Salmon with Cranberry Chutney

I love a good salmon dish and this Salmon with Cranberry Chutney is bursting with all the flavors of the holiday season. Turkey is usually the main attraction on my Thanksgiving table and I've been making my Jerk Turkey recipe for quite a few years now.  If you are not a turkey fan or you are looking for a different protein option this Thanksgiving this salmon with cranberry chutney would be a worthy addition to any thanksgiving menu. The salmon on its own is delicious. It is garlicky and has a little heat from the cayenne pepper but the cranberry chutney really adds an unexpected burst of flavor. The sweet and tartness of the chutney combined with the spiciness of the cayenne pepper is beyond yummy.

Prepping the salmon for broiling

I love broiling salmon because it comes together quickly. With three kids, I rarely have time to pour into prepping and cooking my meals. I need to cook quickly and efficiently. And this dish is just that. Cooking this salmon is easy and requires zero culinary skills.

To prep the salmon for cooking, I wash and remove the scales from the salmon. After cleaning the fish I add lemon juice (I don't wash the lemon juice off), and then seasoning. Seasoning the fish for at least 20 minutes before cooking will enhance the flavor of the finished dish, but it is not necessary. I've brought salmon home, cleaned, seasoned and cooked within 20 minutes and it still tasted great.

My trick to getting the skin crispy

When ready to broil, I place the salmon skin side up on a greased baking sheet and spray it with cooking spray. This is an important step if you like really crispy fish skin. You can even serve the salmon with cranberry chutney with the salmon skin side up to maintain that crispiness. I love a good crispy fish skin even on baked or broiled fish.

Broiling the Fish

I broil the fish on the top rack in the oven. While broiling the skin starts to "fry" with that little bit of oil from the cooking spray. It becomes crispy and oh so delicious. Broiling is quick cooking at high heat, so if you haven't used your broiler before, you will need to watch the fish to ensure it does not burn. 4 to 6 minutes is a good window for cooking the fish on this side. Once the skin gets brown or puffs up flip the fish over so that it is now flesh side up.

Why do we need to flip it over you ask? So that the flesh side gets a nice color. Continue to broil for another 4 minutes and then remove from the oven. If you cook the fish for more than 10 minutes it will over cook and be dry. So please keep an eye on the fish and on the timer. When you have finished broiling the fish, let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Making the Cranberry Chutney

Cranberry chutney is easy to make and is the key to this Salmon with Cranberry Chutney dish. Don't be afraid, after making this once, you will never use that can jelly ever again. I made this in a small frying pan but you can use a small sauce pan of you prefer.

All of the ingredients for the chutney are added to a small pot or frying pan (in my case) on high heat. Within 10 minutes the cranberries become really soft and a sauce forms. Once the cranberries soften your chutney is ready. Remove it from the heat. You can make the chutney ahead and store in the refrigerator, but remember to serve it warm.

Bringing the dish together

The salmon is really good to eat on its own. So If you were making this for a regular weeknight meal, after you're done broiling the salmon, you would be ready to eat. But for special occasions and if you want to add it to your thanksgiving menu, plate the salmon and then add a tablespoon of the chutney on top of the salmon. Oh so delicious! You can't go wrong with this dish. Just typing this up and looking at the photos is making me really hungry. I can't wait to add this to my Thanksgiving table and I hope you do too. Don't forget to subscribe to my blog so that you get recipes right to your email and check out my youtube for video tutorials. Happy Cooking!

The Recipe

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Salmon with Cranberry Chutney

Althea Brown

A spicy oven broiled salmon topped with a sweet and tart cranberry chutney. Perfect for your holiday table!

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Holiday

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 lb of Salmon filet
• 1 teaspoon of coarse salt like sea salt or Himalayan salt
• Juice of 12 lemon
• 4 cloves of garlic finely grated
• ½ teaspoon of powdered ginger can use fresh ginger as well
• ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• Cooking spray
• pinch of freshly ground black pepper
  
• Cranberry Chutney
  
• 1 cup of fresh cranberries washed
• ¼ cup of granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoon of red wine vinegar
• ½ teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• ½ teaspoon of orange zest
• Juice from ½ and orange

Instructions

 

• Wash and scale salmon filet. Then cut into 4 equal pieces
• Season salmon pieces by first squeezing the lemon juice over all of the pieces, then adding the coarse salt, grated garlic, powdered ginger, cayenne pepper and black pepper
• Let marinate for 20 to 30 minutes, while you make the cranberry chutney
• When ready to cook, set your oven temperature to broil.
• Place the fish skin side up on a greased baking sheet (I used cooking spray for this step)
• Spray fish skin with cooking spray and use fingers to rub the cooking spray evenly over the fish skin
• Broil for 4 to 6 minutes or until fish skin is brown and crispy
• Flip the fish over so that it is flesh side up and broil for another 4 minutes to allow the flesh to become brown
• Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes.
• Top with cranberry chutney and enjoy
  
• Cranberry Chutney
  
• Add cranberries, granulated sugar, red wine vinegar, freshly grated ginger, orange zest and orange juice to a small pot on medium heat.
• Mix together well
• Bring to a boil, stirring continuously as cranberries become soft
• As soon as the cranberries soften remove from the heat
• It will continue to cook and thicken
• Set aside
• Top salmon with cranberry chutney before serving the salmon

Notes

1. My broiler is preset to 500°F. The temperature on your broiler may vary. If this is your first time using your broiler option, please pay close attention to your fish so that it doesn't burn
2. Broiling the salmon for longer than 10 minutes will cause the fish to be dry
3. You can make the chutney ahead and store it in the fridge, but be sure to reheat it before serving. I usually just pop mine in the microwave but you could also reheat it on the stove, just add a tablespoon or two of fresh orange juice and reheat it on low

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!