Merah Hati Cintaku: Broiled Salmon with Bourbon Glaze

Broiled salmon is a simple and efficient way to get perfectly cooked fish on the table: it cooks in 5 minutes! Add a bourbon glaze, and it’s heavenly.

Man, are we excited about this one! This broiled salmon recipe comes to you not from our kitchen, but from the cookbook of a dear friend of ours. Our dear pal Lauren McDuffie has written the most gorgeous, evocative book Smoke, Roots, Mountain, Harvest, about the Appalachian cuisine of her roots. And man, is this recipe a showstopper! This broiled salmon cooks up in just 5 minutes, and the bourbon sauce? Well, Lauren says it’s like “salmon in a party dress”. And after tasting it, we’re inclined to agree! Keep reading for the bourbon glazed broiled salmon recipe, and a bit more about the book!

About the book: Smoke, Roots, Mountain, Harvest

Even if we didn’t know Lauren personally, we would gush about her new cookbook. Coincidentally, she happens to live right around the corner here in Indianapolis, and we feel spoiled to have another cookbook author in a 5 minute radius! This broiled salmon recipe is from her book Smoke, Roots, Mountain, Harvest, which she wrote to, in her words, “get a taste of what Appalachian cuisine and culture are all about.” And the book makes you literally want to jump on a plane to get there as fast as you can! Lauren guides you through Appalachian favorites like Sorghum Cider Quick Bread, Blackberry Buckle, and Pimento Cheese. At the same time, she shares stories and anecdotes that make it read like a novel. It’s truly unique, and we are just over the moon excited for Lauren’s book to be out in the world.

Get the book: Smoke, Roots, Mountain, Harvest

How to broil salmon

Now, making this broiled salmon legitimately could not be easier! This recipe uses salmon fillets: you can use fillets with the skin on or skin off. Place the salmon on a baking sheet, and liberally add salt and pepper. Then pop it in the broiler and broil for 5 minutes. That’s it! Seriously simple broiled salmon. In this recipe, however, you’ll use a bourbon glaze for the salmon. You’ll paint the bourbon glaze on in the last minute of broiling, and then again right when you remove it from the oven.

Making this bourbon glazed, broiled salmon

Now, the bourbon glaze is what takes this salmon from ordinary to extraordinary! The main idea for the bourbon glaze is you’ll simmer bourbon with brown sugar and some other seasonings until it reduces down into a syrupy glaze. The cooking part takes only about 15 minutes, but the glaze does need to cool for about 20 minutes to thicken up. Because of this, you can make the bourbon glaze in advance for a truly quick meal! Just store it refrigerated and bring it to room temperature before to serving. It truly adds this sweet-salty-savory component to the salmon that will blow your mind. Trust us!

Finally, a little note on how to buy sustainable fish for this broiled salmon. Alex and I try to buy sustainable seafood where possible. We eat a mostly plant-based diet, but flex occasionally to eat sustainable fish. In researching how to buy sustainable seafood, Alex and I have learned to look for wild-caught fish. Also, frozen is good too! A myth about fish is that “fresh is best.” As soon as an animal dies it begins to decompose; freezing suspends this process. If a fish is frozen when it was caught and stays frozen until it gets to your kitchen, it will be higher quality than a raw fish that has taken a week to get to your plate.

Looking for more healthy seafood recipes?

Outside of this broiled salmon recipe, here are a few more healthy seafood recipes:

This broiled salmon recipe is…

Pescatarian and gluten-free.

Broiled Salmon with Bourbon Glaze

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

5 from 1 reviews

Author: Sonja
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4

Print Recipe

Description

Broiled salmon is a simple and efficient way to get perfectly cooked fish on the table: it cooks in 5 minutes! Add a bourbon glaze, and it’s heavenly.

Ingredients

For the bourbon glaze

3/4 cup bourbon
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the bourbon salmon

Four 4– to 5-ounce salmon fillets (skin on or off)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Instructions

For the bourbon glaze: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the bourbon, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, honey, Dijon mustard, vinegar, garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Simmer the mixture, stirring frequently until the sugar has dissolved. Continue to gently simmer the glaze, without stirring, until it has reduced by half, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool for at least 15 minutes before using, to give it a chance to thicken up.
For the salmon: Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. Season the flesh side of each fish fillet with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper (or if they don’t have skin, sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper on each side). Place them, skin-side down, side by side on the baking sheet. Broil for 4 minutes. Remove the salmon from the oven and, using a pastry brush, brush liberally with some of the bourbon sauce. Return the baking sheet to the broiler for 1 minute. Or, if you fillets are particularly thick, check for doneness, and if necessary, go a little longer.
Brush the fillets again with the bourbon sauce and transfer to a platter. Pour the extra sauce into a serving dish, and serve alongside the salmon for drizzling and dipping. (If you brush the sauce on too soon, the sugars in the glaze could burn, so doing it toward the end of cooking and then once more when the fish is out of the oven works out perfectly.)