Tips to cook crispy pan-seared salmon
I love crispy and moist salmon but how to prepare this restaurant-quality salmon at home? Of course, high quality and fresh ingredients improve the taste. I prefer larger and fattier salmon fillets, which make for relatively easy cooking (more protection from drying out). New Zealand King Salmon is a favourite of mine. One 200-300g fillet per person is good enough. If you are buying multiple fillets, simply ask South Stream to portion them for you.
Tip 1: Bring to room temperature
Sitting fish outside at room temperature for 10 minutes before cooking, as cold salmon fillets are not a friend of hot pan. You need to use a paper towel to pat each one dry. Otherwise, they’re most likely to stick to the pan and ruin the skin.
Tip 2: Seasoning with salt and pepper
Salt and pepper are plain, simple seasoning. Sprinkle them while moving over the food. Important: salt draws out moisture. If you want a crispy salmon, salt it right before cooking.
Tip 3: Preheat the Oil
Heat the oil in the pan with medium-high heat. Hot pan can prevent foods from sticking.
Tip 4: Start with the skin-side down
Always start with the fillets skin-side down to the pan, and turn the heat down to medium-low.
Tip 5: Prevent Buckling
Fillets will immediately seize up and skin is only in contact on the outside edges. Use a spatula and press on the flesh to prevent buckling. This ensure the skin remains touching the pan.
Tip 6: Turn it when the bottom half appear opaque
Resist the temptation to flip and check the skin. It takes times to render the fat out of salmon skin until it's nice and crispy. Keep it over medium-low heat to avoid over-cooking. When the bottom half of the flesh appear opaque, use the spatula to turn the fillets up-side-down.
Tip 7: Baste the top with hot oil
Use a big spoon to baste the top of fillets with the hot oil in the pan. It allows you to skip flipping the fillets again, and two sides will cook at the same speed.
Tip 8: Cook on 2 sides
Use spatula to flip the salmon and "kiss" the 2 sides of the fillet - just long enough to finish cooking it.
Tip 9: Remove from heat, then serve!
Serve the fillet with the skin-side up. This shows that you cooked the fish with the skin on. The diner can choose whether to remove the skin or to eat it along with the flesh.
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