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Foil Packet Salmon with Ginger-Scallion Butter

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foil packet salmon - on foil, cooked, further out-4

There’s a little joke in our house: a kid will exclaim, “This dinner is so good. Too bad we’ll never have it again.” We don’t repeat recipes terribly often – not because we don’t like them, but because we feel that there are too many of interest to try and not enough days in a lifetime to try them.  However, after importing the photos for this dish, we were wiping the drool from our gaping jaws as we recalled the… uncalled for level of deliciousness that occurred at this particular dinnertime. We repeated it the following evening. Salmon (good salmon) is fantastic in and of itself and so we are rarely lured in by salmon recipes where a sauce or a glaze is involved because it just feels unnecessary. We did want to give this one a whirl because a foil packet meal with an Asian flare seemed intriguing, and it was worth the gamble.

foil packet salmon - plated, from side-6

This Foil Packet Salmon with Ginger-Scallion Butter simply gushes with bright piquancy: spinach, carrots and mushrooms compose the base of your foil packet, followed by an herb of your choice, salt, pepper, and a splash of white wine. Salmon filets rest atop the vegetables and each flavors the other as they roast, resulting in a succulent and tender foil packet. As if that isn’t enough, dollops of vibrant, green butter containing ginger, scallions and sesame oil slowly melt down each salmon filet. It’s absolute heaven.

foil packet salmon - ingredients-1

Tip (unsponsored):  We suggest wild salmon, and have had great success with Costco’s fresh, skin-on salmon filet, usually sockeye (you will want to skim the skin off with a filet knife for this dish). We love Costco’s quality of fish/seafood. We have also been very happy with the salmon we’ve gotten from our local Asian market, so give that a try if you’ve got one. The prices are often quite good. You will want to slice the carrots and mushrooms very thinly on a mandolin or in a food processor so that they cook as quickly as the salmon does.

foil packet salmon - on foil, raw-2

Have your kids help you layer ingredients down on the foil. As you prepare and enjoy this meal with those you love, teach them a few things about the ingredients:

  • Spinach is high in vitamin K, which helps your bones stay healthy.
  • Carrots are one of the best things to eat to prevent heart disease.
  • Salmon contain a lot of marvelous nutrients, but are most well-known for their omega-3 fats, which are great for your brain and which your body can’t make on it’s own so you must supply it through the food you eat.

foil packet salmon - on foil, cooked, close-up-3

Since this meal has an Asian flare, let’s learn a few things about Taiwan (just to pick a random place):

  • Many of the garbage trucks play music to encourage people to bring out their trash.
  • Taiwan has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world.
  • People love to ride bikes in Taiwan.

foil packet salmon - plated, from above-5

foil packet salmon collage

From: Foil Packet Fish

Foil Packet Salmon with Ginger-Scallion Butter
 
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Author:
Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • Salmon, four 6-ounce skinless fillets (we highly recommend wild sockeye)
  • 2 cups spinach
  • 1 cup carrots, very thinly sliced
  • 1 cup mushrooms, very thinly sliced
  • 2 springs fresh thyme
  • 2 splashes white wine
  • Kosher salt, pepper
  • For the Ginger-Scallion Butter:
  • ½ stick softened butter
  • 3 sliced scallions
  • 2 teaspoons grated peeled ginger
  • ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • *You will need some heavy-duty tin foil.
Instructions
  1. Make the Ginger-Scallion Butter:
  2. Pulse the butter, 3 scallions, ginger, sesame oil, and salt in a mini food processor until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  3. Lay out 2 large sheets of heavy-duty foil.
  4. Mound 2 cup vegetables in the center of each, season with salt and pepper and top with a sprig of thyme.
  5. Place the fish on top of the vegetables; season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
  6. Add a splash of white wine.
  7. Bring the short ends of the foil together and fold twice to seal; fold in the sides to seal, leaving room for steam.
  8. Grill or campfire method: Preheat a grill to medium high or light a campfire and put a cooking grate in place. Grill the foil packets until the fish is just cooked through, 12 minutes.
  9. Let the packets sit 5 minutes, then carefully open and top with the ginger-scallion butter.
  10. Oven method: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Put the foil packets on a baking sheet; bake until the fish is just cooked through, about 12 minutes. Let the packets sit 5 minutes, then carefully open and top with the ginger-scallion butter.

 

Foil Packet Fish (Tilapia with Potatoes, Red Onion, Tomatoes and Smoky Red Pepper Oil)

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foil packet tilapia, plated-1

Imagine a tin foil dinner that is wonderfully flavorful and abnormally exciting. Behold Tilapia with Potatoes, Red Onion, Tomatoes and Smoky Red Pepper Oil! This may be our favorite way to eat tilapia: the vegetables end up perfectly tender and juicy, and the sweet, flaky fish positively melts in your mouth. The red pepper oil lends vibrance and interest with it’s cumin, paprika, garlic, and sherry vinegar. Delicate textures with a bold oil make for THE most perfect foil packet meal to enjoy anywhere from home to the woods to the fire pit at the beach.

foil packet tilapia, ingredients-1

Tip (unsponsored): We love the fish we find in the non-frozen section at Costco or at our local Asian market. This recipe calls for you to add a splash of wine or water before closing the foil packet. We suggest using wine for the lovely depth of flavor it offers. If you’re like us and don’t drink alcohol but use small amounts to cook with, check your local grocery store for mini chardonnay bottles. Our local Walmart carries a six-pack of mini, plastic chardonnay bottles that are perfect for cooking – no wasting the rest of a big bottle or freezing in cubes required.

foil packet tilapia, placing fish on veggies-1

You’ll want to par-boil your potatoes beforehand. Easy as can be, simply assemble and grill.

foil packet tilapia, folding the foil -1

Twelve minutes later, you’ll be enjoying the best fish you’ve ever made.

foil packets on grill-1

Here’s the magical oil that makes all the difference:

foil packet tilapia, Smoky Red Pepper Oil-1

(*Insert the gurgling sound Homer Simpson makes when he sees doughnuts here.)

foil packet tilapia, pouring Smoky Red Pepper Oil on fish-1

Have your kids help you place vegetables on each foil packet, taking note of the beautiful aroma of the fresh herb you choose. As you prepare and enjoy this meal with those you love, teach them a few things about some of the ingredients:

  • Fish, such as tilapia, contain a lot of marvelous nutrients, but are most well-known for their omega-3 fats, which are great for your brain and which your body can’t make on it’s own so you must supply it through the food you eat. These acids are believed to lower your risk of all the major diseases you hear most about, such as heart disease and Alzheimer’s.
  • Red potatoes’ skins are full of iron, which helps your blood to oxygenate your body.
  • Red onions help your heart stay strong by keeping your blood vessels healthy.

foil packet tilapia collage

Adapted slightly from: Mix-and-Match Foil Packet Fish

Foil Packet Fish (Tilapia with Potatoes, Red Onion, Tomatoes and Smoky Red Pepper Oil)
 
Print
Author:
Difficulty: Easy
Est. Cost: $20
Serves: serves 4
Ingredients
  • Tilapia, four 6-ounce skinless fillets
  • 2 cups red potatoes, cut into small pieces and boiled
  • 1 cup red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes
  • 2 springs fresh thyme
  • 2 splashes white wine
  • Kosher salt, pepper
  • For the Smoky Red Pepper Oil:
  • ¼ cup chopped roasted red peppers (or piquillo peppers)
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 grated garlic clove
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
  • *You will need some heavy-duty tin foil.
Instructions
  1. Make the Smoky Red Pepper Oil: Puree the roasted red peppers with the olive oil, sherry vinegar, smoked paprika, garlic clove and ¼ teaspoon each kosher salt and ground cumin until smooth.
  2. Lay out 2 large sheets of heavy-duty foil.
  3. Mound 2 cup vegetables in the center of each, season with salt and pepper and top with a sprig of thyme.
  4. Place the fish on top of the vegetables; season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
  5. Add a splash of white wine.
  6. Bring the short ends of the foil together and fold twice to seal; fold in the sides to seal, leaving room for steam.
  7. Grill or campfire method: Preheat a grill to medium high or light a campfire and put a cooking grate in place. Grill the foil packets until the fish is just cooked through, 12 minutes.
  8. Let the packets sit 5 minutes, then carefully open and drizzle with the pepper oil.
  9. Oven method: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Put the foil packets on a baking sheet; bake until the fish is just cooked through, about 12 minutes. Let the packets sit 5 minutes, then carefully open and drizzle with the pepper oil.

 

Perfect Salmon Burgers

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perfect salmon burgers-1

Honestly, we don’t know where to start here… these salmon burgers are INSANE. They are the creme de la creme in every possible way. Firstly, they are gorgeous. Secondly, the texture of the salmon is absolute perfection because of the way you prep the patty – you cut most of the raw salmon into pieces and puree the rest with a few other ingredients, resulting in this amazingly moist and flavorful binding while still keeping the integrity of the salmon because it retains it’s delightful, flaky texture. Too often, burgers (and especially fish burgers) end up dry. You won’t believe how moist these are. You won’t find a better salmon burger in any restaurant. We know that’s a pretty bold statement, but just try us.

Tips (unsponsored): You need a really soft bun or roll for this burger because a hard one will smash the texture of the delicate patty. We ran through the drive-through of Kneader’s for some petit pain rolls and they were just too rough as-was. We sliced the hard tops and bottoms off (see below), grilled them, and they were perfect.

perfect salmon burgers with split bun-1

We used the jalapeno dill tartar sauce from Trader Joe’s and it was delicious on these. We like to buy our salmon (wild, skin-on) at our local Asian market, as the prices are usually good. Costco is a good place to buy salmon as well.

perfect salmon burgers ingredients-1

Have your kids help you juice the lemons and top each burger with arugula. As you prepare and enjoy these perfect burgers with your family, teach them about a few of the benefits some of the ingredients will provide their bodies:

  • Arugula is high in vitamin K, which makes your bones strong and your brain healthy.
  • Arugula also provides your body with folic acid, which helps it make healthy new cells.
  • Salmon contain a lot of marvelous nutrients, but are most well-known for their omega-3 fats, which are great for your brain and which your body can’t make on it’s own so you must supply it through the food you eat.

Since salmon burgers don’t scream any particular ethnicity to us, let’s just review a few facts about Cambodia and it’s people:

  • In larger cities, less than half of Cambodian children finish elementary school, and it’s much less in the country. Don’t you feel grateful to be able to go to school and the things you learn there?
  • Cambodians eat rice with every meal (even dessert) and a ton of fish.
  • Thousands of people each year visit ancient temples in Cambodia.

Adapted slightly from: Perfect Salmon Burgers

Perfect Salmon Burgers
 
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Prep time
Active time
Total time
 
Author:
Difficulty: Easy
Est. Cost: $18
Serves: 4 burgers
Ingredients
  • 1¼ pounds center-cut salmon fillet, skin and pin bones removed
  • 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 2 scallions, chopped
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
  • 4 brioche buns (or other soft bun), split
  • Tartar sauce and arugula, for topping
Instructions
  1. Cut three-quarters of the salmon into ¼-inch pieces. Put in a large bowl. Cut the rest of the salmon into chunks; transfer the chunks to a food processor along with the mustard, mayonnaise, lemon juice, lemon zest and cayenne. Pulse to make a paste.
  2. Add the pureed salmon mixture to the bowl with the diced salmon. Add the scallions, 2 tablespoons panko, ½ teaspoon salt, and black pepper to taste. Gently mix until just combined.
  3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush with olive oil. Divide the salmon mixture into 4 mounds on the parchment paper. With damp hands, pat into 4-inch-wide, ¾-inch-thick patties. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
  4. Preheat the broiler. Spread the remaining 1 cup panko on a plate. Press Panko into both sides of the salmon patties. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the patties (in batches if necessary) and cook until golden on the bottom, 3 to 4 minutes, adjusting the heat if necessary and rotating the patties half-way through on each side for even cooking. Turn and cook until the other side is browned and the patties feel springy in the center, 3 to 4 more minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain; season with salt.
  5. Meanwhile, arrange the buns, cut-side up, on a broiler pan and broil until toasted, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve the patties on the buns; top with tartar sauce and arugula.

Perfect Salmon Burgers collage

 

 

 

Grilled Salmon (a.k.a. the most simple and healthful dinner imaginable)

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grilled salmon - 1

If you know anything about us, you know that we love fish and seafood. Just love it to death – and for good reason. We appreciate a good meal involving salmon which has been jazzed-up in a variety of ways, but when we want to keep things extra simple and healthful, there isn’t anything better than this simple grilled salmon. We feel pretty passionate about the health benefits and misconceptions related to this bounty of the sea, so please allow us to repeat the following from a previous salmon post:

Our fellow Americans: we do not eat nearly enough fish. Why do we eat like 80-something pounds of chicken per year and around 14 pounds of fish/seafood? We think it has a lot to do with the fact that American’s aren’t really sure how to cook fish. Oh, and it’s pretty expensive (it’s significantly cheaper to grow a chicken than it is to catch a fish). If you’re worried about nitrates being a problem, I suggest that you avoid watching any documentaries about how our chicken, beef and pork are treated, because you will find that very worrisome as well and may find yourself turning your nose up at those as well as fish.

Many of the folks we talk to feel like fish is just “smelly” and “gross.” When that statement is followed-up with “well, what kind of fish have you had?” the answer tends to have something to do with fish sticks or some other fish that couldn’t be construed as fresh by any stretch of the imagination. If you haven’t cooked fish before, please at least give it a shot.

salmon raw-1

Tip (unsponsored):  We suggest wild salmon, and have had great success with Costco’s fresh, skin-on salmon filet, usually sockeye. We love Costco’s quality of fish/seafood. We have also been very happy with the salmon we’ve gotten from our local Asian market, so give that a try if you’ve got one. The prices are often quite good.

We prefer our salmon slightly undercooked, which means you will still see some bright pink color in the center. When preparing leftover salmon, enjoy it cold or separate it into a few sections and microwave it just until it reaches room temperature. Fish cooks very quickly and re-heating it will result in an unpleasantly tough, over-cooked texture. Have a fresh lemon or two on-hand as well. Use leftover salmon to make this amazing Lemon Spaghetti.

Have your kids help you choose a salmon filet. Our kids LOVE going down the fish isle, especially at the Asian market where they like to stop and watch the different varieties swimming about in their massive tanks. As you prepare and enjoy this meal with those you love, teach them about some of the health benefits of salmon:

  • Salmon contain a lot of marvelous nutrients, but are most well-known for their omega-3 fats, which are great for your brain and which your body can’t make on it’s own so you must supply it through the food you eat. These acids are believed to lower your risk of all the major diseases you hear most about, such as heart disease and Alzheimer’s.
  • Salmon are also high in selenium, which helps your brain function well, and vitamin B12, which helps your nerves stay healthy.

Since Salmon reminds us of Alaska, and Alaska reminds us of Eskimos, let’s learn a few things about these interesting people:

  • The term “Eskimo” is actually sort of offensive to most natives. Although not politically correct either, they prefer the term “Inuk,” or Inuit (plural).
  • The kunik, or “Eskimo kiss” is an intimate act where two people smell each others hair and skin. Since smell is the most powerful sense for memory, people who haven’t seen each other in a long while can receive a flood of memories about each other via this tradition.
  • Because of the barren land and extreme cold, the ancient (and even many modern-day) Inuit thrived on a diet made up almost exclusively of meat, such as narwhal and seal. That kind of diet wouldn’t work for most of us who live in more moderate climates and have access to more Western ways of eating, but, somehow, the Inuit have been some of the healthiest of peoples in the world.

Grilled Salmon (a.k.a. the most simple and healthful dinner imaginable)
 
Print
Prep time
Active time
Total time
 
Author:
Difficulty: Easy
Est. Cost: $20
Ingredients
  • Fresh salmon filet, skin-on (preferably wild sockeye)
  • 3 lemons, halved
  • kosher salt
  • pepper
  • extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
  1. Heat grill to medium-high heat.
  2. Rub olive oil on the skin side of the filet.
  3. Flip and generously salt and pepper the flesh side, then drizzle with olive oil and rub.
  4. Place halved lemons on the grill, flesh-side down.
  5. Grill, skin-side down, for 4-6 minutes, or until skin begins to char.
  6. Flip using 2 spatulas. Grill another 3-4 minutes or until desired doneness.

 

 

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