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Salmon is one of our favorite choices when we’re looking for a simple, no-fuss main course. Its firm, moist texture makes it a perfect candidate for high-heat oven roasting, and topped with this easy glaze made with orange marmalade and bourbon, it makes a deliciously simple and quick weeknight meal.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
- Salmon fillets: You can make this recipe with any variety of salmon you choose. The fillets pictured here are Atlantic salmon, but sockeye and king are good choices too. Choose skin-on salmon fillets weighing 5 to 6 ounces each for this recipe.
- Orange marmalade: Pick a decent quality orange marmalade for making this glaze, preferably one that uses sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. Smucker’s Natural and Crosse and Blackwell are both good brands. If you don’t like orange marmalade, substitute apricot preserves.
- Bourbon: Any brand of bourbon or whiskey will work in this glaze. We use it to add a little subtle, smoky flavor, but for a non-alcoholic version of the recipe, you can replace it with equal parts orange and lemon juice.
- Cayenne: We like to add just a pinch of cayenne to give this glaze a bit of kick and balance the sweetness a little, but it’s totally optional.
How to Make Orange and Bourbon Glazed Salmon
- Preheat the oven to 425°F, line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, and coat with nonstick spray.
- Arrange the salmon fillets, skin side down, on the prepared baking sheet, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Combine orange marmalade, bourbon, brown sugar, and cayenne in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until the glaze has thickened to the original consistency of the marmalade.
- Remove from the heat, stir in the butter until melted and let cool.
- Divide the glaze evenly over each of the salmon fillets and roast until the glaze is lightly caramelized and the fish is cooked to medium doneness (see tips).
- Remove from the oven and serve.
Tips for Roasting Salmon
Don’t overcook the salmon: For best results, we recommend cooking the salmon to medium doneness. Roasting is an easy way to achieve this, but you do need to keep an eye on the fish to avoid overcooking, so test your salmon with an instant-read thermometer. Wild-caught salmon is done when it reaches 120°F in the thickest portion of the fillet. Farmed salmon needs a little extra time for its added fat content, so let that cook to an internal temp of 125°F.
Remove the skin before serving: If you don’t want to serve the salmon with the skin on, slip a thin spatula between the skin and the flesh of each fillet before transferring it to individual serving plates.
Make It A Meal
It’s likely that you’ll choose to make this easy entrée on a night when you’re not looking to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so you’ll want to pick easy sides to go along with it.
Pearl couscous (also known as Israeli couscous) is an excellent accompaniment because it’s light and cooks quickly. To save on dishes, you can make it in the same pan you’ll use to make the glaze. Follow the package directions and toss with a bit of butter and some of our all-purpose seasoning. Transfer to a serving dish, cover to keep warm, or pop it in the microwave for a minute to reheat when you’re ready to serve.
Roasted green beans are an easy side too. Toss fresh green beans with a bit of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, then lay them out in a single layer on the foil-lined baking sheet you’ll use for the salmon. Roast at 400°F until tender (15 to 20 minutes), transfer to a serving dish, cover to keep warm, and use the same pan to roast the salmon.
Orange and Bourbon Glazed Salmon
Ingredients
- 4 salmon fillets, skin on, 5 to 6 ounces each
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup orange marmalade
- 3 tablespoons bourbon
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- Pinch cayenne
- 1/2 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F, line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, and coat with nonstick spray.
- Arrange the salmon fillets, skin side down on the prepared baking sheet, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Combine the orange marmalade, bourbon, brown sugar, and cayenne in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until the glaze has thickened to the original consistency of the marmalade, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, stir in the butter until melted, and let cool for at least 5 minutes.
- Divide the glaze evenly over each of the salmon fillets and roast until the glaze is lightly caramelized and the fish is cooked to medium doneness, 6 to 8 minutes depending on the thickness of your salmon.
- Remove from the oven and serve (see notes).
Notes
- Don’t overcook the salmon: For best results, we recommend cooking the salmon to medium doneness. Roasting is an easy way to achieve this, but you do need to keep an eye on the fish to avoid overcooking so test your salmon with an instant-read thermometer. Wild-caught salmon is done when it reaches 120°F in the thickest portion of the fillet. Farmed salmon needs a little extra time for its added fat content, so let that cook to an internal temp of 125°F.
- Remove the skin before serving: If you don’t want to serve the salmon with the skin on, simply slip a thin spatula between the skin and the flesh of each fillet before transferring to individual serving plates.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This dish was absolutely outstanding! I was looking for a recipe to use with the marmalade I had just canned. This could not have been more perfect. I’m a nervous cook when preparing fish as over or under cooked and it can be disastrous in many ways. I followed your recipe exactly and the result was silence at the dinner table followed by a lot of “Oh. My. Gosh. This is delicious.” Thank you for making dinner a success!
Hi Shannon,
I’ll bet your homemade marmalade was phenomenal on the salmon. Thanks so much for letting us know that you and your family enjoyed the recipe.
DELICIOUS!!!!
This is outstanding the fish comes out really moist,when you go out to places to eat sometimes the salmon is dry
Hi Lillian,
So glad you enjoyed the recipe – the glaze does help to keep the fish moist.