North African Salmon

An easy paleo salmon recipe flavored with Maghrebi (North African) spices.

Originally Posted: Aug. 29, 2022

Last Updated: Sept. 13, 2023

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Marination Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 6 – 8 minutes

Total Time: 41 – 43 minutes

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Intro

I’ve based this recipe on one I found years ago in a paleo cookbook called Well Fed (link here). I was in my first apartment at the time, and was eating out an awful lot at first, so I found the book while searching for ways to cook more healthy meals at home. The cookbook is a pretty great one if you’re just starting out, or if you want to try the paleo diet. The recipes are generally very simple and very satisfying.

Aside from steak—or more recently, smoked meats—this is the dish that I cook most often. It’s become a bit of a tradition for me to cook this for my parents on special occasions, like birthdays or Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. They love it, so they keep requesting it.

Eventually I began experimenting with using the spice blend from this recipe on other meats such beef and pork, and pre-mixing larger batches of the blend ahead of time. However, for the sake of this specific recipe, we’re going to be focusing mainly on the fish.

I’ve made a few changes to this recipe over the years, sometimes by accident. The original recipe calls for less fish, and for years I forgot the recipe called for coconut so I just added a little more orange juice to the marinade paste. However, the ratio of the spice blend has always remained the same.

Brief History

Note: Taken verbatim from my article about the spice blend on its own.

North Africa (the Maghreb), the Middle East, and the length of the old Silk Road have a long history of using similar spice blends to flavor food. Spice blends that are nearly identical to modern za’atar or ras el hanout have been found in Egyptian tombs.

• Ras el hanout (Maghrebi): Cumin, coriander, cardamom, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, allspice, ginger, chili peppers, peppercorn, paprika, fenugreek, turmeric.
• Za’atar (Middle Eastern): Cumin, coriander, thyme, sesame seeds, sumac, salt, chili flakes.
• Baharat (Middle Eastern): Cumin, coriander, allspice, black peppercorns, cardamom, cassia, cloves, nutmeg, turmeric, saffron, ginger, dried peppers or paprika.
• Advieh (Iranian, Mesopotamian): Cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, rose petals or buds, ginger.
• Hawaij (Yemeni): Cumin, coriander, black pepper, turmeric, cardamom.
• Masalas (Indian): The many regional masalas (mixes) can include: Cumin, coriander, fennel, bay leaves, black & white peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon/cassia, mace, black & green cardamom pods, chili powder, mustard seeds, fenugreek.
• Sichuan Spice Blend (China): Cumin, Sichuan peppercorns, Sichuan chili flakes, black peppercorns, salt, ginger, garlic powder, chili powder.

These spice blends all share a lot of the same ingredients and are used in similar situations regardless of region. The spice blend I’ve included below functions as a (very) simplified version of many of the above spice blends. In my cooking notes, I variously call it “North African Spice Blend” (due to the original salmon recipe) or “Moroccan Spice Blend” (I honestly can’t remember why I zeroed in specifically on Morocco here, but notes is notes).

Ingredients

Note: I’ve increased the liquid and spice amounts from the original recipe to account for the increased amount of salmon.

• 2 – 3 lbs. Salmon, skin on (I usually end up getting two ~1.5 lb. filets)
• 1 Tbsp. (14g) Cumin
• 1 Tbsp. (14g) Coriander
• 1 Tbsp. (14g) Dried Ginger
• 1 Tbsp. (14g) Salt
• 1 teaspoon (5g) Paprika
• 0.5 teaspoon (2.5g) Cayenne Pepper
• 2 Tbsp. (30mL) Coconut oil, melted (optional, see note below)
• 2 Tbsp. (30mL) Orange juice (or more, see note below)
• Orange slices for garnish (optional)

Note

For years I completely forgot to add the coconut oil to the marinade. When I did this, I noticed that the marinade paste seemed a little dry, so I just mixed in a little more orange juice at a time until I got a consistency that looked right. The consistency is important for this paste.

Equipment

• Grill (gas, charcoal, or wood)
  • A gas grill is the easiest to work with for this recipe; I would recommend that for beginners.
  • Use charcoal or wood if you have experience with heat zones. I plan on using wood next time, and leaning the fish at a small distance from the fire. Finally got around to doing this, and it turned out awesome.

Written Instructions

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Marination Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 6 – 7 minutes

Total Time: 41 – 42 minutes

Mixing the Spice Marinade

Start by mixing together the all the dry spices. Once mixed, add the melted coconut oil and orange juice (or just orange juice on its own) until you get a paste-like consistency. The author of the cookbook compares the consistency to a thick salad dressing, and I think that sounds about right. Think sesame-ginger salad dressing from a teppanyaki restaurant, that’s about the consistency you’re going for.

Optional: These days, I often cut my salmon filets into roughly 3” (8cm) wide slices. I find that this makes it easier to flip them during the grilling stage. However, now that I have an Argentinian-style grill with a leaning grilling cage, I’m pretty excited to cook whole filets over a fire and flip them easily in the future.

Once the marinade paste is mixed, set out your salmon skin-side down and spread it out evenly over the meat. You want to try and coat all of the salmon meat, because you’ll get a flavorful crust. Place salmon in fridge to marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.

Cooking with a Grill

Preheat grill with lid closed for about 10 minutes (we’re shooting for about 375°F – 400°F or 190° – 204°C). Coat grill grates with a generous amount of oil to prevent sticking. I would recommend using a non-flammable spray like Weber makes, or Steven Raichlen’s preferred method of brushing the grill with an oil-soaked paper towel using some tongs.

Place salmon on grill, skin-side down against the grate, and close the lid. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes, then flip salmon pieces skin-side up and cook for another 3 – 4 minutes. This is where the flavorful crust will develop. Note: Flipping the salmon is the reason I like to cut my filets into smaller pieces; it keeps them from breaking apart during the flip.

Once salmon is finished cooking, remove from grill and serve with your choice of sides. I enjoy pairing this with smashed potatoes and balsamic roasted brussels sprouts, or with a vegetable medley with summer squash. You can garnish the salmon with orange slices if you want; it looks amazing, but I rarely take the extra time to.

Cooking Using the Leaning Method

I haven’t done this yet, so this is just an extrapolation based on reading some of Derek Wolf’s (of Over the Fire Cooking) writings. Hopefully I’ll be able to update this section soon with pictures and more notes (and potentially, corrections).

I finally got around to doing this last Mother’s Day. Instead of the cedar plank and nail method, by this time I had a Kankay 2.0 Argentinian grill with a leaning cage attachment that I placed the salmon in.

Start a charcoal chimney 20 minutes before cooking, or a wood fire 1 hour before cooking. Make sure the charcoal or wood coals are mostly to one side of the grill or firepit. You can use a leaning cage, or you can use some food-safe stainless steel nails to fix the salmon to some cedar planks.

This indirect cooking method gives you a lot of control over how fast the fish cooks and how the crust develops.

Cooking Using Other Methods

I imagine this recipe would lend itself well to the foil-pack method on top of some hot firepit coals. That could turn it into a decent campfire meal. You could also bake and broil it in the oven.

I’m unsure how well the “crust” would turn out in either case, but it could be worth experimenting with in the future.