Cooking Salmon - How to Cook Salmon?

As much as possible, buy fresh salmon on the day you plan to cook your salmon recipe. Salmon should not be overcooked. Cooking should be done in such a way that the meat is firm when tested at its thickest part using the back of a fork and flakes form when prodded. After taking the fish from the heat, one should allow the salmon to sit for several minutes in order to go on cooking with the last bit of heat. Naturally, the juices from the oils in the flesh will start to melt.

Regarding the cooking methods, here is a quick list with your main options:

Grilling

Grilling salmon is an easy and tasty way to prepare your fish. It is best to marinate the salmon for 30-90 minutes inside the refrigerator before grilling. If you prefer sweet grilled salmon steaks, try using a marinade made of brown sugar and bourbon. Set the grill to moderate heat and use olive or vegetable oil to grease the grates of the grill. Make sure to clean the grates before placing any salmon on top. Salmon steaks can be placed directly on the grill. Another option is to use foil to wrap the salmon to keep the meat juicier and to cut down grilling time. In flipping the filet, be careful in handling the fish because flaking might cause the salmon to fall apart. See our Grilling page for more instructions and recipes.

Baking

Use melted butter to brush the salmon before baking and sprinkle with any favorite seasoning. Put on a greased baking pan and bake at 350 degrees. In determining the length of the baking time, simply multiply every inch of the salmon’s thickness by 10 minutes. Here is an overwie on recipes for baked salmon.

Pan Frying

Coat a skillet generously with olive oil and place on moderately high heat. Prepare a mixture of egg and milk and dip the salmon in it then coat with cracker crumbs. For about three minutes, fry the coated salmon in a covered pan flipping once. Fry until flakes are formed and add lemon wedges when serving. That’s really easy, isn’t it?

Steaming

The salmon should be placed in a steamer basket. Liquids like beer, wine, broth or simply water can be used to pour over the salmon until the liquid is a couple of inches in the bottom of the steamer. Sprinkle with any spices of your choice and cover the steamer. Steam the fish by bringing the liquid to a boil. Every ounce of salmon would require one minute of steaming. When serving, steamed salmon is best with sauces like hollandaise.

Poaching

Poaching salmon can be done using wine, broth or water to cover the fish together with choices of herbs and spices. Allow the liquid to come to a gentle boil while the skillet is covered. Poach for about 6-10 minutes or until flakes are formed when the thickest part of the fish is prodded with a fork. Like steamed salmon, poached salmon is also best served with a sauce like homemade mayonnaise paired with fresh dill weed and lemon juice.

Smoking

Smoked salmon is a very delicious way of preparing this precious fish, however, you usually do not do this at home. Here is an overview on how to smoke salmon.