Skip Lemon: Bake Salmon With This Juicy Citrus Instead

We've all had lemon salmon before. Whether you ordered it at a restaurant and it came with lemon sliced on top or you enjoyed a slightly spicy lemon pepper-infused piece of fish, it's the go-to citrus option for most seafood. Switching it up by using orange instead of lemon adds a fun twist, and a little kick of sweetness, that works perfectly with all the savory protein that salmon provides.

While you can certainly enjoy salmon baked with a few slices of orange on top, the tangy fruit also works well with a wide variety of seasonings, letting you customize a marinade, sauce, or seasoning blend to suit your taste buds. Try blending orange juice with soy sauce and olive oil for a salty, umami-rich salmon marinade, or use orange juice (Simply is one of the best orange juice brands) to create a sweet salmon glaze with some honey, a bit of salt, and garlic.

Using citrus on seafood can get a little tricky. Understanding the science behind how citric acid affects the delicate proteins in fish can help you make smart calls when you're baking orange salmon. If you're simply laying orange slices on top of your salmon as it bakes, which is a delicious way to infuse some flavor, you don't need to worry about this part.

If you're planning on marinating salmon in orange juice, or with orange slices, be warned: 45 minutes should be the maximum amount of time salmon spends in a citrus marinade. As citric acid makes its way into salmon during the marinating process, it changes the structure of the proteins. Marinating salmon for too long can actually make it mushy, so set a timer to make sure you pull it out of the marinade at the right time.

You don't necessarily have to go the marinade route to infuse citrus flavor into salmon. Adding orange marmalade — the same sweet pantry staple that can stop baby back ribs from turning out bland — can add a nice depth of flavor without running the risk of negatively affecting the texture of your salmon. Simply melt down some orange marmalade on the stove, add a splash of vinegar for a bit of a kick, and pour it over your salmon during the last few minutes of baking.