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74 Comments
96Humphreys
March 7, 2024
Nice article, but what about grilling on cedar planks. That is awesome. You do have to be careful not to over cook it but the smoke and fire is great. The white spots never bother us.
Amy W.
March 7, 2024
Love all of this. But, too bad you aren't a griller. So much can come from being a practiced grill cook. Like crispy salmon skin with medium rare salmon meat, along with roasted brussel sprouts cooked at the same time to a nice crispy texture too. And sweet potatoes too, which are delicious with salmon. But so many great ways to cook salmon. I love salmon and will eat it every day if my family would.
CliffG
March 7, 2024
In addition to my BGE I have a small Weber gas grill on a sheltered side porch, can cook in almost any weather. Most of my proteins go on that grill, especially fish: we cannot handle the lingering cooked-fish odor in the house. We have the good fortune to be near a fishmonger that gets fresh king salmon every week from Canadian indigenous tribes so we have fresh salmon every week!
We bake/grill a filet, usually doused with Bachan's sauce but have to deal with the variable thicknesses of a filet.At about the 6 to 7 minute mark the thinner sections have hit the 120-125 deg. pull temp and I slice through the filet and pull the thinner parts, then cut the thick center in half and treat it to direct flame for about 20 seconds to bring those thick sections up to temperature. It becomes routine when we do this every week: preheat a gas grill is easy and there is enough interesting change filet-to-filet for fun. The grill celans up easily with one of the Rescue grill cleaner products.
We bake/grill a filet, usually doused with Bachan's sauce but have to deal with the variable thicknesses of a filet.At about the 6 to 7 minute mark the thinner sections have hit the 120-125 deg. pull temp and I slice through the filet and pull the thinner parts, then cut the thick center in half and treat it to direct flame for about 20 seconds to bring those thick sections up to temperature. It becomes routine when we do this every week: preheat a gas grill is easy and there is enough interesting change filet-to-filet for fun. The grill celans up easily with one of the Rescue grill cleaner products.
tradess2013
March 7, 2024
My favorite method is to place a piece of salmon in my old fashion Falcon roasting pan with olive oil, garlic, lemon slices, salt and pepper and a tiny piece of chili in the toaster oven for 20 minutes @ 350 degrees. To make it even easier, I purchase my salmon pieces (no bones, no skin) from QVC. Always perfect, always delicious and fairly easy and fast.
Chas373
March 7, 2024
My go to method: approximately 12 oz Salmon fillet. The thickest part being about an inch maybe a bit more. Brush fillet with olive oil and add salt and pepper. Maybe a bit of lemon juice. Place on shallow baking pan WRAPPED IN NON-STICK FOIL. (wrap the pan not the salmon.) Place pan into a rickety 18 year old Kitchen Aid Toaster/Oven. No preheating. I set it for the highest heat 475F? setting and to Toast-Broil so both upper and lower elements get hot. Roast for 12-14 minutes. Checking to see that the thickest part is still just a bit rare, my preference. Doing it this way gives me a salmon that I can only find in a quality seafood place. If I want to "extra fancy" it I started making a Cool Cilantro Cream that'd put on the salmon after it was cooked. I loved that stuff! If anyone wants the recipe just reply and I'll post it
Chas373
March 7, 2024
COOL CHILI CORIANDER CREAM
Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.
1/4 cup sour cream (Can use reduced fat)
1/4 cup plain yogurt ( Can use Non-Fat)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 or 2 Tbsp. Mayonnaise (Can use reduced fat)
1 fresh jalapeño or other fresh green chili, seeded and chopped (wear rubber gloves), or to taste
2 cups packed fresh coriander (Cilantro), washed well and spun dry
Salt and pepper to taste
In a blender or small food processor blend together all ingredients with salt and pepper to taste, scraping down sides, until very smooth. Cream may be made 6 hours ahead and chilled, covered.
Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.
1/4 cup sour cream (Can use reduced fat)
1/4 cup plain yogurt ( Can use Non-Fat)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 or 2 Tbsp. Mayonnaise (Can use reduced fat)
1 fresh jalapeño or other fresh green chili, seeded and chopped (wear rubber gloves), or to taste
2 cups packed fresh coriander (Cilantro), washed well and spun dry
Salt and pepper to taste
In a blender or small food processor blend together all ingredients with salt and pepper to taste, scraping down sides, until very smooth. Cream may be made 6 hours ahead and chilled, covered.
Ivan K.
March 7, 2024
Thank you for this analysis! I am surprised that you did not include the microwave oven in your testing. This has been touted my many as one of the best and most efficient ways to prepare fish including salmon.
jpriddy
March 7, 2024
Thank you for the overview and your writing is fun. I was born and raised in the PNW and my father worked for the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. I have been eating fresh fish regularly, even as an occasionally lapsed vegetarian, my entire life. Grilling with lemon and butter and garlic remains our favorite way to cook salmon, but yes, a lot of work. These days my go-to technique, similar to how my mother cooked snapper, is adding the fish over half-cooked white rice in coconut milk and water, putting the cover back on and completing the process. I have that technique timed to the minute on my cooktop.
However, I am confused by "Bring a saucepan of olive oil—enough to cover the fillet—to a gentle simmer" because oil does not simmer. Simmering involves water evaporating gently—a very low boil—and there is no water in olive oil. I've seen this oil-simmering mentioned before and cannot wrap my head around it.
However, I am confused by "Bring a saucepan of olive oil—enough to cover the fillet—to a gentle simmer" because oil does not simmer. Simmering involves water evaporating gently—a very low boil—and there is no water in olive oil. I've seen this oil-simmering mentioned before and cannot wrap my head around it.
Merrill H.
March 7, 2024
Please talk about what type of salmon should be purchased and eaten. Open-Net Pen Salmon is toxic and environmentally unsustainable. there are Land based Salmon farms that produce clean tasty fish that are not treated with antibiotics and pesticides. Eating salmon is great, but not if it is produced in Open-Net Pen salmon feedlots which contaminate the ocean waters, the floor of the ocean and create havoc among other fish species, especially salmon!
LeBec F.
February 22, 2024
ella, i have to start with gushing over your...Wait for it...
WRITING SKILLS! Laughing, and guffawing makes me happier than anything, and that's what the floor above heard when i read your sky writing remark. so th you V. much. i aim to read you a lot more!
as to the topic at hand, our fav. prep is smoking w/ wood chips over a charcoal grill- til v. rare.
maybe just me, but olive oil poaching seems to make more sense if you were raised w/ a free supply of olives; otherwise it's yuppy embarrassment to me.
finally a rhetorical question: i wonder if leaving on the skin is equivalent to the 'preferred' method of cooking poultry and meats bone-in, i.e. more flavor. hmmm......?
best, mindy
WRITING SKILLS! Laughing, and guffawing makes me happier than anything, and that's what the floor above heard when i read your sky writing remark. so th you V. much. i aim to read you a lot more!
as to the topic at hand, our fav. prep is smoking w/ wood chips over a charcoal grill- til v. rare.
maybe just me, but olive oil poaching seems to make more sense if you were raised w/ a free supply of olives; otherwise it's yuppy embarrassment to me.
finally a rhetorical question: i wonder if leaving on the skin is equivalent to the 'preferred' method of cooking poultry and meats bone-in, i.e. more flavor. hmmm......?
best, mindy
Becky D.
February 20, 2024
When a friend gave us a hostess gift of a Ninja air fryer and said that it made the best salmon I was skeptical and tucked it away. But then I got a box of frozen Alaskan salmon filets for Christmas and decided to give it a try. Using the grill function on high for 9 minutes does, in fact, result in perfectly cooked, beautifully crispy-skinned salmon. We use this method weekly now.
[email protected]
March 31, 2023
You’re recipe for “An Immediate Salmon Fix, Stovetop Sear is absolutely the best ever!!!!!! Salmon filet, skin on, perfectly prepared without being overdone, dry, or tough. Absolutely perfect!!! More restaurants including first class ought to do this!! 1,000 thanks for this quick, easy, incredible recipe!!!!!!
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March 8, 2023
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Sarah
September 28, 2022
I have a beautiful salmon fillet and wanted to cook it to perfection, so googling landed me here. Lovely site. But I had to create an account and take the trouble to comment for this one sentence in your post. "As a child, I regularly faked sick so I could stay home from school and watch cooking shows. There’s a lot to unpack there, but in the spirit of filing my draft on time, I’m going to skip ahead to the relevant bit". That was ME! Ha Ha! We are kindred spirits. :) I still feel so cozy just thinking about it. Old school PBS cooking shows were the best. Such a nostalgic part of my childhood, and I give credit to that for my love of food and cooking, and different cultures around the globe.
James G.
May 11, 2022
This is the best, and was not included: https://www.westwood-bbq.de/flammlachs/
cosmiccook
March 26, 2022
Can you clarify the oven temp please? When you say "roast"--are you using Roast oven option, convect roast or other such as bake? As the roast option essentially uses both the broiler & bake (for electric ovens). With newer ovens offering all sorts of cooking options, it would be a tremendous help to incorporate these settings when conducting recipe testing or instructions. Thank you!
Anita
March 25, 2022
Uhm, I'm closer to 40 than 30 years old now and have cooked plenty of salmon. Pan seared, baked, aromatic packed, poached, steamed, and while occasionally I would get the flaky salmon I loved, results were never consistent for me. I never could get the color and texture quite right together: either too leathery and dry or too slimy still or too much albumin everywhere. I have NEVER eaten the skin, not once. I craved some salmon recently and this article inspired me. I tried the stovetop sear method exactly with the skin-on... and it was FABULOUS. A little lemon squeeze and pepper sprinkle after plating, ate the perfectly crispy skin and all, and it was everything!!! Thank you for the enlightenment!
Anita
March 25, 2022
I should add, tried this method tonight with a 4oz strip of fresh Norwegian salmon (also a first: using this variety). Not sure if that makes a difference, but excited and hopeful to reproduce similar results in the near future!!
jade408
May 16, 2022
One of the reasons I dislike most of these methods is that they do not produce crispy skin. Which is why I want to eat salmon.
noble.koala
June 12, 2023
Ahh, wild. The thought of eating fish skin makes my stomach turn. I don’t mean this in a disrespectful way, just interesting to hear other people’s likes/dislikes - maybe I’ll have to warm up to trying it someday (though judging my initial reaction it might take a while!)
cosmiccook
July 15, 2021
For the slow roast--unless your oven has a roast/convect option (mine uses broiler & bake heat) aren't you just baking it? I wish cooking sites would address & expound on this.
cosmiccook
July 15, 2021
We did ours last night using our gas grill & cooking mat on low. I'm not a huge salmon or (OTHER fish) fan regardless of how fine the fillet or method. I suspect part of that is because most of the when I do eat it, its cooked beyond my preferences. I know its so good for you, but other than smoked, meh. The poached olive oil method--I've done it w tuna (https://lukeslobster.com/blogs/recipes/samin-nosrats-confit-tuna-sandwich). It made a lovely tuna--but its still fish. My favorite way is tempura--particularly w grouper.
Dee A.
August 14, 2022
Right there with you. In general, I like fish but don’t like to cook it (with the exception of baked from frozen or fish sticks). Hoping the pan sear method works.
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