Chef John's Baked Lemon Pepper Salmon

This is, by far, my favorite salmon recipe. I've tried several pesto recipes, citrus combinations, reductions....none come close to this. The amount of black pepper the recipe calls for seems insane but actually ends up PERFECT. Didn't have miso paste so made it without. I've prepared this meal three times already and plan on making it for company soon. A++

This recipe is easy to follow and the taste is amazing! I skipped the miso paste as we don't have this in the kitchen. As for the baking time, my salmon fillet was ready in 8 minutes and the insides were so juicy and delicious. For beginners, this is definitely one great recipe to follow!

I made this recipe last night!! It was outstanding! I will be making this in the future. I did not use the yellow miso paste though. Excellent Salmon

My husband is an avid salmon fisherman -- so we are lucky to be able to eat salmon frequently in my house. I have tried many different ways to cook up salmon -- and I can honestly say this is no one of my family's absolute favorites. The flavor was incredible. I strongly recommend this recipe -- quick, easy, delicious...and oh yeah...probably pretty good for you too. Thanks Chef John!

Take the suggestion in the video to add sweetness. I added a tablespoon of local honey and it was wonderful. Also don't back off the black pepper or cayenne. The combination of sweet and hot with the fish is perfect.

We have made this twice already, once with Wild caught and once with farmed. I did not purchase the miso paste and didn't add quite as much ground pepper but I love this sauce. If I can find a way to make it a little thicker I am going to double the sauce. We love this!

I will never cook Salmon on a grill or under a broiler again! PURE PEFECTION! Tasty, perfectly cooked - moist and not dry. Couldn't locate the yellow miso paste, so substituted it with soy sauce (as recommended by another reviewer). My dinner guests are still raving about it. Teamed it with CJ's Roasted Brussels Sprouts. Awesome combination.

Way too much pepper and it tasted so fishy. I had to scrape off all the topping and call my mother inlaw to find out how to fix it. Luckily I was able to save it. I would have had to throw it away if not. I would not recommend this recipe. Especially if its a first time cookin Fish.

This was a nice recipe, the sauce turned out well. Local grocery store doesn't carry miso, added a little soy sauce.

Chef John...I think you are to hard on yourself...This is amazing!! A friend brought over salmon straight from the ocean. I am a novice cook and have never made salmon before. I didn't have the miso paste (I didn't even know what it was) I added a dash of soy instead. (suggested by another reviewer)I thought the presentation was nice as well. My husband loved it. I am going to try it with the miso next time. I can't wait to see what yellow miso paste taste like. Thank you again for making me look like I know what I'm doing. Your the best!!

Absolutely wonderful!! I enjoyed the pepper, but you can always scale it back to your preference. I, too, used just a touch of soy as I didn't have the miso paste and it came out great! To the reviewer who said it was fishy -- that's a sign of fish not being as fresh as it should be. Fresh salmon, while has a nice strong "salmon" flavor is not fishy. One way to eliminate that is remove all of the grey portion -- that is where you will pick up the fishy flavor.

Used Marmite as substitute for miso paste. Wonderful.

This salmon recipe was delicious! I did use a salmon steak and cut down a bit on the pepper, otherwise followed the recipe. The miso adds incredible flavor. I'll definitely be making this dish again!

Good flavor but way too much pepper. Our lips were burning! I used fresh lemon juice which worked well.

Very good, I enjoyed this a lot. I will be keeping this recipe to have again sometime. A nice change of pace from the usual way we make salmon in my family(baked with garlic and butter).

I didn't have the miso paste, and did add about 1/2 Tbsp of honey. I also cut down the pepper to about 1/2 TBSP and it still had an over powering pepper taste. IF I were to make this again, I'd reduce the pepper to no more than 1 TSP.

I didn't like this, there was too much pepper.

Oh sooo good! I left out the miso since I didn't have any, and I used honey mustard instead of dijon mustard. It was still superb - the fish came out moist & delicious! I will definitely make this again!

I just made this last night. Everybody loves it! I doubled the recipe. But be careful adding salt since the Miso paste has salt in it already. Mine turned out a bit salty so I had to add more lemon juice and more mayo to offset the flavor. Oh I went easy on the pepper and cayenne...don't add too much or it'll be too spicy for little kids. I covered the fish with foil for the first 15 mins then leave it uncovered for 5-10 minutes. I Highly recommend this recipe.

I usually do not like cooked salmon at all, but this recipe is so good I even loved it.

I found white miso paste in my grocery store in Colorado and had to try this after reading all of the reviews. For me Steelhead trout is superior to salmon in flavor, so I followed the recipe with only that change plus the added honey and half the pepper. Since the two of us are in our 70's I heeded the anti pepper comments but after eating felt like it could have handled it. Next time, and there will be a next time, I'll make the recipe as it stands. Delicious recipe. Thanks Chef John and thanks Allrecipes!

One of my favorite ways to fix salmon!

First time I have made this ....DELICIOUS ... Chef John is the best .... thank you

This was pretty fabulous, my husband loves pepper, I love lemon so this recipe was a winner! I didn't have miso paste so I used soy sauce. The fish came out moist, perfectly done. Do try and not let any of the sauce drip off of the fish. I did and it burns to a crisp! I used my silicone baking sheet so it just peeled off, no problem. We used the leftovers for fish tacos the next day. Don't skimp on the pepper! I did add about a teaspoon of honey per Chef John's recommendation. Perfect!

I love this recipe. I didn't want to buy yellow miso paste since I'd only use it for this, so I left that off. I also followed his note and added some honey to balance the tartness & I definitely think it is a must. Amazon has a low-carb honey substitute. My husband is not a fish person, but I've put him on a low carb diet and he loves this with cauliflower rice and a roasted veggie such as cauliflower, asparagus or broccoli. I like to make extra sauce to put on the cauliflower rice and veggies. He LOVES this dinner.

A really great recipe! Like others, we used a bit of soy sauce instead of miso paste and added honey for sweetness and it turned out really well. Next time I'll use less mayo (personal taste) but my boyfriend loved the amount given in the recipe. Fast, easy, and will definitely make again!

Totally awesome. Best salmon I have ever eaten!!!! Super easy to make, bakes in the oven.

Chef John never disappoints me, but this one, in my opinion, came out dry.

Delicious! We also didn't have the miso taste and it still turned out great. Will definitely be making this again.

Loved it. The whole family loved it!! I quote my mom.. "I think this is the best fish I've ever had". I didn't have miso so I left that out and I put it to broil for an extra 5 on low then squeezed fresh lemon on top before serving with wild rice and steamed swiss chard.

I made it exactly as the recipe stated; however, the cooking time should have been less. It was a little overdone. The flavor was very good, tho!

I loved this recipe and will make it again. No miso but substituted tahini and it seemed to work fine. I would like to try it with miso though. My fillets were smaller (4-5 oz) and were slightly overcooked at 10 minutes.

The absolute best Salmon I ever put into my mouth! Yum!

Nope. Did not go ever very well.

Way too peppery for my taste. Too peppery for my husband and he loves pepper. I'll try again with 1 teaspoon pepper. The salmon was moist, no problem there.

The salmon turned out very moist and flaky. I substituted hoisin sauce for the miso and lemon pepper for black pepper.

Lovely combination of space acid and flavor, suspended in just enough mayo to keep the fish moist. Totally enjoyed it with soy and sesame instead of miso. Will do it again!

This was very good. I doubled the sauce recipe, except for the pepper (used only 1 tsp and some before baking and it was still very peppery) and left out the cayenne. Used spicy brown mustard because I didn't have dijon. Used soy sauce instead of Miso, and this probably made the sauce more watery than it should be. It was more of a marinade than a paste that you could brush on. Even with all of those changes, it got high marks from my husband and daughter. Baked 8 minutes at 450, then broiled for 2.

This was a very easy recipe although I didn't find the miso paste so made it without. It turned out great and my family loved it. I've been asked to make it again!

Chef John never steers me wrong! Like other posters, I didn’t have miso paste, but this saucy marinade was terrific without it. I was starting to become tired of my usual salmon recipes and this was a lovely way to get hooked on salmon again!

spicy but good I didnt use the yellow miso paste, as I have never heard of it. I was out of Dijon mustard but substituted spicy brown mustard. I I went easy on the cayenne pepper. Actually a perfect recipe for my husband hes not a fish eater and should be, And he liked it !

This was very flavorful. I omitted the miso paste because my grocery store doesn't carry it.

Without a doubt, the best salmon recipe I have ever made, EVER!! My family absolutely freaked. It was that good. All I can say is I have screen printed this and written it down (just in case my phone crashes!!) on paper so I’ll have it ! Thanks Chef John for another winner!!!

I've made this twice now. Both times the sauce/marinade was sloppy and loose. The first time I followed the recipe to the letter and the flavor was mild at best. The second go round, I added more than a pinch of cayenne pepper + a healthy dose of Tony Chachere's All Spice...it made all the difference! Now, if I don't pan fry with blackened seasoning, this is my go-to baking option.

This is really good, but I would cut the pepper in half.

It was delicious. I used hoisin sauce rather than miso paste, and used a different method of cooking. We find poached salmon juicier and more tender than baked. After following the recipe up to the point of cooking, I then placed the fillets in a glass baking dish, then poured about 1/4 cup of milk in the bottom of the dish. I placed a vented cover over the dish and cooked on high for about 3 minutes or until fish flaked easily in the thickest section.

So simple, so perfect! I don't use the miso paste and don't always marinate the fish. Neither are necessary to create a wonderful dish.

Tasty sauce mixture. I used salmon fillets instead of center cuts.

Made it without the miso paste and reduced the mayo.

The best salmon I've ever made! Didn't have yellow miso so I used red. It was perfect!!! Thanks chef John!

Absolutely delicious! At first, when I read that the recipe called for 1 Tablespoon of pepper I thought this was a typo mistake! However, I made the recipe exactly as written and we loved it. I will try it with different fish and also chicken. I am finding that other recipes call for miso and I am glad that I now have it in my fridge. Another winner for Chef John! I have many of his recipes and certainly enjoy his entertaining videos!

Delicious! Instead of Dijon mustard, I used honey mustard, and the flavor just popped! I also baked my filet on a rack to preserve the juices inside the fish.

over-powered the salmon.

This was sooooo easy. Thank you Chef John. I took your advise and mixed up the ingredients a little by adding a dollop of honey, a bit more mayo, and subbed soy sauce for the miso. We loved it!

Watch the video - Chef John's not impressed with this one either. Unfortunately I didn't watch first... I did read the chef's note and added honey. It was fine but nothing special.

The amount of pepper was rather overwhelming, and not to my wife's heat-resistant taste at all. BUT at half the pepper, this is an easy and fast way to perk up salmon. I cooked it on foil on the grill, mostly to get the fishy smell out of the house. In so doing, I think this might work for grilling salmon - marinade, wipe or scrape off excess marinade, brush on some oil, grill the top side, flip, add marinade while salmon finishes cooking. I'll try it next time.

So far it not a bad last minute meal during a long hard day at work

Delicious!

I made this recipe as written except for cutting back on the pepper per previous reviews. I used about 1 t. of pepper. Both my husband and I thought the salmon was way too salty, and I only sprinkled a small amount of sea salt on top. I think the sea salt is unnecessary when using the miso paste. We did like the flavor overall so I will try this one more time without the sea salt.

Best fish I made. I was shocked at how good it was.

I followed the recipe exactly, but this was way too peppery and generally lacked good flavor.

Unexpectedly creamy. But it's just okay.

Very delicious! I was worried about the large amount of pepper being overpowering. However, the salmon turned out just perfect. I didn't have miso paste so I left it out.

I didn't have the miso paste so I added a Tablespoon of organic soy-sauce to it. We loved this recipe! It packed a punch of flavor and was very moist too. My piece of fish took a bit longer to cook, more like 20-25 minutes, and may have been because it was a ticker cut of fish. If you like the ingredients in the sauce you will not be disappointed!

I made this exactly to the recipe using Hake in place of Salmon. It was so tasty, it will certainly be a regular dish in my house. Chef John does it again.

I loved this and did not add any sweetness. I don't want all my salmon recipes to have sweetness. My changes were, I cut down on the pepper, and used a brown miso paste cause that is what I had. I will make this again!

I used soya sauce and honey and turned out great.

This is a fantastic recipe. I've done it multiple times to gushing reviews. I use the ingredients exactly as listed but I usually cook it on the Bar BQ using a tray made of folded foil. It works perfect

I did this per the recipe using fresh Oregon wild salmon. It was so good, didn't change anything, except I put the fillets in a zip lock bag in the fridge instead of plastic wrap. Keeper.

seriously the best salmon I've ever had!

This was awesome!

I made it before I watched Chef John's video. He recommended sweetening it up a bit. I didn't have miso so added some soy. My sauce was thicker than his as well. I gave it 3 stars because it was too peppery, and I like pepper. I liked the flavor so I'll make it again, reducing pepper and adding a bit of honey or agave.

I skipped the miso paste but added a bit of soy sauce. I didn't have any dijon mustard so I just used a little yellow mustard and some vinegar. It turned out pretty good! I would make it again for sure.