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Justine Doiron

just real good food

Dairy Free, Fish, Gluten Free, Recipes, Special Diets · June 3, 2023

Tomato Butter Salmon

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This spiced tomato butter salmon is one of my favorite easy, quick and delicious ways to make salmon. The salmon skin gets all crispy, and the sauce is built around the salmon as it’s cooking, so it ends up gripping to the fish and caramelizing onto the skin as everything cooks. It’s deeply flavorful and incredibly satisfying, plus – the whole process takes less than 15 minutes, and 10 if you are prepped and ready to go.

I like this salmon recipe in the summertime (salmon is seasonal by the way, it’s caught in the summer!) because it’s perfect for when you don’t want to turn on your oven. However, it’s also pretty amazing year-round, since this subtly spiced tomato butter is filling, rich and the perfect level of sweet-to-smokey.

I’ll leave the full recipe below, along with some advice about how to use a cast iron vs. stainless steel pan for this recipe (you could use either) AND how to protect your cast iron if that’s the route you choose to go. Either way, this salmon will deliver a delicious dinner.

What is tomato butter?

In this recipe, tomato butter refers to the sauce – and it is gooooood. This is a sauce that’s almost reminiscent of a barbecue style sauce, using tomato paste, brown sugar and mustard seed as part of the building blocks of the sauce.

Here “tomato butter” means that the base of the sauce is a brown butter, which starts in the pan with the salmon as it finishes cooking. It’s then quickly combined with tomato paste, brown sugar, vinegar, cumin, mustard seeds and red pepper flakes to make an easy, thick and highly spoonable salmon sauce. It’s not a proper compound butter, but on salmon, tomato butter is the absolute best.

What type of pan should I use for this salmon?

I developed this recipe on a cast iron pan, however, I understand there are always concerns about cooking acidic ingredients on a cast iron pan, and this recipe is highly acidic. While I don’t claim to be a food scientist or expert, here are my recommendations for which pan to use for this recipe, based on my personal experience.

Cast iron

I like to use cast iron because it retains a high and even level of heat across its surface. However, it’s only best to use if it is very well seasoned and has been in use for some time. If you do use a cast iron, the pros are that you will get a darker crust on your salmon, with a slightly crispier skin.

However, cast irons tend to have a higher tendency to smoke, since their seasoning is made of carbonized oil. If you don’t have a well ventilated kitchen, you might prefer a stainless steel pan.

Stainless steel

What’s nice about stainless steel is it will get you very similar results to cast iron. The sauce might not darken as much, and it might take a few more minutes for the butter to brown, but your salmon skin will still get crispy and it will skill cook in a similar amount of time. If you are nervous about the seasoning on your cast iron, or if you just want an easier clean-up process, stainless steel is a great route to go.

How to use acidic ingredients in your cast iron pan

Now let’s do some MYTH BUSTING – brought to you by research that America’s Test Kitchen did, as well as myself over here at Snacks HQ.

There is general advice not to cook acidic things on cast iron pans – think: tomato sauce, wine, vinegar-based sauces, etc. This is because as those ingredients cook for an extended period of time, trace amounts of molecules from the metal can leach into the food. The key word here is extended period of time. America’s Test Kitchen had testers simmer tomato sauce for a long period of time to taste for flavor differences, and you can read more about their results in the link above.

My key takeaways from their research has long been a guiding light in my cooking and recipe development. Whenever I cook acidic foods in a cast iron, I follow the following guidelines to protect both my food and my pan:

  • Always ensure my pan is well-seasoned – a well-seasoned pan can hold up to a myriad of acidic ingredients for a reasonable period of time.
  • Make sure my pan has a liberal layer of fat before adding anything acidic – this acts as a barrier as an acidic sauce is built, which is why this tomato butter begins with a butter base first.
  • Add acidic ingredients at the end, and only for a short amount of time – the tomato butter cooks in this recipe for a maximum of five minutes.
  • Remove the sauce from the pan as soon as it is ready for serving – there’s no need to let an acidic sauce sit in a cast-iron, and this is just a safety net to protect your pan!
  • Wash and properly dry after the sauce is made – you can also reseason if you like, but I never feel the need.

So all that to say – don’t be afraid of making this tomato butter in your cast iron. Just take a few proper precautions to protect it, and you should be all set!

And that’s it for this tomato butter salmon!

If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you.

Watch the recipe here

The video may not fully represent the recipe. For best results, follow the instructions as written.

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A post shared by Justine Doiron (@justine_snacks)

Tomato Butter Salmon

5 from 1 vote
This salmon is quick and easy to make and the perfect ratio of sweet-to-smokey. It uses browned butter, cumin, tomato paste and just the right amount of brown sugar to make a perfect glaze that caramelizes against the crispy salmon skin.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time:5 minutes mins
Cook Time:13 minutes mins
Total Time:18 minutes mins
Course: Main Course, Protein
Cuisine: American
Keyword: salmon
Servings: 4 servings

Equipment

  • 1 large cast iron or stainless steel pan
  • 1 pair of tongs

Ingredients

  • 1 & 1/2 pound salmon fillet portioned into 4 pieces
  • Diamond Crystal kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons salted butter
  • 1 tablespoon light brown sugar packed
  • 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon & 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions

  • Season each salmon fillet with a pinch of salt and a few cracks of black pepper on either side.
  • Place either a cast iron or stainless steel pan over medium heat. If using a cast iron, see blog post for notes.
  • Add the olive oil to the pan and swirl to coat. When the pan is properly heated, add the salmon, skin side down. Let this cook for 6-7 minutes, undisturbed, until the edges of the skin are beginning to turn slightly gold. Gently flip the salmon fillets.
  • Add the butter to the pan and let it fully melt and begin to brown, gently push the salmon fillets to one side of the pan.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, tomato paste and vinegar so everything is smooth, then pour into the pan with the butter. Stir vigorously, toasting the tomato paste and encouraging everything to combine with the butter. Tilt the pan so that the butter runs into the tomato paste mixture, and you will see everything begin to form a smooth sauce. This will all happen in about 1-2 minutes, it goes quick!
  • Add the mustard seeds, cumin, and red pepper flakes and taste. Season with salt as needed. I also occasionally add more vinegar here if it feels like it needs it.
  • Turn off the heat and gently push the salmon to the center of the pan again, swirling the sauce around the fillets. Flip the fillets onto a serving plate so that the skin side is facing down, this keeps the skin away from the sauce to keep it crispy. Spoon all remaining sauce over the tops of the fillets.

Posted In: Dairy Free, Fish, Gluten Free, Recipes, Special Diets

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Aminah Sallam says

    June 6, 2023 at 12:41 am

    5 stars
    Justine! Thank you so much for this recipe. I never comment on blogs but after I took a bite of this salmon I knew I had to tell you personally (even if virtually) how absolutely amazing it is. I am a salmon gal at heart but my usual recipes are boring and tired. This take was truly inspired. I added thinly cut onions and garlic when the food was almost cooked and it was truly chef’s kiss. I can’t wait to make more of your food this summer- keep it coming.

  2. Amanda Yazejian says

    June 12, 2023 at 12:49 am

    This was fantastic! I made this alongside your buttermilk veggie recipe (with cauli and zucchini) and it was a huge hit! I very rarely cook fish, so I was a little nervous. But this was super easy, quick, and delicious. Will definitely be making this again.

    • Justine says

      June 14, 2023 at 11:19 pm

      Ahh this makes me so happy! I’m so thrilled you like the recipe, it’s one of my favorite dinner staples and I’m glad you enjoyed 🙂

  3. Brittany says

    June 19, 2023 at 12:00 am

    Hey Justine!

    This may be a silly question but what kind of mustard seeds should I be using for this recipe? Black or yellow?

    • Justine says

      June 20, 2023 at 9:06 pm

      Not silly at all! I used black, and I’ll update the recipe to reflect!

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