tangentbot

Okay, so this is incredibly tasty and easy to make. I make it so often that I forget what an essential part of my meals this is. Simply put, salmon shio-yaki (lit. salmon salt grilled) is a fillet of salmon with the skin liberally salted and broiled on high heat. This makes a very tender, versatile meal that keeps well for bentos or onigiri. I’m using fresh wild sockeye salmon here, but you can use any fish you want. I’ve used saba, halibut, cod, sanma, smelt… it’s all delicious.

What you will need:

• Fresh fish (whole, steak, filet)
• Salt (I use sea salt)
• Sheet of aluminum foil
• Baking sheet
• Oil (preferably one with a high smoke point, like canola or grapeseed)

1. Pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees, or the “broil” setting, which is all the way to eleven for my oven.
2. Lay some aluminum foil on a baking sheet with a very thin layer of oil (I use grapeseed oil because of its high smoke point).  I have a pump-spray bottle of it and I just lightly spritz the foil to keep the fish from sticking.
3. Lay the fillet, skin side up, on the foil.
4. Generously salt the skin of the fish. The salted skin will flavor the rest of the fish while cooking. I’ve seen recipes where they salt the whole fish, but it really isn’t necessary. The oils in the skin will permeate the flesh, carrying just enough salt with it to delicately flavor the fish.
5. When the oven is hot, put the fish in there! I usually bake it in the oven and finish it off in the broiler, but it’s really your call. Check back in 5-8 minutes.
6. Check every few minutes. You are looking for the salt to brown and harden into a shell, and for the skin to bubble up. When this magical moment occurs, pull out the baking pan and set it aside to cool. Don’t forget to turn off the oven like I always do!

Here’s the finished product; salmon shio-yaki. When it is cool, you can pull the skin off and discard (or shake all the salt off and broil or fry it until crispy, chop it up and mix it with hot rice-yum!). I typically use the meat as a filling for onigiri (rice balls), or in my miso, or just with some steamed rice and grated daikon. I make this sometimes twice a week. It is quick and easy and it keeps for a few days. If you make this recipe, please comment and let me know how it turns out!