Magic Spice Salmon

The salmon hack that’s perfect for when you want to get out of the kitchen quick.

It was a Thursday afternoon and Victoria and Renee both happened to land at the fish counter at Seasons Supermarket at the same time.

Also there was Victoria’s neighbor, Syma, and she was holding this piece of salmon. She explained that even when she’s not serving a whole side, but just a pound or two, she likes cooking and serving it in one piece because it simply stays juicier. 

That made sense. But, because part of our job here at Between Carpools is to ask everyone and anyone how they prepare their [insert any protein here!], we also asked Syma how she’s going to prepare hers.

First, she admitted that she does not like being in the kitchen! We told her, “That’s absolutely perfect. Because we need those easy cooking hacks from people like you!”

Start by spraying your salmon with cooking spray, avocado spray is recommended. This will let the seasoning stick. Then, simply sprinkle on this Magic Salmon Seasoning.

For a piece like this, or a larger side, bake at 500°F 15 minutes (the parchment paper will brown a bit but it won’t burn). Then shut off the oven and leave the fish in the hot oven for another 15 minutes to let it finish cooking gently. 

Syma told us she learned this hack from her friend Rivky Wallerstein. When we called Rivky for more info, she shared that she does the same thing with individual slices, baking for just 5 minutes, then shutting the oven and leaving it there for 15 minutes as well. She warned that this cooking technique is not recommended for salmon recipes that have a nut crust or sugary toppings, as they’ll burn. But it’s perfect for fish seasoned with spice rubs like this. 

That’s when you’ll get the perfect amount of crispiness on the outside without getting overdone or dry.

For the easiest way to transfer larger pieces of salmon or any fish without it falling apart, we use a fish spatula like this.