Kick Turkey to the Curb: Fish Recipes for Thanksgiving Dinner

As Thanksgiving approaches, fly fishing enthusiasts may be searching for ways to ditch the traditional turkey and serve up a platter of perfect fish instead! Check out these holiday-worthy recipes that will have your family forgetting all about the bird.

Thanksgiving Salmon
Pay homage to holiday-favorite cranberry sauce with this delicious salmon recipe.

You’ll need:
4 salmon fillets
1/3 cup of cranberry sauce
2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of chopped shallots
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
2 teaspoons of chopped parsley
Salt & pepper

Directions:

Combine cranberry sauce, Dijon and shallots
In a separate bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, parsley and salt and pepper to taste
Rub salmon with olive oil mixture
Broil salmon for seven minutes
Remove salmon from oven and cover with cranberry sauce mixture
Broil for another five minutes until salmon is bubbling on top

Whole Roasted Salmon with Orange Butter Glaze
Just because you’re not having turkey doesn’t mean you need to throw all of your Thanksgiving traditions away. Check out this recipe for salmon with orange butter glaze, which utilizes many traditional holiday flavors.

You’ll need:

4 leeks
4 oranges
1 whole salmon (scaled and cleaned)
1 teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1 red onion (cut into thick rounds)
6 sprigs of fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Trim leaks of the dark green stems and slice them in half length-wise
Place leaks on the bottom of a 12x16 inch pan
Peel and pit oranges
Slice oranges into ¼ inch thick rounds
Rinse salmon under cold water
Cut shallow slits through the skin on each side of the fish
Salt and pepper fish
Stuff the cavities with cilantro sprigs, part of the orange rounds and onion rounds
Drape a piece of cheesecloth over the leeks and place fish on top of it
Squeeze the juice from two oranges into a small saucepan
Place pan over medium high heat and bring it to a boil
Add butter and stir until melted
Remove from heat
Brush the salmon with butter and orange juice mixture
Roast the salmon in the oven and baste it with more of the mixture every 10 minutes
Bake for approximately one hour or until skin is golden brown