Name: Sweet and Tangy Glazed Salmon
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: ¼ cup maple syrup; 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1 tablespoon lime juice , squeezed from 1 lime; 2 garlic cloves , peeled and minced; Table salt and pepper; 4 (6-ounce) skin-on salmon fillets; 1 lime , cut into wedges

Why This Recipe Works

We make seared salmon easy (and safe!) for young chefs by starting the fillets in a cold skillet before spooning a sweet-salty-tangy glaze over them. This recipe is a great opportunity to reinforce kids’ understanding of evaporation: In step 1, have them combine the glaze ingredients in a liquid measuring cup and record its volume (it should be just over ½ cup) before pouring the glaze ingredients in the saucepan. Ask kids to describe the appearance of the uncooked glaze. Then, before spooning the glaze over the salmon, have kids pour it back into the liquid measuring cup (with an adult’s help) and measure how much glaze is left (it should be less than ½ cup). As the glaze cooked, some of the water in its ingredients turned to steam. That steam evaporated into the air, so there’s less water left in the glaze, giving it a thicker texture.

Instructions

In medium saucepan, combine maple syrup, vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice, and garlic. Set aside.

In 12-inch nonstick skillet, sprinkle ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper in even layer. Place salmon fillets, skin side down, in skillet. Wash your hands. Sprinkle tops of fillets with ¼ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper.

Cook salmon over medium heat, without moving salmon, until fat begins to puddle around fillets and skin begins to brown, 6 to 8 minutes.

Use tongs and spatula to carefully flip fillets (see photo, “Step-by-Step: How to Flip Fish," below). Cook, without moving fillets, until center of each fillet registers 125 degrees on instant-read thermometer. Turn off heat. Transfer fillets, skin side down, to serving platter. Cover platter with aluminum foil.

Cook maple syrup mixture in saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally with rubber spatula, until thick and syrupy, 4 to 6 minutes (sauce will be very bubbly when it thickens). Turn off heat. Spoon glaze evenly over salmon. Serve with lime wedges.