavor I put a mixture of mayonaise and mustard and tarragon on the fillets then added the breadcrumbs.  You can substitute any herbs you prefer.

Mine looked just like theirs did on TV!  We all agreed the crunchy panko breadcrumbs on top were great and the tarragon added a nice flavor to the salmon. They were easy to prepare and the directions were spot on.  It was so fail proof that I would make it for dinner guests.  If you have a great fish recipe, I would love for you to share it.

America’s Test Kitchen Season 2014

Herb-Crusted Salmon

Herb-Crusted Salmon is first brined then coated with a sauce before adding a crispy panko topping.  You’ll find a crispy exterior with a flaky and moist interior.  A great method for cooking salmon.

• Author: Barbara Curry
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 18 minutes
• Total Time: 33 minutes
• Yield: 4 1x
• Category: Entree
• Cuisine: seafood

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 4 skin-on salmon fillets
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced
• ¼ cup fresh tarragon, chopped (2 teaspoons dried)
• 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
• 1 ½ teaspoons mayonnaise
• lemon wedges
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Dissolve 5 tablespoons salt in 2 quarts water in a large container. Submerge salmon in brine and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Remove salmon, pat dry and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350º. Line a wire rack with tin foil and place it in a jelly roll pan.
3. Melt butter in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add panko and ⅛ teaspoon salt and season with pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until panko is golden brown, 4-5 minutes. Transfer to bowl and let cool completely. Stir in egg and thyme until thoroughly combined.
4. Mix together in small bowl the tarragon, mustard and mayonnaise.
5. Spray lined wire rack with cooking spray and place filets, skin side down on rack. Spray with cooking spray. Using a spoon, spread tarragon mixture evenly over the top of each fillet. Sprinkle panko mixture evenly over the top of the tarragon mixture, pressing with fingers to adhere.
6. Bake until the center reaches 125º and is still translucent when cut into with a knife, 18-25 minutes. Transfer to serving platter and let rest for 5 minutes.