Oven-Baked Salmon Nuggets with Bourbon and Brown Sugar

Ingredients

• 8 ounces honey roasted peanuts
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• Sauce:
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 ½ pounds salmon fillet, skinned
• 1 serving cooking spray (Optional)

Step 1

Crush the peanuts in a large resealable bag until they’re finely ground—you can use a rolling pin, meat mallet, or even the flat side of a can. Mix in some black pepper and set that aside.

Step 2

Melt the butter in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar, bourbon, soy sauce, garlic, and onion powder. Let it come to a boil, then simmer until the sauce thickens and becomes syrupy—this should take about 20 to 30 minutes. Once it’s ready, take the pan off the heat and let the sauce cool just enough so it’s still warm but not too hot, around 5 minutes.

Step 3

Now, take your salmon fillets and cut the thinner parts into strips, tossing them in a small bowl with a bit of the sauce to coat. Cut the thicker parts into 1-inch cubes and stir those directly into the remaining sauce in the pan. Let everything sit for about 10 minutes so the flavors can meld.

Step 4

While that’s resting, preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C) and lightly grease a large glass baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange the salmon strips on one side of the dish and the cubes on the other, making sure each piece is coated with sauce but not touching one another. Sprinkle the peanut and pepper mixture evenly over the top.

Step 5

Pop the dish in the oven and bake until the strips flake easily with a fork, which should take about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove those from the dish and keep baking the cubes for another 5 minutes or so, until they’re just as flaky and cooked through.