Roasted Salmon Glazed With Brown Sugar and Mustard

First, don't oil the foil. You want the skin to stick to it when your remove the fillets. Second, don't roast, broil. Put the oven shelf up as high as it goes & preheat the broiler. Third, use the coarse, country Dijon; it adds more zip. How much? Depends on how much salmon you're cooking. For 2-6 oz fillets, I used about 2 heaping TB Dijon; added brown sugar until I liked the taste. I universally broil salmon fillets for 6 min, no more. Served this one with stir-fried spinach with pine nuts.

This is essentially the same recipe I have been making for years, a real go-to. Only difference is that I add 1 tsp of ground ginger to the mustard/brown sugar mix. Gives it a bit more zip.

This is going into my rotation for the easiest and nicest salmon dish on my roster. I probably went 4 parts brown sugar 1 part Dijon mustard, the marinade was a think paste in the end. Which means it stuck to the salmon beautifully and caramelized very quickly for a nice crunchy crust.
Please try this out!

Add a dash of bourbon to the mustard/brown sugar glaze. Yum!

It would be extremely helpful for you to have given a little idea of a proportion of Dijon to sugar to start with. Equal parts? Ratio? Come on...

If they had given a ratio, half the readers would have said it was either too mustardy or half would have thought it too sweet, or...too...blah. If you like sweet glazes, you make it sweet. If you don't like sweet glaze, then maybe you should ask yourself "why am I making this recipe"? Same thing going on in the comments for the "Crusty Macaroni & Cheese" recipe NYT ran the other day. Readers double or tripling the milk and then comment they didn't like it. LOL

I use a mixture of maple syrup and dijon which also works beautifully. Sometimes I add garlic and/or ginger.

Never waste a good piece of fish by broiling it. Roast it. Broiling dries out the surface exposed to intense heat, and the longer you broil the more overcooked (dryer) the fish gets within. By the time the center of the piece of fish is cooked sufficiently -- whether rare for salmon or more well done for halibut, for example -- the drying process from intense heat exposure has crept well into the fish. For succulent fish, roast, don't broil.

Maybe it doesn't apply in this recipe, but for anyone who doesn't know this, skin-on salmon when pan-fried is absolutely delicious. It's tender yet super crisp like a potato chip.

I agree with the person who suggested broiling it at the end. A 400 degree oven leaves the mustard combo a little bit mushy and the last minute broil should crisp it up.

I almost always ruin the salmon, but this time I was a rock star. I added a tinge of bourbon to the glaze, cooked at 425 for about 6 minutes, then finished under the broiler. Heavenly and so, so easy. Thanks Sam!

Looks delicious. When I roast salmon I use 425 for 10 minutes and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Comes out rare.

Baking trick for easiest pan cleanup (and no foil waste). Use a silicone baking sheet liner.

Don't oil the foil. 50-50 brown sugar and mustard. Add a little bourbon and grated ginger. Bake at 425 for about 6 min then finish under broiler.

I like this technique, but I found the glaze unappealingly wet after cooking, so I popped the fish under the broiler for a minute to dry/crisp it a bit. Next time I will undercook it to compensate for the broiler time. I think this would also be delicious with a miso glaze.

Anyway, great technique that I'll use again with many possible variations. Quick and delicious without stinking up the house with my usual super hot pan sear.

First, don't oil the foil. Second, don't roast, broil. Put the oven shelf up as high as it goes & preheat the broiler. Third, use the coarse, country Dijon it adds more zip. How much? For 2-6 oz fillets, use about 2 heaping TB Dijon; add brown sugar until you like the taste. Broil the salmon fillets for 6 min, no more. Serve with stir-fried spinach and pine nuts.

Alternate: Add 1 tsp of ground ginger to the mustard/brown sugar mix. Gives it a bit more zip.