Cooking Tips, Preparation and Comments for Salmon Tacos!

Finish this sentence: July is ____ month in Gilroy! We celebrate Garlic Month for the entire month of July here in Gilroy! Since we aren’t having a Garlic Festival for 2020, we’ve decided to share this delicious salmon taco recipe to celebrate on our own. The Gilroy Garlic Festival would have been celebrating its 42nd anniversary this year, so until 2021, we will be cooking some delicious garlic recipes at home!   *Photo above at the Garlic Festival was taken in 2018. 

This blackened salmon tacos recipe will be enough food for 4-5 people and is ridiculously quick and easy! We also have a couple great blackened salmon side dish ideas, and a blackened salmon seasoning recipe to cover the bases.   For this delicious and easy blackened salmon tacos recipe, we bought one large boneless filet of salmon which ended up being the perfect amount for 5 people. First you’ll get your seasoning together so open up your cupboard and pull them all out! Measure your seasonings, mix it all together in a small bowl and set aside.  Put the fish on a flat, large cutting board and cut the salmon into small even pieces to ensure they all take the same amount of time to cook. Ours aren’t quite even because the knife was horrible...or maybe the person cutting the salmon didn’t catch that part... Either way, learn from our mistakes!  Once the salmon has been cut, you’ll take your seasoning and spread it all across the top and bottom of the salmon pieces.  After you’ve seasoned the salmon, set it aside so you can prep your green beans. Wash your beans, chop the last half inch off both sides of your beans and set aside. Then finely chop your garlic and onion, grab a medium sized non-stick pan, melt the butter and once it has started bubbling, throw the garlic and onion in. After they’ve started to brown, turn the heat to medium and add your green beans. While your green beans are cooking (make sure to toss them occasionally since they’ll only take about 7 minutes to cook), grab a large nonstick pan that will fit all the salmon pieces. Turn the heat up to medium, drizzle your olive oil across the pan and once hot, add in half of your minced garlic. Let the garlic cook for about a minute, then grab some tongs, and add in the salmon pieces top side down.  The salmon will need about 4-6 minutes on each side. Start flipping all the pieces right at the 5-minute mark since it’ll take you about a minute to flip all the pieces.  Check that the salmon is cooked through by gently pulling a piece of the salmon with a fork. If it flakes off, it’s cooked! 

Some great side dish ideas for blackened salmon are rosemary brown rice, green beans, any fresh salad (blackened salmon salad would be good too if you don't feel like tacos!) or oven roasted asparagus. For this salmon taco recipe, we had garlic green beans and rosemary brown rice as the side dishes.

Then we added fresh avocado, slaw mix (shredded cabbage, carrots and lettuce) and a splash of fresh salsa on top of the tacos, and it was absolutely delicious!

Garlic Blackened Salmon Recipe 

Ingredients: 
  • 1 large filet (16-18 oz) or 3-4 small 6-8 oz fillets (skinless and boneless)
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika 
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • ½ teaspoon dried basil 
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder 
  • ½ lemon
  • 5 cloves of minced garlic 
  • 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil 
Prep: 
  1. Cut your salmon filets into even pieces about 3-3.5 inches in length
  2. Prepare your blackened seasoning: add all the seasonings together in a small bowl and stir it up. 
  3. Mince the garlic, then set aside and cut your lemon in half and set it aside. 
  4. Sprinkle your seasoning on the salmon on both sides, ensuring there isn’t any leftover seasoning! 
  5. Grab a large nonstick pan that can fit all of your pieces in it, turn the heat up on your stove to a low medium and add in your olive oil. 
Cook: 
  1. Once the oil is hot, add in your minced garlic. Once the garlic has started turning a caramel color, spread it throughout the pan evenly and add in your salmon pieces top side down. 
  2. Turn the heat up to medium and cover with a lid for 2 minutes. 
  3. Take the lid off and allow the salmon to finish cooking on the top side for an additional 2-3 minutes; then start flipping the pieces to the other side with a pair of tongs. 
  4. Once you’ve flipped all the salmon pieces to the other side, take your lemon, put it in a small juicer and juice it all over the salmon pieces.
  5.  Cover with a lid and let it cook for 2 minutes, then take the lid off and let it cook for another 3-4 minutes. 
  6. Check your salmon to see if it’s cooked through by taking a fork and trying to pull a piece off. If it flakes easily, your salmon is done!

Garlic Green Beans Recipe

Ingredients: 
  • 1 pound green beans trimmed and washed 
  • 5 cloves of minced garlic 
  • 15 or ½ small container of cherry tomatoes 
  • ½ sweet onion finely chopped 
  • ⅓ teaspoon salt 
  • ½ teaspoon pepper 
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
Optional
  • 2-4 dashes of red pepper flakes for spice 
Prep: 
  1. Give your green beans a good wash and if you didn’t buy them pre-cut, make sure to wash your green beans, cut the ends and set aside. 
  2. Cut your onion in fine pieces and mince your garlic, then set both aside. 
  3. Wash your cherry tomatoes and set aside. 
  4. Grab a wok, turn the heat up to medium low and add in your oil. 
Cook: 
  1. Grab your onion, cherry tomatoes and garlic. Add them all in the wok and toss until they start turning a caramel color. The tomato skins will start to wrinkle and soften as they cook.
  2. Turn the heat up to medium/ high and add in your green beans, then salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. 
  3. Toss for about 7-10 minutes, mixing the garlic, onion and tomatoes all in with the green beans. 
  4. Serve immediately and enjoy!