Blackened Salmon with Gouda Cheese Grits and Lemon-Butter Cream Sauce

What a mouthful, but a tasty mouthful.

Ok so this recipe is a little more involved, but good lord it's a banger. Being a southerner, we eat a lot of grits, but as a kid I used to hate them. Now, this is one of my favorite southern cooking recipes I've ever made. The extra work you put into this dish will be well-worth the reward of eating it when you're done.

I typically serve this dish with asparagus, so I've added in how I cook that as well for the dish pairing.

Serves 3

Ingredients

For grits:

1 cup grits
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup of shredded smoked gouda (non smoked Gouda doesn’t carry the same effect of taste)
1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp of butter
Salt and pepper to taste

For salmon:

3 salmon filets

Per salmon filets:

1 tsp of cayenne
1 tsp of salt and pepper
1 tsp of paprika
1 tsp of creole seasoning

For lemon butter dill sauce:

3 tbsp of butter
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
One fresh squeezed lemon
Dash of salt
1 tsp of pepper
1 tbsp of dill
1 tsp of Dijon mustard
Asparagus

Directions

Boil 2 cups of chicken broth, add 1 cup of grits and immediately stir them in. Stir vigorously for about two minutes then reduce fire to low, keep on low for about 20 mins ( You can stir them occasionally while you cook your salmon)
Heat 2 tbsp of butter in skillet, pour partial amount over raw salmon. Sprinkle seasonings on salmon filet and place in hot pan. (May need to add more butter throughout blackening)
Steam asparagus while salmon cooks
Occasionally flip salmon until exterior is crispy, then reduce to med-high temp (I like to put the salmon in skin side down and when it’s crispy enough to remove i slide a knife underneath it to remove it so the bottom of the salmon also gets a crispy finish) total cook time of around 10-15 mins (depending on size of filet) for med cook temp
Melt 3 tbsp of butter in saucepan(surprise, more butter), add heavy whipping cream, salt, pepper, lemon juice, dill, and Dijon. Whisk together and bring to boil to reduce mixture. Then bring to low heat until ready to serve
Add Gouda, remaining butter, and heavy whipping cream to grits until all melted/incorporated. Remove salmon onto plate and throw your steamed/boiled asparagus into salmon pan for leftover butter and seasonings for about 1 min
For plating, Dish a hefty spoonful of grits onto plate, place salmon filet on top, and drizzle your cream sauce over top. YUM. It goes good on the asparagus too...
Eat your heart out.

I made this dish for my boyfriend and I's third date... You know what they say about a man's heart and his stomach... ;)

Tips and Tricks

Grits: This recipe calls to make your grits nice and fluffy, were not talking your Quaker Oats single serving packets or Waffle House's watered down grits with a slice of plastic, American Cheese on top. (No Shade to Waffle House though, any of my closest friends with tell you how much I really love Waffle House. Where else can you get a meal as all-star as the All-Star meal for $8???? No where but Waffle House) Anyways, these grits are meant to be fluffy. So don't worry if they look a little clumpy as you cook them, it's really when all the butter, cream, and cheese has been added in the end that they take on their true form. Think whipped mashed potatoes as far as consistency.

The photo on the left is the consistency we're starting with, and the other two photos are what we want the final outcome to be; sticking to the spoon.

Salmon:

You certainly do not have to remove the skin while cooking, some people like that shit, I personally do not. Plus, I like being able to have a nice little crispy crust of fish on both the top and bottom of the fish that doesn't have scales on it... Just me personally. If you do decide to remove the skin, I would wait until the skin has become crispy itself in the pan so that it may come off easier, If you decide to keep it on, I would score the fish before cooking.

Sauce:

Make sure you get the sauce to a full boil and then reduce temperature so that the sauce can fully shape up to its proper consistency, but mainly so that the butter and creme mix together instead of sitting on top of one another. If it tastes too lemony add more cream, if not lemony enough, add more lemon, simple as that! Have fun with tastes here and jump out of your comfort zone!

Asparagus:

Make sure your asparagus stays a nice bright green but with slight tenderness to it, no mushy asparagus here! Gross!

I call to add the asparagus back in the salmon's skillet for added flavor. You should really do this, because nothing is worse than bland asparagus!

P.S. Your pee will most definitely smell weird after eating it...