Baked Salmon for Bucky & I

(Baked Salmon with Citrus Vinegar Glaze)

My neighbor, Mr. Harlan “Bucky” Strader, the gentleman that lives in the condo downstairs from us, called me late yesterday afternoon asking that I come down for dinner. Mr. Bucky, a graduate of Dartmouth Class of 1942, has been a pleasure to know over the past nine months here on St. Simons Island. He’s a World War II veteran of the Corps of Engineers, a retired business executive, and now he spends his time alone here on the island since his wife passed away.

I try to make time to visit Bucky several times each week and I enjoy his company very much…Great stories! Since he’s a widower and my girl Pat spends half of her time traveling on business, we’ve decided to start pooling our resources to put together an occasional dinner every few weeks.

Last evening Bucky offered a Salmon fillet dinner, but Bucky has admitted in the past that he isn’t much of a cook—he told me he was going to microwave the fish. I immediately went down to his condo to see what he was up to. I went armed with a couple of fresh lemons, a bottle of extra virgin olive oil, and my best intentions augmented by a little research on the Food Network.

It turns out Bucky had purchased two very nice Salmon fillets from a local seafood house and, knowing that I like to cook, he was willing for me to take charge of their preparation. I gave him a quick lesson in baking fish so he could do it for himself in the future, and here is what I did:

The ingredients:

2 salmon steaks or fillets
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon

¼ cup dry white wine
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp lemon juice
Fresh ground black pepper

Place the fillets in a dish and squeeze the juice of one/half lemon over them, turning to coat evenly.

Redneck Tip: Take out the Lemon seeds...duuuh!

Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil over each fillet and again turn them to coat. Let the fillets marinade for at least 30 minutes.

While the fillets were swimming, combine the wine, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, and citrus juices in a small boiler and heat over medium high heat until boiling, reduce the heat, and simmer until the glaze is reduced by about two thirds. Reduce heat and keep warm.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and toss the fillets into a greased baking dish.

Redneck Tip: I love "Pam" cooking spray made from olive oil for pre-coating baking dishes.

Bake fillets for 7 to 10 minutes, turning once. Remove from oven, allow to rest for a minute, then serve with your favorite vegetable, fresh bread, and a glass of Merlot.

Enjoy Y’all

The Redneck Gourmet