Bourbon-Glazed Salmon

By Paul Briand

I like bourbon. My wife Jane likes salmon. Marry the two and you've got a great-tasting, easy-to-make meal.

The recipe is basically for a marinade that ultimately becomes the glaze for the salmon.

I came upon the recipe in a round-about way. It originated from Cooking Light magazine and was posted on MyRecipes.com. I saw a reference to it on one of the Twitter postings for someone I follow as part of my Baby Boomer writing for Examiner.com. Yes, it's a tangled web we weave, so to speak.

For the record, I used Jack Daniels, which is technically a whiskey, not a bourbon. But the effect is the same. Once the bourbon cooks down in the marinade/glaze you're left with a sweetness that's enhanced by the brown sugar.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons bourbon
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets
Cooking spray
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

Directions
1. Combine first 7 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag;
2. Add fish to bag, seal, and marinate in refrigerator 1 1/2 hours, turning occasionally;
3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and coat pan with cooking spray;
4. Add fish and marinade to pan; cook fish 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness;
5. Place 1 fillet on each of 4 plates and drizzle each serving with about 2 teaspoons sauce;
6. Sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon green onions and 3/4 teaspoon sesame seeds.