Blackened Cajun Alaska King Salmon
BLACKENED CAJUN ALASKA KING SALMON WITH ROASTED DIJON NEW POTATOES AND FRENCH GREEN BEANS
Alaska King salmon is one of the top two revered salmons to cook by chefs. I believe it may even be number one. Sockeye salmon is a close second. The color of Alaska King salmon is beautifully reddened, with a perfect marbled striping.
I recently made a grilled salmon with herb butter and coconut rice, but this time we’re tapping into my Cajun roots and blackening these filets. The great thing about this recipe is that if you don’t like the blackened char, just leave off the white balsamic vinegar drizzle before you add to a hot skillet. Blackened seafood is extremely popular in southern Louisiana. It’s almost on every restaurant menu.
You can use any Cajun seasoning blend for this recipe, and as much or little as you like. My general rule for seasoning amounts for fish is to generously coat the top while still seeing the fish through it. My husband would argue to completely cover the filets, but my stomach isn’t that tolerant!
To the one teaspoon of cajun seasoning that I used for two filets, I added in a little dried thyme, oregano and pinch of cayenne pepper to the mix.
I drizzle olive oil on the filets after they’ve rested on counter for 30 minutes to get to room temperature. IF you’re using a stainless steel skillet like I did, also pat it dry before you drizzle the olive oil. If you do not want the fish blackened, stop there with seasoning. If you do like the blackened fish flavor, drizzle only a little (1/2 teaspoon) bit of white balsamic vinegar across the tops of the filets before searing in the pan.
As a true southern Louisiana Cajun, we usually had roasted baby new potatoes and/or green beans. We ALWAYS used mustard growing up on different things, and I added Dijon mustard to the halved new potatoes before roasting in the oven for 25 minutes at 450°F. Of course Cajun seasoning was also used.
For cooking fresh, French cut green beans, normally all you do is flash boil for 2 minutes after you’ve trimmed off the wispy ends, and then let sit for couple seconds in an ice bath. Remove quickly to sauté in a skillet with garlic and minced red onion for about 5 minutes. The potatoes and green beans are a perfect side the Cajun salmon.
Of course its not a Cajun fish dish without a bundle of chopped parsley and chives!
BLACKENED CAJUN ALASKA KING SALMON RECIPE
Prep Time: 35 min | Cook Time: 12-15 min | Serving Size: 2 filets
Ingredients
1-2 teaspoons Cajun Blend Seasoning (depending on tolerance)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
drizzles of olive oil for salmon filets to coat
olive oil to coat skillet
quarter stick unsalted butter (melts in pan) for pan to baste onto filets
optional for blackening: couple drops of white balsamic vinegar per filet top
lemons for juicing over fish when cooked
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
Instructions
As mentioned above, to cook the right way, the fish must sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking. Pat dry with paper towel so that any residual water won’t mess with the stainless steel pan if using on high heat.
Depending on your specific cooking pan, your own cooking instructions may be different. These instructions are tailored for a stainless steel All-Clad triply 12” skillet.
Our salmon were on the thicker side of the filet cuts, so start by heating the pan to medium-high heat with nothing on it until you can drop a droplet of water on it. The pan is ready for olive oil when the water doesn’t evaporate and it skids across the top of pan with a slight sizzle while staying in droplet form for a few seconds. Add a few glugs of olive oil and when you see slight rippling in oil the pan should be ready for fish.
Start cooking salmon meat side down first for about 6 minutes. The fish should not stick to the skillet. If you used the white balsamic vinegar, it will be slightly blackened, but shouldn’t stick if the heat and oil were added properly.
After 6 minutes, flip to skin side to cook for another 6 minutes. If it looks like it won’t take that long, remove it sooner. When you do flip to skin side, add the soft unsalted butter to melt in skillet. You can baste it over the salmon tops as it cooks. We do use a splash guard for this fish. Oil can pop.
Once out of the skillet, top with lemon juice, parsley and chives!
Serve with your sides of choice!
