Smoked Maple and Mustard Glazed Salmon

Last week I was at the West River Farmer’s Market in Londonderry, Vermont. If you are ever in the neighborhood on a Saturday morning in the summer it really is the place to be. The fresh produce is not to be believed and there is usually a band playing to make the whole event a little more festive. I’m usually a sucker for a lot of the great Vermont cheeses but this time I found something new, Smoked Maple Syrup from Sugar Bob.

Bob, who lives in Londonderry, let me try the syrup on the spot. It had a thick and rich smokey flavor, and smelled of a big fire burning in a warm ski lodge. It set my mind to working on how I might use this syrupy concoction. Bob suggested I make a maple glaze for salmon.

While Bob has his own recipe for maple glazed salmon, I decided to develop my own. My family already enjoyed the mustard glazed salmon I often make, so I thought the smoked maple syrup might make a nice alternative. Here’s what I came up with:

Smoked Maple and Mustard Glazed Salmon

1 lb Salmon

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon smoked maple syrup

2 tablespoons olive oil for cooking

salt and pepper to taste

I mixed the mustard, honey and maple syrup together and brushed it on the salmon before cooking. The salmon came out with a marvelous smokey flavor, which wasn’t overpowering. While I cooked the dish over the stove in New York City it definitely tasted of having been cooked over a roaring fire outdoors in Vermont. I hope we can get back to the farmer’s market before it shuts down for the season on Columbus Day.