Simple Simon Maple Salmon

Total Time: 35 mins Preparation Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 3 lbs salmon (mine was like a half of a fish with the skin on)
• 1 cup maple syrup (i just simply used what i had, "mrs. butter~worths original thick and rich)
• 1/2 cup soy sauce (regular by mistake as i usually use low-sodium kind but worked perfectly)
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic (i used the pre-minced kind in the jar which is strong, use more if using fresh)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2-1 cup chopped pecans (optional because i forgot to add them but will be added next time!)

Recipe

• 1 cut salmon into serving-sized pieces, crosswise, about 3 inches wide or however you prefer.
• 2 in small bowl, whisk rest of ingredients (except pecans) until well mixed.
• 3 put salmon pieces and maple mixture into a shallow dish or ziploc baggie to marinate. *refrigerate while marinating.
• 4 *i only got to marinate mine for about 5 hours, but next time, i'm going to marinate them overnight. still good, but overnight would be even better!
• 5 when ready to cook, remove from fridge, and remove salmon pieces from baggie saving the marinade.
• 6 place salmon into a greased/sprayed shallow baking dish, skin-side down. (i used a 13x9 and it fit really well.).
• 7 pour/spoon just a little marinade over each piece and pop into a pre-heated 375 degree oven.
• 8 pour the rest of the marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. reduce heat a tad, but keep at a nice steady boil, and stir occaisionally.
• 9 bake salmon for 30-35 minutes, depending on thickness, til done and flakes easily with a fork.
• 10 *halfway through baking the fish, carefully spoon a little more marinade over the fish. not from the saucepan, but what's in the baking dish. keep the marinade in the saucepan boiling to reduce til thickened.
• 11 when fish is done, remove from oven and baste with juices again while you get everything else done and ready.
• 12 if adding pecans, stir into saucepan of reduced marinade just before serving, or sprinkle on top of fish during last 1-2 minutes of baking. 2-3 minutes if wanting to do pecan halves. (just watch so that they don't burn.).
• 13 plate the fish and pour your thickened sauce over the top. (i served even more of it in tiny bowls for dipping! ).
• 14 we had this with my buttery herbed rice and what a great dinner! nothing else was even needed! (the sauce was great over the rice, too!).