Simple and exquisite salmon that takes about 10 minutes to prepare and will go perfectly with any side dish. This pan seared salmon is simple to make and will make you feel like you are dining in a 5-star restaurant.
Crispy Skin Salmon
Salmon is often my go-to protein for an easy, wonderful dinner. It’s always delicious, juicy, and flavorful. Even if it’s simply seasoned with a little salt and pepper, it always tastes delicious.
Of course, the way salmon tastes highly depends on the quality of fish itself. Same is true for every ingredients you will ever cook with, so pick out the best ingredients for the best results.
Besides picking out a beautiful salmon filet, there is not much effort required to make this 5-star fish.
There are only a few easy steps and tips to remember when cooking this recipe.
What pan is the best to use:
I’ve used this method of cooking salmon countless times and I’ve used several different pans. After several fails and not-so-perfect outcomes, I’ve come to prefer my stainless steel pan. Pan that I used include cast iron, non-stick, mineral coating, and stainless steel. The best results seem to always be with the stainless steel pan.
It’s important to make sure the pan is clean so that fish doesn’t get stuck to anything.
It’s also important to make sure to pre-heat the pan first. Preheating the pan is an important step in everything you cook but it is especially important when cooking fish or cooking on stainless steel.
Don’t turn your heat up higher than medium.
Note: using stainless steel pan is not a requirement, it is simply what I found to have best results.
How to make crispy skin salmon:
There are two basic ways to prepare crispy skin salmon: pan-seared or in the oven under the broiler. I found the best results to be with pan-seared method and that is the method I will be sharing.
A few tips to remember in this recipe are to making sure the skin is dry before adding it to the pan, making sure the pan is pre-heated, making sure the heat is not too high, and making sure to serve the salmon skin side up with nothing on top.
Set pan over medium or just a little below medium heat. (Every stove is different especially comparing gas and electric, so you will know your stove best. Just don’t set the heat higher than medium.) It will take about 5-7 minutes to preheat the pan.
Before cooking it, make sure salmon is cold, straight from the fridge. Pat salmon dry with a paper towel and gently rub it with a little oil all around. Don’t add salt and pepper to the skin until ready to place in the pan. Salt draws out moisture so salting salmon long before cooking will make it wet.
Add a couple of tablespoons of canola oil to the pan, spread it around, and add salmon to the pan, skin down. (If the pan is smoking a lot after adding oil, it’s too hot so turn down the heat a bit.)
Let salmon cook on the skin side until it’s 90% done. Check the skin by gently lifting salmon once in a while to make sure it’s not burning.
Turn off the heat and flip salmon. Let it cook for another minute- minute and a half and take out of the pan.
Total cook time will always depend on the thickness of salmon fillets.
How to serve crispy skin salmon:
Unlike oven baked salmon, crispy skin salmon should always be served skin up and on top of salad, sauce, or sides. Noting should go over the top of the crispy skin or it will get soggy very fast.
One of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made when I was first learning how to make this salmon was to pour sauce over the beautiful crispy skin that I finally achieved.
So always nestle salmon over whatever you are serving it with and if you are serving it with sauce, pour sauce in the plate first and place salmon on top.
Some more tasty seafood recipes to try:
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Crispy Skin Salmon
Ingredients
- 1 lb salmon fillets average 2 fillets of Atlantic salmon (use other if prefered)
- salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Before cooking it, make sure salmon is cold, straight from the fridge.
- Set pan over medium or just a little below medium heat. (Every stove is different especially comparing gas and electric, so you will know your stove best. Just don’t set the heat higher than medium.) It will take about 5-7 minutes to preheat the pan.
- Pat salmon dry with a paper towel and gently rub it with a little oil all around. Don’t add salt and pepper to the skin until ready to place in the pan. Salt draws out moisture so salting salmon long before cooking will make it wet.
- Add a couple of tablespoons of canola oil to the pan, spread it around, and add salmon to the pan, skin down. (If the pan is smoking a lot after adding oil, it’s too hot so turn down the heat a bit.)
- Let salmon cook on the skin side until it’s 90% done. Check the skin by gently lifting salmon once in a while to make sure it’s not burning.
- Turn off the heat and flip salmon. Let it cook for another minute- minute and a half and take out of the pan.
- Total cook time will always depend on the thickness of salmon fillets. For a nice juicy salmon the center temperature should be around 125°.
- (Note: more details and tips can be found in the post.)
Notes
Nutrition
Traci says
This looks delicious! Will definitely try this!
LyubaB says
Thanks, Traci! Let me know how you like it! 🙂
Diane Lytwyn says
This recipe worked perfectly! I usually broiled salmon filets, but never got the crispy skin I wanted! Not only is this recipe simple, but the salmon comes out moist and very flavorful! Who knew? I did make a an accompanying sauce with chopped shallots sauteed in unsalted butter, cooked down, with a few tablespoons of chicken broth, then added dill weed an a few tablespoons of cream. I used the same pan and de-glazed with the butter and broth. Voila! And, you’re right! Rather than spoon the sauce OVER the cooked salmon, I spread some on the plate first and THEN placed the cooked salmon filet over the sauce, with some cooked rice! Wonderful! Thank you!
LyubaB says
I am so glad you liked it!
Eenae says
Should you descale the salmon first? No one ever mentions this in the recipes I’ve looked at. Looking forward to trying this tonight! Thanks!
LJ says
I personally started descaling the salmon and making a series of cross cuts through the skin the length of the fish. I went from never eating the skin (soggy) to always eating the skin (crispy).
Edward Owen says
I haven’t been able to scale my salmon effectively – how are you doing it?
LyubaB says
If you cook a lot of fish it may be worth it to invest in a tool to scale fish but if not you can use a butter knife and you need good light so you can see the fish scales because they shimmer in the light then use your butter knife to scrap them off.