WHOLE SALMON

While on the river or at home, there are a few standard ways to cut your salmon whether you are filleting it or making steaks, that we sometimes forget to leave a smaller salmon whole.

The smaller salmon can provide those great tail section fillets, and still get the benefit of a whole fish. Simply remove all the fins, filet the tail section, and remove the head. Depending on the portion size you want, you can cut the body in half. On the belly, place score marks about ½ inch deep, 1 inch apart, on both sides of the fish.

Now you’re ready to prepare dinner, and the ingredients are simple!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-2 sticks of butter (based on the size of your fish)
• 3 medium sweet potatoes, diced

 Seasoning Mix - blend together:

• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Paprika
• Red pepper flakes (optional)
• Brown sugar (optional)
• Salt
• Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees
• Using a food processor, chop all the spices together until blended
• On the stove top, using medium heat, melt butter in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven
• Add seasoning mix to melted butter
• Add salmon, basting with butter/seasoning mix for about 3 minutes, turning salmon to ensure you cover both sides. Make sure to get into the scored sections and into the body.
• Remove salmon and place on a plate (we will place back into Dutch Oven in a later step)
• Add the diced sweet potatoes into the Dutch Oven, mixing with the butter and seasoning mix. Add additional butter or seasoning as needed.
• Once sweet potatoes are starting to soften, replace the salmon into the Dutch Oven.
  • NOTE: you can start to precook the sweet potatoes in a microwave for about 5 minutes to reduce the amount of time they are on the stove top.
• Place your Cast Iron Dutch Oven into the oven and cook until Salmon and potatoes are done. Check every few minutes to ensure you do not overcook the salmon.

Serve with salad

VARIATIONS:

• You can substitute the sweet potatoes for any vegetable, just adjust cooking time to accommodate the durability of the new veggie.
• Traeger’s FIN & FEATHER SEASONING is a fantastic rub and is perfect for this dish