Cajun Coated Salmon

Here is a tasty supper from not too long ago. As I recently stated in another blog post, I love seafood but I also like to switch things up a little. So to jazz up a nice salmon portion, I whipped up a quick and flavorful spice rub. Spice rubs are usually reserved for heavier meats, such as ribs, steaks, pork chops, lamb, and sometimes chicken. But there is no rule saying you can't also use one on delicate seafood, it is just important to be extra cautious in ensuring that the flavors balance well with the type of fish being prepared, and that you use the rub liberally, as to not overpower the delicate flavor of the fish. Ginger and honey always seem to pair well with salmon. So does freshly ground black pepper. I also remember once having a spicy cajun salmon at a fish restaurant, flavored with red pepper and other spices. And a little does of garlic goes with pretty much anything, right? So I kind of combined these four flavors to make my own spice rub. A word of cation: combining several flavors that all pair well with one common food is not always necessarily a good idea. Think about it; peanut butter goes well on bread, jam goes well on bread, cheese goes well on bread, and hummus goes well on bread - but peanut butter, jam, cheese, and hummus is probably not a good mix (although maybe it is, I've never actually tried it). Luckily, in this case, it actually did work, as there aren't very many cases where spices themselves greatly clash with each other. Though it was not my intention, this spice rub really did remind me of that cajun salmon I had, so it turned out really delicious, and flavorful, without hiding the salmon. I will have to think of some other clever combinations like this one.

My cajun salmon spice rub:
equal parts of red paprika, ground ginger, garlic powder, and freshly ground black pepper.
The amounts of course depend on how many salmon portions you are preparing, but extra spice rub can also be saved for next time, as long as it hasn't come into contact with the raw fish. I also eyeballed amounts, and didn't exactly measure them, so I'm sure a quantity of one spice was slightly greater than the other, but certainly not significantly.

Mix all spices together, then spoon or sprinkle over rinsed salmon portions that are prepared for cooking. Gently pat the rub down with a spoon, then cook salmon as desired. This salmon was prepared on a grill pan in the oven, so I certainly didn't lose any of that spicy flavor!