Chicken of the Sea

Confession: I've never made fish before.  Chicken and steak I've got down.  Shrimp and crab even.  But fish?  No way.  Something about skin and scales and eyes.  Frankly, the idea just intimidates me.  Or at least it did until now.

Enter Alton Brown, fellow UGA grad and master explainer of all things culinary.  I saw his "Gills Gone Wild" episode, salmon fillets were on sale at Publix and thus dinner was born.  While I didn't take any pictures (amateur mistake, sorry), Spencer is insisting that this become part of our regular dinner rotation.
 
So if fish scares you like it scared me... give Alton's recipe a try. Quick, easy, and unbelievably delicious.  The brown sugar caramelizes into the most amazing crust!
 
Ingredients

• 1 side, skin-on, sockeye salmon, 1.5-2 lbs, pin bones removed
• I used two small salmon fillets instead.  Bones?  Skin?  No thank you.
• 1/3 C dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• I halved the recipe and still used the zest of one whole lemon, so to make the whole thing I think you'd need two lemons.
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions

• Position a rack in the oven 3 inches from the broiler. Line a half sheet pan with aluminum foil and place the salmon on the pan.
• Place the sugar, zest, salt, and pepper into the bowl of a small food processor and process for 1 minute or until well combined.
• Evenly spread the mixture onto the salmon and allow to sit for 45 minutes, at room temperature.
• Turn the oven on to the high broiler setting for 2 minutes.  After 2 minutes, place the salmon into the oven and broil for 6 to 8 minutes or until the thickest part of the fish reaches an internal temperature of 131*F on an instant-read thermometer. 
• Remove the salmon from the oven and allow to rest, uncovered, for 8 to 10 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Because we had slivered almonds leftover from something else, and now I had a zest-less lemon, we made Green Beans with Lemon and Toasted Almonds to pair with our salmon.  I thought it all went together rather nicely, and I wasn't left with random unused ingredients in the fridge.  Pet peeve!
 
Recipes and photo courtesy of FoodNetwork.com.  My go-to place for dinner ideas!