Entertaining has never been easier with this winter salmon. Simple yet elegant, this slow-roasted blood orange salmon takes advantage of winter’s most delicious citrus to make a meal that always impresses. It will surely become your new go-to meal for dinner parties.

Looking at a filet of slow-roasted blood orange salmon with light coming in from the back.

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Why This Recipe Works
Ingredients
Step-by-Step Instructions
How to Serve
Perfect Pairing
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Slow-Roasted Blood Orange Salmon

Why This Recipe Works

Salmon is my favorite fish, and I love cooking it in every way possible. Smoked, poached, grilled, broiled, blackened — all those cooking methods result in a delicious fish.

But my absolute favorite way to cook salmon is slow roasting. When you slow roast salmon, it cooks slowly and gently at a low temperature, resulting in the most tender, moist fish. Cooking at a high temperature can lead to overcooking, but slow roasting is a foolproof way to ensure you always get a perfectly cooked, never-dry salmon.

As a bonus, this dinner is on the healthy side. Admittedly, I don’t focus on healthful recipes. I tend to share your weekend indulgences. But this slow-roasted blood orange salmon tastes like a weekend treat while also bringing you those healthy fats and antioxidants.

How's that for a little win-win?

Ingredients

Now let’s start cooking. Here's everything we need to put together this delicious winter salmon.

2-pound salmon filet
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Blood oranges
Soy sauce
Fresh ginger
Rice vinegar
Garlic
Honey
Cayenne pepper
Toasted sesame seeds
Fresh cilantro

cooking straight onto the salmon with cilantro and sesame seeds around it.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Slow roasting salmon truly couldn't be easier. We simply rub our slab of salmon with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and then pop it into a 275-degree oven to roast.

Although this method is called slow roasting, it really doesn't take as long as you might think -- only about half an hour. Slow roasting a big hunk of beef may take several hours, but with our salmon, we're in and out within a reasonable time frame. This method takes a little longer than broiling or high-heat baking, but it's still quick when you compare it to other roasting meats.

Rubbing the salmon with olive oil, salt and pepper and then placing blood orange slices on top.

While the salmon roasts, we take this time to make our blood orange glaze. We start by juicing fresh blood oranges to get every ounce of that beautiful, vibrant liquid. Seriously, how pretty is this juice?

A measuring cup filled with freshly squeezed blood orange juice.

Now we add our blood orange juice to a small saucepan along with soy sauce, fresh ginger, garlic, honey, salt and a touch of cayenne pepper to keep our taste buds guessing. We cook the mixture until it reduces and then stir in another tablespoon of honey to give it that perfect glaze consistency.

And now our glaze is ready. See? Also super simple.

For easy entertaining, you can make this blood orange glaze ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. Just heat it up shortly before serving. That way, your salmon can roast away in the oven while you're free to chit-chat and enjoy a drink or two.

How to Serve

Because we roast a large filet, this meal is all about family style. Place the salmon on a platter, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and cilantro, and allow guests to cut off chunks themselves and pass around the platter. You can either spoon the glaze on top of the salmon or place the glaze in a small serving bowl and pass it along after the salmon.

Spooning the blood orange glaze onto the slab of salmon.

In the photos, I spooned the glaze directly on the salmon, but I actually prefer to serve it separately. When you spoon the glaze on top of the entire slab, some will naturally run off. By serving it separately, everyone can get plenty of that citrusy goodness directly on their salmon.

That said, I'm giving you the other option in case you would rather slather the blood orange glaze on top and call it a day. Ultimately, it comes down to personal preference. Both will give you a tasty dinner.

Perfect Pairing

Grab a witbier with this citrusy salmon, and you're in for a delicious meal. Witbier gives us some bright orange peel with spicy yeast that meshes well with our fresh ginger. The hops lean toward the herbal side, which work beautifully with our fresh cilantro garnish. We also get plenty of carbonation to help cut through that fatty salmon.

For wine, we actually have a few options, but to keep with the elegant feel, I recommend a sparkling rosé. I just love how the berry notes of the rosé play with the tart yet sweet blood orange and ginger, and those bubbles are perfect for cleansing our palate after a bite of salmon. A sauvignon blanc with its bright citrusy notes is another lovely option.

And, of course, I'm sure you would love my blood orange margarita or rosemary-blood orange gin and tonic with the salmon to play up the glaze.

For those nights you want to keep it simple yet elegant, I hope you try this slow-roasted blood orange salmon -- it truly makes for one impressive meal. Everyone is sure to love this winter citrus salmon recipe.

Cheers!

Looking at the blood orange salmon from the side with cilantro surrounding it.

Cutting into the slab of salmon with blood orange slices on top.

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