Vic’s Tricks To…Blackened Salmon

I adore seafood.

And living in Boston, it’s pretty nice having access to some of the freshest seafood in the country.

Story time:

I travel for work and have had an opportunity to explore some pretty cool places. One day, sitting at a bar in Minneapolis, I heard the bartender ask the couple next to me if they’ve ever been to the ocean.

My jaw dropped.

I’ve always lived on the coast. I LOVE to swim in the ocean and grew up splashing around the beaches in New York.

So, it really blew my mind that some folks haven’t had an opportunity to even touch an ocean before!

From that day on, I decided I would cook fresh seafood every chance I could get!

We have an amazing fish market right down the street and have fish about once or twice a week. My absolute favorite quick and easy fish to eat is salmon.

Now when you buy salmon, you choose between farm raised or wild-caught. Check out this super handy chart below to show some of the differences.

As you can see, the biggest differences are really in size and color. Typically wild-caught salmon is a bit thinner and more red in color vs. the thicker and more pink farm-raised.

Vic Trick: Each have their own benefits, but I prefer wild, if you can get it.

Another thing you can ask yourself is if you’d like to eat your salmon with or without the skin. When you get it from the store, the scales are typically already removed leaving the skin ready to go.

You can either eat the skin or I’ll show you how to remove it, but either way, the process is the same.

I also have no opinion one way or the other so I’m just here to party.

First, take your salmon and cut it into the portions you’re looking for. I usually order a pound then portion it to my liking.

Season the fish with the seasonings of your choice.

Vic Trick: I HIGHLY recommend buying a pre-mixed cajun or blackening seasoning. They are so super easy and always seem to taste better than the seasoning blends I create myself. Cheaper too!

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet and place the salmon, skin side down, into the pan and let it sear.

• If leaving skin on, let it sear for about 5 minutes or until the skin is nice and crispy
• If removing skin, let it sear for about 2 minutes, then flip and remove the skin

To remove the skin, use some sort of spatula or a knife to peel it off.

But, you all probably have Fish Spatulas by now right?! Because I’ve talked about how amazing they are for not only fish but flipping pancakes and cookies and literally anything delicate. And they’re super cheap on Amazon so get them already!!!!

Once the skin is removed, season with more cajun/blackening seasoning and let it cook for about 5 minutes. Then flip again and sear for another 2 or until cooked medium.

And there ya have it! Simple as that, you have some yummy pan-seared, slightly spicy salmon!

Happy Eating!

Give it a try and rate this recipe!