Make mine all nice and crispy

I recently read in the paper about the Lee brothers of Charleston, S.C., who run a mail-order food business and write about southern American cuisine. And I discovered their latest cookbook, Simple Fresh Southern (Clarkson Potter, $43), where they have a recipe for broiling salmon with the skin on until it is "blistery and delicious." Well ... what can I say ... crispy skin salmon? I'm sold so I'm sharing with you this recipe and a photo from their book which I hope will inspire you as it did me.
And while I have to admit I had to try a couple of stores to get the buttermilk (I gather it's hard to avoid buttermilk in South Carolina, but not so much so in Nanaimo), it was worth the effort for the refreshing creamy sauce that goes with this simply-prepared salmon.
Now I cooked this the other night when it was distressingly cool for summer, but generally I think this is a recipe more for cooler months when you don't mind having the oven on ... though at least it's not on for too long.
And that crispy salmon skin is delicious I have to say and well worth a little fiddling with the broiler. You could also do it on the BBQ I think and I intend to try just that real soon!


Crispy-skin salmon with buttermilk-mint sauce
Serves 4
Sauce:
1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped, fresh mint
1/2 cup (125 mL) buttermilk
1/2 cup (125 mL) sour cream
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) kosher or coarse salt
Fish:
3 teaspoons (15 mL) olive oil
1 pound (500 g) thick salmon fillet, skin on
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) kosher or coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper

Sauce: In a food processor or blender, combine mint, buttermilk, sour cream
and salt and process or blend until thoroughly combined. Transfer to a bowl
and keep cool. Fish: Measure two teaspoons (10 mL) of the oil into a large,
cast-iron frying pan or broiler pan and place it under the broiler so the
bottom of the pan is about five inches (12 cm) from heat source. Turn
broiler on.
While broiler and pan are heating up, score the salmon skin crosswise in
three places to divide the fish into four equal servings. Rub the remaining
teaspoon (5 mL) of oil over the skin of the fish and sprinkle it with the
half-teaspoon (2 mL) salt and pepper to taste.
When the oil in the pan starts to smoke, lay the filet skin side up in the
pan and cook for 51/2 minutes, or until the skin is blistery and charred and
the salmon is cooked medium-rare.
Cut fish into four servings and serve skin side up with the sauce.