Salmon simplified and WILD

One of our lowest maintenance meals is this super simple, tasty salmon ensemble.  You need salmon and an oven.  Throw a few optional accoutrements in the mix, sure, but essentially it’s just the salmon and a baking place for it.   The thing about salmon is it’s uber healthy and I try to eat a lot of it.  As of late.  I can only eat so much straight up salmon, though.  I like accoutrements with my salmon.  It’s a great marinade candidate, a good buddy to pecans and mustard, and simply delicious with barbecue sauce.  Now, I’m not talking corn syrup disguised as BBQ sauce, I’m talking real. bbq. sauce.  Store bought, that is.  Challenge?  Maybe.  I like Annie’s brand BBQ Sauce.  BBQ sauce is one of the things to shop for at either your local co-op or at Whole Foods.  It’s hard to find the real thing at any type of big box store. 

Wild-caught, Alaskan Salmon is pumped with omega-3′s and good protein.  It’s also one of the best choices you can make in sustainable seafood.  It’s good for you and for the planet.  If you’re deciding between farm-raised and sustainable wild-caught, I have an opinion.  A strong one. 

Go wild-caught Alaskan Salmon, because: 
a. Wild-caught Alaskan Salmon is very high in Omega-3′s you want to eat; farm-raised is full of artificial red food-coloring (which disguises the farm-raised grey color) and barely contains Omega-3′s compared to wild-caught salmon. (2) (3)
b. Wild-caught isn’t full of the pesticides and antibiotics that farm-raised are full of. (2) (3)
c. Wild-caught salmon is high in protein; farm-raised salmon is just high in bad fat and chemicals. (2) (3)
d. Wild-caught salmon and other marine life are actually killed by farm-raised salmon. (2) (3)

Did I mention I had an opinion on the subject?
 
As with choices like BBQ sauce, I suggest you shop for your salmon at your local natural store, whether it’s a co-op or market.  Save some money and buy a large frozen bag of Wild-caught Alaskan salmon filets at Costco.  Trader Joe’s is another good resource for safe salmon on the cheap.  If you are buying fresh salmon for sushi, your local co-op is probably your best option.

Barbecued Baked Salmon
*1 filet serves 1 person: we usually bake 3 filets for one meal, for the 3 of us
*I suggest serving salmon alongside organic greens and a baked potato: plan ahead and start your potatoes in the oven (scrubbed, fork-poked, and wrapped in foil) about 45-60 minutes before the salmon accompanies them to be baked.

Ingredients
Wild-caught Salmon filets
Annie’s barbecue sauce

On hand
Parchment paper
Covered Baking dish or baking dish and foil

Do
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Line baking pan with parchment paper, place defrosted salmon filets skin-side down on parchment paper.
3. Coat each filet in BBQ sauce.
4.  Bake in covered dish at 450 degrees F for 20 minutes.
5. That’s it.  Truly.
6. The skin is rich in Omega-3′s.  Baking the filet skin-down releases those Omega-3′s into your filets.  Bon appetite Omega-3′s and cheers to your health!

Sources
(1) Environmental Defense
(2) WHFoods
(3) Pays to Live Green