Simple Roasted Salmon

We did the Thanksgiving weekend a little different this year.  We went to Wisconsin last weekend to visit my family and are doing the traditional turkey dinner with my husband’s family on Saturday.  So that left just the 3 of us on Thursday, no traveling, no shopping, just playing in the first snowfall, an afternoon nap for the whole family, and oven roasted salmon – one of our favorite treats.

I wanted to share the salmon recipe because it is so easy and basic.  No fancy sauces, the fish speaks for itself.  Just olive oil, salt and pepper, served with an easy salad, mashed potatoes, and the best bread I’ve had in awhile (we don’t shop at Whole Foods often but this “ancient grains” loaf was quite a treat).

A little trick my dad taught me that I wanted to pass along….when roasting a piece of ‘skin on’ salmon in the oven, cut a brown paper bag to fit under the salmon while you roast it.  The skin sticks to the bag, the flesh pulls right off, and the pan is much easier to clean without that caked on skin that you have to soak for three days!

After posting the salmon recipe, my Dad (a fabulous cook himself), wanted to add a few more tips that I think are great.  His email…

“I read your salmon recipe.  It looked and sounded great.  Here are two other tips.  First, if I am roasting a whole side of salmon, I score the meat into serving size pieces before cooking, leaving the skin intact.  That makes it much easier to cut out individual pieces without wrecking the appearance of the fish and without having ragged edges on your servings.  Second, I always rest my salmon for 5 minutes after I cook it.  I cover it with foil on a plate.  I doubt if it redistributes the juices like beef, but the salmon continues to cook as it rests.  I try to slightly under cook the fish while roasting or grilling with the idea that it will finish cooking while it rests.  It helps avoid overcooking the fish which is about the worst thing you can do if you love salmon.  Love Dad”