Remove the skin from the salmon (if it has any).

Cut the salmon into 2-inch cubes or preferred size (I like chunky large nuggets).

In a bowl, add all the marinade ingredients - honey, garlic, chipotle chili powder, salt, and black pepper and mix it together. If the marinade is too thick, add 1 tbsp of filtered water to loosen it up. Stir well. 

Add the cubed salmon into the marinade and coat the salmon thoroughly. Cover the bowl with plastic and let it marinate in the fridge for at least one hour (up to 8 hours).

For the breading station, you will need three shallow dishes. Arrange the dishes from left to right.

1st dish: add the flour.

2nd dish: add 2 eggs and whisk them up using a fork.

3rd dish: add the panko crumbs, chipotle chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and stir well with a fork.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Roll the marinated salmon cubes in the flour and shake off any excess flour.

Dip it in the eggs and make sure the eggs coat all sides of the salmon. 

Dip it in the panko bread crumbs and coat all sides. Place the breaded salmon bites on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Repeat the steps for all salmon cubes.

Make sure the salmon bites don’t touch each other for the best crispy surface.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the middle is cooked through. Make sure not to overbake them to make sure the inside stays moist. (You can also fry the salmon in an air-fryer, see how in the blog post).

Sprinkle sweet paprika on top if desired.

While the salmon bites are in the oven, whip together the hot honey aioli by adding mayo, honey, lemon juice, garlic, and cayenne pepper (optional) to a bowl and mix well. Store cold until it is time to serve. 

Enjoy!