5 Ingredients or Fewer

Char, Fast and Slow

October  4, 2022
4.5
4 Ratings
  • Serves 2
What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs (e.g. parsley, tarragon, dill)
  • zest of 1 small lemon
  • 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 pound arctic char (or salmon) fillet, skin on, cut into 2 equal portions
Directions
  1. Position a rack in the top third of the oven and set it to 250°F. In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, herbs, lemon zest and juice, and pepper to taste.
  2. Season the flesh side of the fish generously with salt and pepper and slather with about two thirds of the lemon herb mayonnaise, making sure to cover all of the fish. Gently turn over the fillets and place them, skin side up, in a shallow baking dish just big enough to hold them. Put in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the fish is just beginning to turn opaque around the edges (cooking time will vary according to the thickness of the fillets). Remove from the oven.
  3. About five minutes before you are ready to eat, turn on the broiler. Gently turn over the fish (you can probably do this with your hands, as the fish will not be very hot) so that the flesh side is facing up and slather on the rest of the mayonnaise mixture. Broil for a minute or so, until the top of the fish just starts to brown and it sizzles a bit. (You do not want to broil it for much longer than this, as the fish will overcook.) Serve immediately.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • mrslarkin
    mrslarkin
  • monkeymom
    monkeymom
  • dymnyno
    dymnyno
  • Tom Benedek
    Tom Benedek

4 Reviews

mrslarkin June 30, 2011
Made this for dinner last night, using salmon. So yummy! I only had parsley, so added a splash of Pernod for that aromatic anise-y flavor. It was super delicious and even the kids ate it, "green stuff" and all! Thanks, Merrill!
 
monkeymom November 15, 2010
I love this recipe, it really is easy and reliable! I have been using the milk mayonnaise recipe from Amanda with it, making the browned topping so light. Thanks for this technique!
 
dymnyno November 17, 2009
I thought that slathering salmon with mayo and herbs and baking in the oven was MY dirty little secret. It is foolproof. .. the fish always turns our moist.
 
Tom B. October 7, 2009
Frozen wild salmon from Trader Joe has been soo difficult to cook nicely. I tried it with their skin on Frozen Coho Wild Salmon... using fresh chives and a little bit of dried dill. Amazing texture and flavor. Kept it under the broiler for 4 minutes to brown it.