fish Archives - A Calculated Whisk

Crispy Honey Butter Salmon + How to Get Crispy Salmon Skin

February 13, 2017 By Becky 36 Comments

Crispy honey butter salmon is a snap to make in half an hour with just five ingredients, but its flavor and texture make it worthy of a special occasion.

For the first 25 years of my life, I avoided salmon. It seemed too fishy, and its pink color always made it look suspiciously raw.

Then I started writing Paleo Planet, and my editor gently informed me that I would need to have at least one, if not two or three, salmon recipes in the book. I got cooking, and before long I discovered that crispy salmon skin is the BEST THING EVER.

Since crispy-skinned salmon is so good all on its own, I’ve started letting it shine with this super simple crispy honey butter salmon recipe. Basically we’re searing the salmon to get the skin nice and crunchy, and then topping it with a little butter and honey. The honey and butter melt onto the fish and create a rich, slightly sweet sauce that tastes like so much more than just the sum of its parts.

Ben and I are moving this week and we’re exhausted (see our super cute new digs here!), so I’m going to keep this post short and sweet. Below you’ll find my five best tips for making sure your salmon skin is truly crispy. If you’re still looking for something special to cook for Valentine’s Day, why not give this crispy honey butter salmon a try? And by the way, it’s fabulous with Instant Pot mashed potatoes.

Pan-Seared Salmon with Capers and Baby Artichokes

March 19, 2015 By Becky 6 Comments

Were you a picky eater as a kid? I was pretty much the worst. The only vegetable I would eat was broccoli, and it had to have cheese on top. Everything else I deigned to consume was white or golden brown in color: chicken fingers, macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese, french fries, and pizza without tomato sauce (read: dough with cheese). I wanted slices of American cheese melted on top of almost all my food. It was actually called “Becky cheese” over at my dad’s, where no one else ate it.

I remained picky through high school, when I invented a white pizza with broccoli and two kinds of cheese at my favorite local pizzeria. My friends and I called it “Becky pizza”, and it was fabulous (I still think something like it should be added to the menu).

I’m proud to say that things have really changed. Today I’ll try almost anything, and there are very few foods I don’t enjoy. However, until a couple of months ago, salmon was still on my “no” list. I found it too fishy, and something about its orange-pink hue didn’t sit well with me.

Recently I worked on a project where I had to make several salmon recipes. To my surprise, I ended up loving them! The key for me is to really crisp up the skin (and brown the other side as well) and serve the salmon with a flavorful sauce.

Monkfish with Lemongrass-Scallion Sauce

June 17, 2014 By Becky 4 Comments

Disclosure: I received this product as part of an advertorial.

Have you ever tried monkfish? It’s also known as “poor man’s lobster”, and it’s a mild, firm, white fish that won’t fall apart when you cook it. I am calling it “starving grad student lobster”, and it’s my new favorite fish. Inspired by the color of my new Ozeri Green Earth pan, I smashed lemongrass, scallions, olive oil, and pepper into a paste for the sauce. This stuff will make you pucker your lips after the first bite and want to lick your bowl after the last.

In addition to being a wonderful, mood-lifting shade of chartreuse, the Green Earth pan is special because of its health- and eco-friendly design. The nonstick ceramic coating is free of PTFE and PFOA, so it won’t release harmful chemicals. The bottom of the pan has a raised honeycomb pattern that enables you to cook with very little oil and makes sure that nothing sticks to the pan. You can find out more about Ozeri’s products on their site.