Stuffing foods into other foods is one of those cooking techniques that has a penchant for being overused and abused. If you find yourself putting Oreos inside of meat, sit down, pour yourself a glass of milk, eat some Oreos, and reconsider your life. I point this out not because I hate stuffing foods but because it’s such an incredible melding of flavors when done properly! For example, how about some Crab Stuffed Salmon?!
What’s the perfect combo with seafood? More Seafood! So, that’s what we’re bringing you today! Sockeye Salmon stuffed with real lump crab meat and covered in a Sriracha Rye Glaze. Let’s get crazy, folks, because we’re cooking off this masterpiece over a smoldering cedar plank!
POST CONTRIBUTED BY JEREMY WHITELAW
Table of Contents
- Why you’ll love this recipe
- Crab Stuffed Salmon Ingredients
- How to Make Crab Stuffed Salmon
- Tips for Using Cedar Planks for Cooking
- More Salmon recipes
- How to Store Leftovers & Reheat
- What to serve with this Crab-Stuffed Salmon Recipe
- Crab Stuffed Salmon Recipe FAQs
- This sauce is FYR!
- Crab Stuffed Salmon Recipe
Why you’ll love this recipe
This easy Crab Stuffed Salmon is a delicious meal for a special occasion or dinner party when you feel like jazzing things up. Any seafood lover will appreciate this salmon dish made with fresh salmon and lump crab stuffing. If you want to make restaurant-quality food right in your own backyard, you’ve got to try this awesome recipe.
Crab Stuffed Salmon Ingredients
SALMON
- Sockeye Salmon Filet
- Lump Crab Meat: Use real crab meat for this recipe.
- Lemon Chili Rye Rub: This is from my own spice collection, but feel free to use any type of seasoning you like, such as Old Bay Seasoning, lemon pepper seasoning, or any other delicious spices you like.
- Lemons: Sliced in half.
- Cedar Plank: Imparts a subtle smoky aroma to the salmon during grilling.
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
- Chives
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SRIRACHA RYE GLAZE
- Unsalted Butter: Provides richness and a velvety texture to the glaze.
- Maple Syrup: Offers a touch of sweetness to balance the heat and add depth.
- Sriracha: Infuses the glaze with a bold, spicy kick.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Introduces a savory, umami element.
- Rye Whiskey: Imparts a distinct rye flavor, enhancing the overall complexity of the glaze.
For more recipes with cedar planks, check out Smoked Arctic Char Wreath, Baked Wood Plank Salmon, and Leaning Salmon with Roasted Garlic Aioli.
How to Make Crab Stuffed Salmon
Start by preheating your grill to around 400F. Next, cut your cedar plank to the right size and give it a good soak. If you prefer smaller portions, that’s fine, but you may have to use two of them. Now, place the salmon skin side down on the cedar plank and use a sharp knife to cut down the middle without going through the skin. Pat dry with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture.
Then, generously stuff the salmon with the crab filling. Sprinkle the Lemon Chili Rye Rub on top of the fish. After that, throw the cedar plank on the preheated grill and cook for about 40 minutes until the internal temperature of the salmon reaches 130F. Allow the Crab Stuffed Salmon to rest covered for 10 minutes. During the last 10 minutes, brush the top of the salmon with Sriracha Rye Glaze.
While waiting, grill some lemons and serve them alongside the salmon. Top the rested salmon with grated Parmesan cheese and chives. Finally, slice, serve, and enjoy!
Make the Sriracha Rye Glaze
For the Sriracha Rye Glaze, mix butter, maple syrup, Sriracha, Worcestershire sauce, and Rye Whiskey in a pot. Warm it up until it simmers, whisk occasionally, and then once it’s reduced by half, it’s ready to go!
Tips for Using Cedar Planks for Cooking
- Soak the planks before use. Just a few minutes submerged in water is a huge help. This will prevent them from easily catching fire while on the grill.
- Keep a spray water bottle handy because if a plank catches fire, you’ll be able to put it out quickly and easily.
- Serve whatever you’re cooking on the cedar plank… Because it’s easy on you and also mad impressive.
More Salmon recipes
How to Store Leftovers & Reheat
Store leftover salmon in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. I wouldn’t recommend freezing because this meal would be best served fresh.
To reheat:
- Preheat your oven to 275F.
- Place your salmon on a baking sheet or in an oven-safe safe and pop it into the preheated oven.
- Bake for around 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 130F.
- Sprinkle a little parmesan cheese and a squeeze of lemon juice on top.
For convenience, you can pop your leftover salmon into the microwave and heat it up in 30-second increments.
What to serve with this Crab-Stuffed Salmon Recipe
Serve up this luxurious dish with your favorite sides, like roasted asparagus and creamy mashed potatoes!
Crab Stuffed Salmon Recipe FAQs
Most big box home improvement stores carry a selection of untreated cedar planks.
Grab yourself an 8 ft plank and cut it to size to fit your needs. This gives you a lot more options when grilling your cedar plank creations. No longer will you be constrained by the pre-cut 4 by 12 inch “culinary cedar planks” because we’re making our own!
This, obviously, is a seafood dish. Seafood isn’t quite like other proteins. It’s much more delicate and spoils a lot faster. This can make it really intimidating to folks who don’t cook it a lot. But a lot of these concerns can be avoided by getting the freshest seafood possible.
Skip the big chain grocery store (unless they specialize in seafood) and look up a local fishmonger. These amazing institutions can source the freshest ingredients. They’ll cut your worry in half and make the entire cook that much easier. Along with the best ingredient, they can also make recommendations for what is in season and what goes best with the dish you’re cooking.
Look up a fishmonger and check them out not just for this Crab Stuffed Salmon recipe but for all of your seafood needs. It’s something you’ll never regret!
Absolutely! As I mentioned above, fresh salmon is always best, so try to find some Atlantic salmon or Pacific salmon that you like for this recipe.
Nope! It’s just an extra step. You can cook it straight on the grill if you like.
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Crab Stuffed Salmon
Ingredients
Salmon
- 2-3 Lb Sockeye Salmon Filet
- ½ Lb Lump Crab Meat
- Lemon Chili Rye Rub
- Lemons
- Cedar Plank
- 4 Tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 4 Tbsp Chives
Sriracha Rye Glaze
- 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- 2 Tbsp Sriracha
- 3-4 dashes of Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Rye Whiskey
Instructions
- Pre heat grill to 400 degrees.
- Cut Cedar Plank to size and wet plank, to prevent it from catching fire on the grill. This recipe can also be done with individual portions of salmon on smaller cedar planks.
- Place salmon, skin side down, on cedar plank and make a vertical cut down the center of the salmon. Do not cut thru the skin of the salmon, we’re just making a cavity.
- Now that the salmon is opened up, stuff that opening with your lump crab meat. It’s okay if it’s over stuffed. No one ever complained about having too much crab.
- Season the crab stuffed salmon with the OFT Lemon Chili Rye Rub.
- Place the cedar plank salmon on the pre heated grill. Cook time should be about 40 min or until the salmon reaches 130 degrees internal. Once internal temp is reached allow the salmon to rest, covered, for 10 min.
- During the last 10 min of cooking, glaze salmon 2-3 times with the Sriracha Rye Glaze.
- Slices a few lemons and grill them on the hottest part of the grill. Serve long side the salmon.
- Top rested salmon with the finely grated parmesan cheese and chopped chives. Slice, serve, and Enjoy!
Sriracha Rye Glaze
- Combine Butter, Maple Syrup, Sriracha, Worcestershire Sauce, and Rye Whiskey in a small pot.
- Warm over medium high heat, bringing to a simmer. Reduce heat and whisk occasionally.
- Once reduced by half, glaze is ready to use.
Sounds delicious. My wife doesn’t like to eat spicy dishes. Does this have a lot of heat to it when it’s done?
Nope this should be nice and mild!
I purchased your lemon chili rye rub and made this tonight. It was so very good! A tiny bit of bite and a little sweet! Thank you for sharing your amazing recipes with all of us!!!! I will make this many more times! So delicious!