Paleo Butter Maple Glazed Salmon

This Paleo Butter Maple Glazed Salmon is one of my absolute favorite meals, and on our weekly rotation! Even my boys who don’t like salmon LOVE this salmon recipe! I think you will too. It comes together so easily and is a great next day lunch leftovers on top of a salad.

I laugh in my head every time I say this Paleo Butter Maple Glazed Salmon is one of my favorite meals of all times. It was not but a few years ago that I honestly would never have eaten salmon. Even the smell of it cooking grossed me out.

It is crazy how strong out mindset is. To just choose to start “liking” salmon because of the endless health benefits. To choose to “stop having” that gag reflex when I would taste something I was convinced I did not like.

And literally just like that, it’s gone!

That tells us just how powerful making up our minds to do something and just doing it can be. People often grow wide eyed when I share with them my 10-year-old and 13-year-old son’s stopped eating:

• Gluten
• Dairy
• Processed Sugar
• Any Processed Foods with Seed oil (PS this is just about every processed food out there sadly)

And they do it willingly! After seeing their mom and dad committed to a Keto diet for about 5 years then transitioning to a Keto + Paleo style eating, which we call “the human diet” (lol). You know the diet humans were eating for thousands of years before McDonalds hit the sense.

It took me awhile to get my kids on this style eating. Eliminating 85% of “SAD” (standard American diet) foods from my diet was one thing, but for some reason (ok let’s call it what it is – social pressure) I just “cleaned up” my kiddos foods but did not eliminate things I knew in my heart I should.

When I tell people Jason and I have not eaten processed sugar in over 6 years and our sons in over 16 months I get a look beyond the average shocked looked. It is almost where shock and anger meet each other.

Anger?

Yes friend, anger. You see when we do something people are convinced cannot be done there is a moment where that “old believed truth” is debunked. Then one must decide, ok now I know it can be done both for me as an adult and for my kids because heres a chic that did it……… now what do I choose to do?

If you want to learn more about why I eliminated so many foods using the Food is Medicine mindset to heal my autoimmune disease despite multiple doctors and specialist saying it could not be done click here to read more.

But for now, on to this delicious recipe!

Choosing the Right Salmon for the Recipe

First things first when it comes to purchasing Salmon always always always look for Wild Caught Salmon. I know it is temping to grab farm raised salmon. It is cheaper, its way less “fishy” tasting, its this pretty (fake) pink color.

But don’t do it friends.

Here are some quick facts about farm raised salmon incase you still need a little convincing. (PS this goes for any farm raised fish)

9 Reasons to Never Buy Farm Raised Salmon

1. Farm raised salmon has been found to have toxic chemicals methylmercury, dioxins and other trace minerals we do not want in our bodies.
2. Farmers of farm raised salmon have been known for polluting the oceans and spreading disease
3. If you eat farmed salmon, you could be consuming chemicals linked to cancer: polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. The US banned PCBs in 1979, but remnants still exist in aquatic food chains.
4. Farmed Salmon are often raised in inhuman ways. All they can do to pass the time is swim through filthy water in endless circles. Unlike the wild salmon counterpart, they are trapped in a barren cage and destined for slaughter.
5. Farmed Salmon have more calories, twice the fat content, and 20% more saturated fat (the bad fat)
6. Farmed Salmon are treated with antibiotics
7. Farmed Salmon have far more risky pollutants and have been found to have microplastics show up when tested
8. Farmed fish are more prone to worms and lice. It was found that 20% of salmon farmed in Norway die each year from parasites, and the main problem being lice. Odd I know we do not consider lice to be an ‘under water’ problem. Sea lice feed on fish blood and skin, and the overcrowding conditions are a breading ground for it.
9. The fish farms do not exist in a vacuumed sealed environment. The contaminates from these farms spread out into the ocean. The fish often escape (can we blame them) and spread the disease and sea lice to the open seas.

Health Benefits found ONLY in Wild Caught Salmon

None of my recipes would be complete without health facts. I did start this blog space to share how I used Food as Medicine to heal my autoimmune system. And maybe, hopefully, you came to just grab the recipe and do not have any health issues you are looking to heal.

Or maybe you have some sort of health issue and that is why you are eating a clean Paleo diet and how you found your way here today.

Either way I would be doing an injustice to only share a yummy recipe and not share why any recipe you find on my blog will benefit your health in one way or another.

Heck even my delicious most favorite Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies benefit your health!

Wild caught Sockeye Salmon, which we buy in bulk from Costco at a great price, is packed with health benefits such as;

• Rich source of Omega-3 fatty acids
• Great source of clean protein
• High in Vitamin-B
• Good source of potassium
• Loaded with selenium (trace mineral great for bone health, thyroid disease, and known to reduce cancer risks)
• Contains astaxanthin (helps rid the body of fatty plaque buildup, reduces inflammation, and all kinds of other good things)
• May reduce the risk of heart disease
• Aids in weight management (foods high in nutrients and protein send the “ok I am full thanks” signal to our brains, which helps us to not over eat as we easily can in nutrient poor foods like ‘dirty’ carbs (processed foods)).

Paleo Buttered Maple Salmon Recipe

Now that we have the house keeping out of the way. By that I mean I couldn’t bare to share this healthy amazingly delicious recipe with the world without making sure you knew the right salmon to use for the recipe so it is both healthy and delicious.

First step to this recipe is to pull your salmon out of the fridge about an hour before you are ready to cook. If you are in a time crunch to get dinner on the table and do not want to wait an hour no problem just pop it in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for a couple of minutes to bring in to room temperature.

This is a key step in cooking any meat. When you cook a piece of meat that is cold in the center from coming right out of the refrigerator you are sure to over cook the outside in attempts to properly cook the inside. This is the reason a lot of people end up with rubbery chicken (yuck).

Once your salmon is room temperature pat it dry and place it in a bowl or large plate and lets get it marinaded.

Buttered Maple Salmon Marinade

• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp maple syrup (pure 100% maple syrup should be the only ingredient on the back)
• 2 tbsp avocado oil

Place your salmon skin side down in your baking dish. Pat dry the tops and bottoms of your salmon. Add your marinade mixture to the dish. Allow it to set a couple of minutes them flip them skin side up for the remainder of your marinade time.

I do this while prepping my veggies.

Once your salmon has had a good soak in the marinade bath get a cast iron skillet hot. (Important Note: if you are still using nonstick pans please please please do a quick google search to see how many toxins and chemicals are leeching into your food, toss that sh#$ in the garbage and get yourself a good cast iron skillet which if properly cared for will last a lifetime – literally).

Important Note about cast iron skillets you want to wait on adding oil to the skillet until it has time to heat up. Cast iron skillets unlike nonstick skillets are solid iron. So it takes a minute or two longer to heat up, but they heat evenly unlike non-sticks and copper pans (also lined with chemicals)

Once your skillet is hot add grass-fed beef tallow, ghee, or avocado oil to your skillet and put your salmon in skin face down. If you do not have skin on yours either side is fine.

Cook for 4 minutes on medium heat and flip it for another 4 minutes. On the last 4 minutes add any remaining marinade to your skillet.

Ok now for the glaze – aka the best part. When about 2 minutes remains on your timer add your glaze ingredients. Optional step, remove the salmon skin from the fish. This is totally edable and full of nutrients you don’t want to waste it.

However, we love both sides of the salmon glazed and the skin will not soak in the glaze.

Buttered Maple Salmon Glaze

• 2 tbsp grass-fed butter (Kerry gold is our favorite) or ghee (for Paleo option)
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp maple syrup (make sure the only ingredient is maple syrup – no added junk)

Using a spoon, spoon the glaze over the salmon. This does two things it glazes the tops of your salmon and it insures the glaze does not over heat and burn.

Plate and serve with your favorite veggies and there you have it an absolutely delicious salmon and it is just as good cold the next day in a salad!

I love next day lunch leftovers. In fact, I am sad if there is no dinner left over for lunch the next day (great sign it was amazing though).

It is that easy.

Conclusion

I cannot wait for you to give this amazingly delicious and healthy Paleo Butter Glazed Salmon a go. I have a strong feeling you are going to LOVE IT! I also hope that now knowing the toxins and pollution Farm Raised Salmon has that you will always go for the Fresh Wild Caught Salmon after learning about the amazing health benefits that are only found in fresh wild caught salmon.

Let me know if the comments below, what veggies or sides did you serve with your Buttered Maple Glazed Salmon? Also, if you happened to have any left for lunch, how did you eat it the next day?

Cheers, until the next yummy recipe.