What do you do with a Vintage Salmon?

Few things will get me scheming faster than Sherry saying, "There's $18.00 worth of fish I have to throw away."

While searching for something else in the garage freezer, she found a pound of Coho Salmon and a cut of Tilapia that she had forgotten about. Sale Date: August 2008. Woops. And it was wrapped in paper instead of plastic. Being highly sensitive to anything fish or shellfish related, Sherry was resistant to cooking it at this advanced age. But I love salmon. And when some people in the world struggle to get even a handful of something to eat, I felt compelled to at least try salvaging an older cut of fish before unceremoniously chucking it in the trash.

The Half-Full solution? Cook it anyway! But exactly what do you do with a Vintage Salmon, earl-eye in the morning?

I consulted a friend in the Deep South, where they know how to cook fish. She said, "Do a cajun rub on the fish and broil or cook at 400 for about ten minutes. Yum!" Sounded like a solution to me. A quick check of cooking ingredients found I had what I needed. So here's how it came together:

• Pan-fried the fish on the skin side of the cut for about 5 minutes, to loosen the skin for removal.
• Poured olive oil and Creole seasoning on a foil-covered plate and mixed it together.
• Laid the fish on the plate with the skin on top, and peeled/cut the skin off using a small knife.
• Poured olive oil and Creole seasoning on and rubbed it into the meat.
• Turned the fish over and did the same thing.
• Placed the fish on a broiler pan and put it in a 400-degree oven for 10 minutes.
• Pulled the fish out of the oven at 10 minutes and cut it into three pieces. Put it back in for another 5 minutes.
• Served with steamed rice.

And how was it? Vintage Creole Salmon Rocked! Possibly the best breakfast I've had all week. The seasoning was a bit saltier than I expected, so the next time I do this I'll use less Creole seasoning. But overall I'm very satisfied with the results. So much that it's also going to be lunch today! Check out the embedded slide show below. If you don't see it, click the "Vintage Salmon Bake" link below to see pictures directly on Webshots.

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Vintage Salmon Bake