VelvetCrispy-Skin Pan-Seared Salmon
Inspired by techniques from Serious Eats.
Skin-on salmon fillets cooked almost entirely skin side down in a moderate pan, so the skin turns thin and shatteringly crisp while the flesh cooks gently from below. Just salt, pepper and oil, and about 10 minutes at the stove.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Dry and season. Press the fillets between paper towels until the skin and flesh feel dry, then season all over with the salt and pepper. Any moisture left on the skin turns to steam in the pan and stops it crisping.
- 2
Heat the pan. Heat the oil in the frying pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then turn the heat down to medium-low. Starting hot and finishing gentle gives the skin a quick sear without overcooking the flesh above it.
- 3
Add the fillets. Lay one fillet in the pan skin side down and press it flat with the back of the fish slice for 10 seconds; the skin tightens as it hits the heat and would otherwise buckle and cook unevenly. Add the rest one at a time, pressing each for 10 seconds.
- 4
Cook skin side down. Cook without moving, pressing gently on the top of each fillet now and then to keep the skin in contact. After about 4 min the skin should release easily; if a corner still sticks, give it longer. Keep cooking skin side down, 7-9 min in total, until the flesh has turned pale almost to the top.
- 5
Flip and finish. Turn the fillets with the fish slice and a fork and cook 30 sec to 1 min more, until the centre is opaque, flakes easily and reads 63 °C. Drain briefly on paper towels and serve skin side up so it stays crisp.
Storage
Best eaten straight away, while the skin is crisp. Refrigerate leftovers covered up to 2 days; eat cold, flaked into salads, or reheat gently until piping hot (74 °C). Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
Why it's healthy
34.7 g protein for 384 kcal = 9 g per 100 kcal, so protein gives about 36% of the energy. High Protein needs at least 20% (5 g per 100 kcal), the EU condition. How we decide
EU nutrition claims
- Sugar-free: 0 g sugars per 100 g (limit ≤ 0.5 g)
Per 100 g of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 149 g a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Free sugars
Free sugars: 0 g per serving
0 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 0 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g (WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. who.int/publications/i/item/9789241549028
Equipment
- 30 cm stainless-steel, cast-iron or carbon-steel frying pan
- flexible fish slice
- fork
- paper towels
- instant-read thermometer
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 384 kcal |
| Protein | 34.7 g |
| Carbohydrate | 0.1 g |
| of which sugars | 0 g |
| of which free sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 26.2 g |
| of which saturates | 5.4 g |
| Fibre | 0 g |
| Salt | 1.34 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
9 g meets High Protein (≥ 5 g, 20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
