Fish for Dinner: Maple Bourbon Glazed Salmon with Cranberry Chutney

Maple Bourbon Glazed Salmon with Cranberry Chutney -- so many strong and wonderful flavors!

The Occasion: Putting on the Ritz without putting up a fuss. Maple-Bourbon Glazed Salmon with Cranberry Chutney looks fancy and tastes amazing. It includes multiple components and lots of ingredients – but don’t worry, it’s easier than it looks and is absolutely worth a try! 

The Recipe: Our wonderful fish supplier – Hooked on Fish – introduced us to this recipe which originally came from Half Baked Harvest, a blog featuring simple, seasonal, whole foods. Loaded with flavor, this is the type of dish that savvy home cooks like to have in their repertoire – looks and tastes super-special, but in fact is simple and straightforward.

Who's got a fork? I'm getting hungry!

​What Makes It Special: Chutney is one of my favorite condiments, the combination of sweet and sour, spicy and savory.

A good chutney will bring out exotic flavors when served with chicken, or pork, or just cheese and crackers. Yum!
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The Playlist: Here’s a playlist for your listening pleasure while you read on and/or while you cook this delightful recipe.

I find that everything goes better with a soundtrack, don’t you agree?

Serve With: The recipe includes salt-roasted potatoes with chopped rosemary, which I highly recommend. I've roasted a lot of potatoes in my lifetime, but there's something very special about these.

Looks like a lot of salt, but somehow, when it comes time to stick your fork in, it is just the right amount. 

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Kitchen Tip: Some people love cranberries only at Thanksgiving and the winter holidays. I am not one of those people and am down with the cran all year round. (Presuming I was smart enough to buy and freeze a few bags when they were abundant in the stores.) 
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Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.

The Verdict: There’s nothing not to like here. The maple-bourbon glaze is heavenly. Some of the best home cooks we know use this glaze for salmon on the regular and don’t even bother with the chutney. I get it but prefer to gild the lily by adding the sweet/savory sauce as a tantalizing go-with.

Next time I will increase the quantity of savory ingredients – more diced jalapenos, more ginger, and a bit more vinegar. Also I need to allow more time for the maple-bourbon sauce to boil, thicken, and reduce by half. I rushed and ended up with a tasty sauce that was more like au jus than a glaze. There will most definitely be a next time, so we’ll get it right then. Enjoy!

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Maple Bourbon Glazed Salmon with Cranberry Chutney and Salt Roasted Potatoes
Recipe source: Hooked on Fish, adapting the original recipe from Half Baked Harvest
 
INGREDIENTS:

​For the Salmon

• 1 lb. salmon cut into 3 or 4 pieces
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ¾ cup pure maple syrup
• 5 tablespoons bourbon
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 1¼ cup orange juice
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper to taste

 
For the Chutney

• 2 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 cup chopped apples
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• ½ to ¾ cup brown sugar or to taste
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated orange zest
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 1 jalapeño seeded and chopped – Note: Taste the jalapeño to assess the heat, then modify the quantity to suit your taste

 
For the Potatoes

• 2 pounds baby red potatoes, each 1½ to 2 inches in diameter
• 1 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

 
DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat an oven to 350°.
• Arrange the potatoes in a single layer in a roasting pan. Pour the olive oil over them and turn to coat well. Sprinkle with the salt and rosemary, turn the potatoes.
• Roast until the skins are slightly wrinkled and the insides are tender and creamy when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, about 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place the salmon in a 9x13 inch baking dish. In a small bowl whisk together the maple syrup, bourbon, soy sauce, orange juice, and cayenne pepper. Pour the sauce over the salmon. Let sit while you prepare the chutney.
• In a medium sauce pot, combine the cranberries, apples, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, orange zest, ginger, cinnamon stick, and jalapeño. Pour in 1 cup water and bring the mixture to boil.
• Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 20-25 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and thickened and the cranberries have burst. Taste and add more brown sugar if needed. Remove from the heat to cool.
• While the chutney is cooking, cook the salmon. Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil.
• Remove the salmon from the bourbon-maple mixture and carefully add to the hot skillet, skin side up. Sear the salmon for 3-4 minutes and then flip and continue cooking for another 4-5 minutes or until the salmon reaches your desired doneness. Cooking times will vary depending on the size of your salmon. Remove the salmon from the skillet and place on a plate.
• Reduce the heat in the skillet to low and carefully pour in all of the bourbon-maple mixture. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until reduced by half and the sauce is syrupy.
• Remove from heat and drizzle the hot glaze over the salmon, reserving some of the glaze for serving.
• To serve, place a little cranberry chutney on the bottom of a plate. Top with salmon and drizzle the salmon with the bourbon-maple glaze. Serve the potatoes on the side.

What's your favorite fish dish to cook? To eat (if someone else is cooking)? Tell us in the Comments, please!