Cooking with Blobby

I think it's been a bit since I've posted any cooking anything here?  I'd have to go back and look, and honestly, who has the time? 

Tuesdays are generally salmon night for us. About 38 weeks of the year, I have a training run on Tuesdays and coming home, prepping / cooking salmon is extremely easy and is mostly done while I shower. The cooking part. Not the prepping part. 

So on those few weeks I don't have Tuesday evening runs, we don't much deviate from salmon. And I'm fine with the normal prep stuff, which is usually just olive oil, salt and pepper. Salt is a must for the albumin. It helps not make the white gooey protein from coming to the surface. 

Anyhooo......but something new is good to try too. I've done some here, and none have been home runs. 

Will Chile Crisp and Honey Roasted Salmon be the exception or the rule? 

Stick around. 

The ingredient list is minimal, so....bonus. And the first of four steps is to turn the oven on!  So going in, I'm good with the ease of this recipe. 

Ingredients 

Yield: 6 servings 1 (2-pound) salmon fillet (skin on or off), preferably center cut 

Salt and pepper 

¼ cup mayonnaise 

2 tablespoons chile crisp 

2 tablespoons honey 

Grated zest from 1 medium lemon 

Preparation 

Step 1 Heat oven to 375 degrees with the rack set in the center position. 

Step 2 Place the salmon in a baking dish that fits the salmon snugly (about 8 by 12 inches or 9 by 13 inches) and season the salmon on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the salmon skin-side down (if it has a skin) and set aside. 

Yeah - I forgot about the baking dish and used a rimmed sheet pan. I am not sure it mattered at all. 

Step 3 In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, chile crisp, honey and lemon zest. Taste the mixture and add more chile crisp to taste, or honey to balance the heat. Spread the mayonnaise mixture evenly on top of the salmon. 

Step 4 Place the salmon in the oven and bake until the thickest part of the salmon flakes easily when tested with a paring knife and the topping is bubbling a little along the edges, 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon. Spoon any glaze that has run off back onto the salmon and serve.

Meh. 710 liked it more than I. 

I was expecting more flavour; more spice. I think my chili crisp is 'mild' at best. Maybe the honey and mayo balanced things out, but I never really tasted anything but chili crisp. Not 100% sure the lemon zest yielded a thing. 

Pre-heating the oven and cooking for 15-20 minutes was a lot. I think it could have easily been done in an air fryer in less time and with less clean up.  The sheet pan was messy-ish. 

And for g-d's sake, use a glass bowl to mix the chili crisp mixture. A white plastic bowl and that stuff if just a disaster to clean.