5 Ingredients or Fewer

A Spicy Perspective's Garlic Lime Oven-Baked Salmon

by:
September 15, 2015
4
5 Ratings
A Spicy Perspective's Garlic Lime Oven-Baked Salmon
Photo by James Ransom
  • Serves 6 to 8
Author Notes

The trick protects your fingers from ever having to navigate the spice zone, even giving you a convenient handle on the stem end. It's also quite easy to do and makes your prep so much faster. And it naturally separates out the seeds, leaving them behind on the grater, which you can add back in for texture if you like. (Note that the spicy compound capsaicin is primarily held in the spongy white interior ribs, so if you've already grated those in, your mix will be spicy whether you leave all the seeds behind or not.) A Spicy Perspective's Sommer Collier calls for baking at 400° F, which works just fine, but ever since I learned about slow-roasting salmon, I've taken to the more forgiving pace and tender results, so I've dropped the temperature a tad here—it's flexible, depending on your preferred texture (the lower the temperature, the softer the salmon will be), how vigilant you are, and the temperature your oven perhaps already is. Adapted slightly from Sommer Collier of A Spicy Perspective. —Genius Recipes

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds wild caught whole salmon fillet
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 lime, zest and juice (divided)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 jalapeño
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 300° F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and lay the salmon fillet on it. Pat dry with a paper towel.
  2. Whisk the oil, lime zest, and garlic together. Grate the jalapeño and smell for spiciness. If it is very spicy (or you are sensitive to spice) add only half the grated pepper. Otherwise, add it all to the oil mixture. Pour or spoon the mixture over the salmon fillet and salt and pepper liberally.
  3. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until just cooked through, but not dry. The fish should feel just firm in the center and should be just beginning to flake when you poke into it. An instant-read thermometer should read 120° F. Squeeze lime juice over the top and serve warm.
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  • Lynne
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Genius Recipes

Recipe by: Genius Recipes

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19 Reviews

Lynne
Lynne December 25, 2019
Easy prep, so delicious, and clean up was easy too. We received salmon fillets for Christmas. It is the perfect time to try out another of my saved Food52 recipes. Wow - loved this recipe! With each bite, I kept wishing I had made more fillets I would like seconds! I used a microplane to grate the jalapeno. I agree with the recommendations to cook at 300 degrees. My fillets were not thick, it took 13 mins. I served the salmon with rice, fresh herbs, and toasted almonds. Made a quick salsa with TJs pineapple salsa and used the extra grated jalapeno, added diced red bell pepper, and a little honey. I can easily scale this recipe for a lunch or dinner party!
 
richa
richa October 29, 2019
My neighbour gave me a beautiful wild caught haiida gwai salmon fillet, and this brought it out beautifully!
Being Indian, the chili has never been an issue (till I forget and touch my contact lenses later on) but I did like the texture of the jalapeño being homogenous with the lime zest b/c of grating on the same panel. Obvs, I used the whole 'peño.
Did exactly 15 mins at 350 - and the centre was pink, everything was flaky and juicy. It tasted SO good. Leftovers will go atop a simple quinoa salad tonight.
 
richa
richa October 29, 2019
Think I'll try this on the grill too.
 
Allison C.
Allison C. August 6, 2018
If you like salmon and you like spicy, this is the recipe for you! It’s very tasty!
 
Matt
Matt November 14, 2017
All the stuff you put on top looks good, but I'm pretty sure this would still taste like salmon...
 
JP
JP August 21, 2019
Yes, that is what makes it so beautiful and delicious.
 
Matt
Matt November 14, 2017
All the stuff you put on top looks good, but I'm pretty sure this would still taste like salmon...
 
Michael B.
Michael B. July 2, 2016
Another tip for getting hot pepper oil off of your hands: mix baking soda and water in a bowl to form a thick paste. Rub the paste on the affected area and let it dry. Let it sit there as long as you can and/or repeat as needed.
 
Michelle
Michelle June 23, 2016
I halved the amount of salmon but left the oil mixture quantities unchanged. I did only squeeze half a lime over the fish at the end though. Simple but tasty.
 
Ali W.
Ali W. June 14, 2016
I will double the jalapeno/garlic/lime zest mixture next time I make this.
 
Jamie
Jamie March 28, 2016
not impressed with this recipe. Not as flavorful as I'd expected.
 
joannakate
joannakate December 4, 2015
Rubbing a coating of lard or shortening onto your hands before peeling or handling peppers protects them well too; you can later wash it off with lava soap or fast orange.
 
boymeetsgirlmeetsfood
boymeetsgirlmeetsfood October 5, 2015
Made this last night, and it was amazing! Added in more jalapeño and oil, and reserved half of the mix for a salad dressing- once we were done coating the salmon, we added some apple cider vinegar and cumin and dressed barbequed corn, spinach and cherry tomatoes. Salad and salmon- done! Love the low cooking temp, and will have to start doing more salmon like this.
 
sheila
sheila September 20, 2015
300 is too low. It's been in the oven for 25 minutes and still not done. Smells good however!
 
Chef D.
Chef D. November 28, 2015
home ovens can get miscalibrated and when you set it to 300 you might get higher or lower than that also the creator of the recipe could have a miscalibrated oven, then degree of separation could increase greatly, make sure your oven is what it says it is with a separate oven thermometer.
 
Rachel
Rachel September 20, 2015
if you do accidentally slice open your glove or get the oils on your hands and have a burn, don't put butter or other oils on your hands, it'll make it worse. I once had such a terrible jalapeno burn, I called the poison control hotline. They were the ones to tell me to not put butter on my hands. Their recommendation was absolutely genius and really worked: Soak your hands in liquid antacid (like mylanta). Since I was in the middle of something time sensitive, I poured the Mylanta into a plastic bag and secured it around my wrist with a rubber band and kept cooking. In hindsight, I don't remember what was so important and why I didn't just sit down with my hand in a bowl of it, but it really worked wonders.
 
Cindy
Cindy September 20, 2015
SarahBunny, get yourself a box of surgical gloves, they work well. I get a rash on my hands from peeling apples. I can also pull the skin off of chicken (I never eat that) with ease. Mincing garlic, onions etc, no smell on your fingers. And you can peel off the glove w/o touching a thing and throw them away.
 
Regine
Regine September 16, 2015
Cant wait to try recipe and technique. However, I am thinking that if i grate pepper too close to the stem I may still get burning hands. But i guess I am just being anal and i need to just NOT grate till the end.
 
SarahBunny
SarahBunny September 16, 2015
I plan to use this idea for hot peppers forever. I love spicy foods, but my hands burn for HOURS after I handle them (even if I wear gloves, which are bulky and I inevitably slice open, letting the oils in anyhow).