Bit of a mouthful to say, but multiple mouthfuls of YUM. A worthy trade-off.
Happy Tuesday, peeps, and Happy National Pecan Day! Yes, the food holiday did indeed inform today’s dish. The silly, arbitrary food calendar has proven quite useful in churning my creative juices, and folks, I have quite a fabulous supper for you today.
I don’t think many can dispute my affinity to sheetpan salmon dinners. I’ve created several, and enjoyed all of them, but this one was an intriguing experiment for since I’ve never dabbled in breading filets before. I often veer away from heavy coatings in my cooking, because it’s a pain and not really the style of eating I prefer. I’d much rather douse in sauce than fuck with crusts.
However, in the name of the holy pecan, I present to you today’s science gone totally fucking right.
What do we have in around 40 minutes? A crisply coated but tender salmon flavored with roasty nuts and a spicy hot honey mustard, baked alongside asparagus and golden baby potatoes. A single pan and several servings, for family or weekly meal prep, or a tiny bit of both.
I made damn good use of the jar of hot honey left from my Bloody Mary a couple weeks back, so rest assured that, if you whip up some yourself, you’re not lacking in ways to ensure it doesn’t go to waste. We really try not to do that around here!
Yes You (Pe)Can
…Make a fabulous pecan-crusted salmon.
First, though, the hot honey. If you don’t have some already, my formula is easily mixed and warmed in the microwave. Combine honey, hot sauce, cayenne pepper, garlic and onion powders, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and a dab of salt and pepper in a microwave-safe bowl or jar. Heat for 1 minute, stir, then zap an additional 20-30 seconds.
Boom, there’s your batch. Good for 2 weeks in the fridge of you’re playing with leftovers.
Now, any sheet pan recipe involving potatoes requires that the potatoes roast all by their lonesome for a bit. I usually buy baby potatoes for minimal slicing required, but regular golds or russets are fine, too. If using the latter, cut them up into about 1 inch pieces.
Toss your taters in olive oil, salt, and pepper, then spread onto a big baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes.
For the asparagus, the recipe card adds them with the salmon so they can roast together, but if your spears are on the thicker side (after trimming the woody buttocks off), you may want to roast them for 5 minutes (after tossing with some olive oil, salt, and pepper as well) with the potatoes. A lot of timer-watching, sure, but worthwhile if you want the correct textures and tastes on your plates.
And now, the salmon. Make your hot honey sauce by whisking some of the honey you just created with lemon juice, smoked paprika, and dijon mustard.
Then, your crust. In a food processor, blitz pecan halves or pieces with unflavored Panko-style breadcrumbs, lemon zest, garlic powder, and some salt and pepper. There should not be any humongo chunks of nuts, but the texture can be somewhat coarse and rustic. Pour your crumbs into a shallow bowl or plate.
Dry the salmon well with paper towels. Brush with the hot honey mustard, then dunk the filets one at a time into the pecan crust. The pieces won’t stick perfectly: just continue pressing them into the salmon flesh and carefully transport from bowl to holding vessel to prevent too much from dropping off onto your counters and inspiring a string of swear words that’ll make your dead grandmother gasp from her grave.
Once your salmon is nicely clothed, arrange your sheet pan! Push the potatoes to one side, the asparagus to another, and nestle the fish in the center. Roast 10-12 minutes longer, switching your broiler on the last few minutes if you did not use parchment and if you’d like a little more crunch to your munch.
Serve your dinner with plenty more hot honey! Some fresh basil, parsley, or dill wouldn’t hurt either. Love a little green herb action on my meals.
Store your leftovers for lunches during the week – they’ll keep great until the weekend. The great thing about sheet pan dinners is you don’t really have to think about sides, since the accompaniments are baked right along with the protein.
Healthy and functional. I like that.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
No-Bullsheet Sheet Pan Dinners:
Sheet Pan Coffee Rubbed Salmon and Butter Potatoes
Sheet Pan BBQ Caesar Salmon and Potatoes
Sheet Pan Hot Honey Balsamic Salmon
sheet pan pecan crusted hot honey mustard salmon
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb salmon
- 2 tbsp hot honey (recipe below)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 cup pecan halves
- 1/2 cup Panko-style breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 lb baby potatoes, halved
- 1 lb asparagus, trimmed
hot honey
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup hot sauce
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment, or grease with a bit of olive oil.
- To make the hot honey: combine all ingredients in a microwave-safe jar or glass. Heat 1 minute on high. Stir, then zap an additional 20-30 seconds until the granules dissolve. Leftover hot honey will keep up to 2 weeks in the fridge.
- On the baking sheet, toss the potatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a big pinch each (about 1 tsp) salt and pepper. Spread in an even layer on the sheet and roast 10 minutes.
- In a food processor, combine the pecans, panko, lemon zest, garlic, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Blitz until crushed into crumbs. The breading needn't be the texture of meal, but shouldn't have any huge chunks. Pour into a shallow bowl.
- Pat the salmon very dry with paper towels and lay onto a large cutting board or plate.
- In a small bowl, whisk the hot honey, lemon juice, dijon mustard, smoked paprika, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Brush all sides of the salmon generously with the sauce.
- Dunk each filet into the pecan breading, pressing additional crumbs to fill in the crevices. Some will fall off – don't worry, baking will make them adhere more cleanly!
- Push the potatoes to one side of the baking sheet. Add the asparagus to the opposite side and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Nestle the salmon filets in the center. Roast an additional 10-12 minutes. If desired, switch your broiler to high for the final 2-3 minutes of roasting time to achieve a little crunch. Do not broil if you used parchment!
- Serve the salmon, potatoes, and asparagus with additional hot honey.
