How to Cook Perfect Crispy Skinned Salmon

How to Cook Perfect Crispy Skinned Salmon

This delicious recipe is brought to you in partnership with our friends at Woolworths

This is my absolute favourite food in the whole world.  I eat Crispy Skinned Salmon with steamed vegetables for lunch at least three times per week – it is my main meal of the day, it is healthy, delicious and doesn’t sit ‘heavy’ in your belly like some hot lunches tend to do.

Method

1. Heat a stainless steel pan until very hot but no smoking.

2. Add 2 tablespoons of Vegetable Oil and heat until it shimmers.

3. Season your piece of salmon, then immediately place it skin down in the hot pan.

4. Cook for approximately 5-7 minutes or until the salmon is 90% cooked through.

5. Season before flipping over.

6. Cook for a further 30 seconds to 1 minute, just keep an eye on it.

7. Serve immediately, skin side up.

This way of cooking Crispy Skinned Salmon is (in my personal opinion) AS GOOD as the restaurants do it.  So grab a fresh piece of salmon from the seafood counter at your local Woolworths – and prepare for some magic!

The key is cooking the ‘Crispy Skin’ first. We show you step by step – how to achieve that restaurant quality salmon at home.

Choosing Your Piece of Salmon:

When visiting the Woolworths seafood counter, choose a nice, even piece of salmon. I like to go for the thicker, juicier belly pieces because they stay nice and tender during the cooking process.

Remove your piece of salmon from the packaging and lay it on a plate.  Use a paper towel to dry the salmon piece on both sides.

Seasoning is ESSENTIAL

Right before you cook your piece of salmon (when you are heating up the frypan), is when you should season your piece of salmon.  If you season it too far ahead of cooking, the salt will pull moisture out of the salmon and it will be damp again – which doesn’t get you that delicious crispy end result.

I love to season my Crispy Skinned Salmon with salt flakes – and lots of it.

Use a High Smoke Point Oil

Many recipes you may see online use olive oil to cook Crispy Skinned Salmon – but I don’t agree with that.  You want an oil that has a very high smoke point.  I suggest the following:

• Vegetable Oil
• Coconut Oil
• Avocado Oil

Coconut Oil can impart its flavour into the salmon though, so if you aren’t a fan of coconut flavoured fish – I would stick to Vegetable Oil.

How to Cook Crispy Skinned Salmon:

Add your stainless steel frypan to the hottest heat your stove provides.  Add the vegetable oil – enough to cover the entire bottom of the pan (about 2-3 tablespoons).  You want the pan to be super hot – but not smoking.  You will know when the oil is ready because it will ‘shimmer’.

Rub a tiny bit of oil into the skin before seasoning the skin generously with salt.  Then pop the salmon piece skin side down in the oil – it should start hissing immediately. Be careful though the oil can spit up at you!

You want to cook the piece of salmon for about 5-7 minutes – until the piece is almost 90% cooked through on the skin side without turning.  The larger your piece of salmon, the longer you will need to cook it.

Don’t worry that the skin side will burn – it can take a whole lot of heat!

After the salmon is 90% cooked, season the underside of the salmon before flipping it over.  Fry for another 30 seconds to finish that last 10% – and remove it from the heat.

Serving Suggestions for Crispy Skinned Salmon:

My personal favourite is mashed sweet potato, with broccolini and asparagus.  But if you are into salad instead of vegetables, a nice rocket with tomatoes and olives would go well too.  Just avoid the chippies. This isn’t fish and chips!