HONEY MUSTARD SALMON IN FOIL

This Honey-Mustard Salmon recipe only takes about 25 minutes to make in the oven or on the grill, and tastes absolutely delicious!!


I don’t know if any of you have ever noticed, but this blog is majorly lacking in recipes featuring the “M” word.

Sorry guys, mustard has just never really been my thing. ?

But oh my goodness, this fiancé of mine absolutely loves it. When we go to McCoy’sin Kansas City for their famous soft pretzels, he happily slides the bowl of cheese sauce over to me and places the bowl of grainy mustard squarely in front of him like he won the lottery. And we happily devour both without having to share. Which — I think we’d both agree — is a fabulous win-win.

That said, I’m notorious for always being “that friend” at restaurants who kiiiind of wants to try a bite of every single thing that everyone else ordered. (R&D, right?) And over the past two years of eating out with Barclay, I’ve probably sampled more mustard dishes than I have in the past twenty. And I think that my reluctant little tastes buds may finally be coming around, especially when a little honey is also involved in a sauce. I’ve decided it’s my gateway into mustard for now. Oh, and the grainer the better.

Progress. ??

So this past weekend, I decided to cook my first dish for the two of us that featured the “M” word as an actual main ingredient. And I’m happy to report that we bothloved it! Plus, it literally only took about 7 minutes to prep and 18 to bake (or you can pop it on the grill). Which means — you do the math — this amazing main course was ready to go in less than 30 minutes.

My kind of meal.

(Even with mustard. ?)
I mean, seriously, so gorgeous! And SO easy to make.
Just fire up your oven or grill. Then while it’s heating, lay out some long sheets of aluminum foil on a baking sheet. (<– You might need to use two if your foil isn’t wide enough to form a “packet” around the salmon later.) Lay the salmon on the foil.

Then whisk together a simple honey mustard sauce using lots of whole-grain mustard, honey, garlic, lemon juice, smoked paprika, S&P. Spread it out evenly on top of the salmon. Then close your huge foil “packet” and pop the salmon into the oven (or grill) for about 15-18 minutes, until the salmon is cooked through. (I like to carefully open the packet and turn on the broiler for the final few minutes to get the top nice and toasty.)
Then sprinkle the salmon with some finely-chopped fresh parsley…
…and…SERVE!
We served ours up with some roasted green beans and some leftover arugula pasta salad I had on hand (recipe coming to the blog soon!), and absolutely loved it. But this salmon would be delicious served with any fresh green salads, roasted veggies, pasta, lentils, sauteéd greens…you name it. That sweet and savory honey-mustard sauce (I can’t believe I’m saying this) really is so versatile. And so delicious.

Barclay said that he’d recommend that his fellow super-mustard-lovers should add in a little extra mustard and go a little lighter on the honey. So feel free to modify this recipe to taste however you’d like! But if you happen to be in my camp and like the sweet and savory balance, I think you’ll dig the recipe below.

Enjoy, friends!

YIELD: 6-8 SERVINGS
HONEY MUSTARD SALMON IN FOIL

This Honey Mustard Salmon recipe features a homemade honey mustard sauce that is super delicious (and easy to adapt if you like to go heavier on the honey or mustard side). It can also be cooked quickly and easily in the oven or on the grill — your choice.

TOTAL TIME: 25 MINS 
PREP TIME: 7 MINS 
COOK TIME: 18 MINS

INGREDIENTS:
HONEY MUSTARD SALMON IN FOIL:
  • 1 batch honey mustard sauce (see below)
  • 2 pound side of salmon, boneless and skinless
  • 1 tablespoon finely-chopped fresh parsley leaves
HONEY MUSTARD SAUCE INGREDIENTS:
  • 1/3 cup whole grain mustard
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
  1. TO MAKE THE HONEY MUSTARD SALMON IN FOIL:
  2. Heat oven to 375°F. Or heat a grill to medium heat.
  3. Prepare your honey mustard sauce as directed below.
  4. Line a large baking sheet with a large sheet of aluminum foil. Mist the foil with cooking spray, then lay out the salmon in the middle of the foil.
  5. Spoon the honey mustard sauce on top of the salmon, and spread it around evenly so that it covers the top of the salmon.
  6. Fold the sides of the aluminum foil up and over the top of the salmon until it is completely enclosed. (If your sheet of foil is not large enough, just place a second sheet of foil on top and fold the edges so that it forms a sealed packet.)
  7. To Cook In The Oven: Bake for 14-15 minutes, or until the salmon is almost completely cooked through. (Cooking times will vary on the thickness of your salmon, so I recommend checking it a few minutes early if you have a thinner cut of salmon.) Remove the salmon from the oven and carefully open and pull back the aluminum foil so that the top of the fish is completely exposed. (Be careful, lots of hot steam will be released!) Change the oven setting to broil, then return the fish to the oven and broil for 2-3 minutes. (Keep a close eye on the salmon while broiling, though, to be sure that the sauce does not burn.)
  8. To Cook On The Grill: Carefully transfer the packet of salmon to the grill, and grill for 12-14 minutes, or until the salmon is almost completely cooked through. (Cooking times will vary on the thickness of your salmon, so I recommend checking it a few minutes early if you have a thinner cut of salmon.) Carefully open and pull back the aluminum foil so that the top of the fish is completely exposed. (Be careful, lots of hot steam will be released!) Continue cooking for 3-4 minutes, until the fish is cooked through.
  9. Remove salmon from the oven or grill. Sprinkle the top of the salmon evenly with parsley, and serve immediately.
TO MAKE THE HONEY MUSTARD SAUCE:
  1. Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl until combined.
If you really love mustard, feel free to increase the mustard amount to 1/2 cup, and/or scale back a bit on the honey.