Salmon Misoyaki
A classic Japanese dish and one of my favorite preparations of salmon. It's essentially the same recipe as the miso-marinaded black cod. The same flavor profile also works beautifully with the dense, relatively fatty salmon. Absolutely delicious and remarkably simple to make.
Active Time: 20 min
Total Time: 48 hr
Ingredients
> salmon
> miso (6 tbsp)
> mirin (3 tbsp)
> sake (3 tbsp)
> soy sauce (1 tbsp)
> sugar (1.5 tbsp, optional)
Instructions
1. Prepare the marinade by whisking together miso, mirin, sake, soy sauce, and sugar (if using) until well-combined.
2. Cut the salmon into individual (~6-8oz) portions. Generously coat both sides of each piece of salmon in the marinade and set it in a covered food container. Pour the rest of the marinade into the container, making sure the top of the salmon is covered.
3. Let marinade for 1-4 days (3 days is probably best).
4. Arrange a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Remove the fish from the marinade, remove excessive surface marinade (too much and it'll burn if you're not careful), and place onto the baking sheet.
5. Broil on medium for ~6-10 minutes, or until fully cooked (120F internal). Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes/Tips:
> Any kind of miso would work. I used saikyo miso, which is a relatively sweet white miso. If using something similar, omit the extra sugar from the marinade. White miso has a slightly more subtle flavor than other colors. Salmon is more meaty and can handle the more intense flavor of brown miso too.
> Make sure to remove most of the marinade from the top, otherwise it will most likely burn under the broiler.
> Scale the amount of marinade up or down depending on the amount of salmon you need to marinade. This amount is probably enough for 2-3 pounds or so (you can re-use it too)
> Feel free to marinade the salmon for however long is convenient. I would recommend at least 12 hours, but probably no longer than 4 days. If you're doing a short marinade, consider adding more salt or soy sauce to compensate.
> Ideally, adjust your heat such that the top is nicely caramelized, but not burnt. The thicker your fish, the lower the broiler setting you'll want, and the longer the bake time
> Using skin-on filets, skin side down, is a good way to ensure that the fish is tender and juicy throughout and doesn't get overcooked on the bottom side.