The Food Lab: How to Make Pan-Fried Salmon Fillets With Crispy Skin 

1. Dry skin of salmon fillet with paper towels. 2. Season generously with salt and pepper to remove excess moisture. 3. Heat oil in pan over medium high heat until shimmery (this means the oil hot enough) 4. Put salmon in pan, skin side down. Use a flexible slotted spatula to hold down salmon firmly, to prevent salmon meat from buckling. This takes about 15 secs. 5. Lower heat to medium low as soon as salmon goes in. 6. Cook until 120 degrees in thickest part of salmon (takes about 6 minutes). After about 6 minutes, flip salmon onto second side. It only needs about 15 seconds to cook since it's already 90% cooked by this point. 7. Put on dry paper towel to absorb excess oil and serve.

I often find videos that show what to do, but never explain why this method is done. I love that this video has an explanation, and that it's not 10-minutes long!

You can also score the salmon skin before it hits the pan to avoid the meat from buckling and keep spices, dressings, lemon juice, etc. locked in the meat through the cuts

this video inspired me to make the best organic salmon fillet with skin I have ever had. It was just so beautiful in appearance and the taste with a little fresh sqeezed lemon and my peruvian green garlic sauce just made me so happy.

This was a great recipe with clear instructions. I followed the steps as described, which resulted in the FIRST time I successfully cooked pan-fried salmon with crispy skin that didn't stick to the pan. I cooked the salmon skin-side down for six minutes and the flip side for two minutes.

Thank you Thank you Thank you so much!!! I've been doing it wrong for years. Tonight I bought a nice piece of Salmon and didn't want to mess it up. I followed your instructions verbatim and my salmon skin came out crispy. Nothing stuck to the pan. I flipped it for a few seconds like you mentioned and stopped cooking. Delicious is all I can say. You're so very appreciated for this video. 🙏🏾

What a great science and cooking class!

Thank you!!!!!! I’ve finally cooked salmon where the skin didn’t stick to the pan!!! And the skin came out crispy too!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

This is the best recipe for crispy skin salmon I have ever tried. And it is, almost as importantly, repeatable. Doesn't need a non-stick pan or a screaming black steel hotplate and the gentle heat means there is a longer threshold between undercooked and dry in case whatever it is you are serving it with is taking longer than expected. I turned it a bit earlier (42 degrees celsius) so I could cook the non-skin side a bit longer but, as my wife declared, "I have never had skin like that." Innuendoes went through my head but I stayed quiet. Also works for white fleshed fish like snapper and barramundi - just make sure you use that thermometer. Thank you SeriousEats. I follow you for your burger and pizza stuff but I love you for this recipe. Dan

This is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Thank you!

Great short video! Thank you.

Tried it just now and boy oh boy it turns out soo good and so beautiful! Considering me dont know how to cook. Thanks!

I've never had salmon buckle. For a thick piece, I give it 6 minutes skin-side down and another 3 to 4 minutes on the other side. I then take the pan off the heat, throw a pat of butter in the pan to melt it, and I baste the salmon for another minute with the melted butter before plating. Removing the pan from the heat while basting prevents the butter from burning. The remaining butter in the pan gets drizzled onto the salmon. Also, there's no need to put any oil in the pan if you brush the salmon with oil prior to frying.

Just made this using the print recipe last night. It was grrreat !

That's really helpful thank you soo much

THANKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for an incredible recipe for salmon. Followed your video step by step and turned out perfect.....again thanks ....be safe

Nice and short and to the point.

Just tried this method on some sockeye salmon and it was AMAZING. Thanks Kenji ❤

Used this method and it came out perfect

I made almost perfect crispy skinned salmon for the first time in my 31 years!! Eating well tonight. Thank you!

Tried it and it worked alot better this time the first piece was perfect the second piece of salmon was still cooked to the pan a little bit but much better than before !

Just super! Very tasty!

Thanks, great short vid, literally taught me how to cook salmon fillets 2 minutes before cooking it for the first time.

This channel is waaay underrated

Gordon Ramsey did an interesting vid where he cut slits into the skin of the salmon to prevent the curling up.

10/10 Amazing video, love from Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦

I always do about 5 minutes skin side down, then flip and finish in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Add your mango habanero glaze and you're f'n golden.

Delicious

I love fried crispy salmon ...yummy

New favorite food channel. What a great show.

It's delicious

Genius info!

Very good

Thank you!

Good content !!

Nice cook

I've been researching pan only recipes for hours. This has the best comments and reviews so I'll try it. Though I marinated my fish I'll still pat dry and probably reduce the marinade for a sauce. They also seem to be smaller than the ones in the video so I'll have to keep and eye on them. It's a shame I don't have a instant thermometer anymore. :(

Awesome

Good Receipie

Great video! I hate the super long ones with too much talking. This was short, to the point, and explained why you do what you do.

Perfect video under 3 minutes!

Nice video but I wish you would have cut into the salmon at the end.

Nice video

I crisp the bottom, no flipping it... love it partly raw... i salt the skin first before i braze it in oil

Nice

Good

Yummy 😋

Great

He said this is for medium-rare. You can adjust the time.

it works.

Thanks for this! Is that a stainless steel pan you're cooking the fish in?

nice video

so niice

Awesome vid. Subscribed :)

It looked raw in the last shot. At 2:20.

This is an amazing recipe! We made baked soy salmon with mustard sauce to keep it super healthy. I put up a video on our channel if anyone needs the recipe.

wow 🔥

Is the other side crispy as well or just the skin?

Gordon Ramsay says to score the skin to make the skin crisper and prevent buckling.

i want it

I do everything this video says but I get both - sticky skin as well as albumin oozing out! No idea how I can do this better.

I fkin love fried or grilled almon

How about scoring the skin a few times??

I am going to try never cooked Salmon want to learn how to cook a done Salmon fillet.

That shit is hella Raw!!!!!😂😂 this dude trying to get us sick!!

Made salmon for the first time and used this to guide me, it came out a little undercooked but idk I guess some ppl like it that way. It was still good tho :)

Nice but am having a hard time getting salmon that is Wild caught instead of farm raised.

0:53 you could just score it at the back so it does not shrink

👍🏻👍🏻

I tried it but the skin keeps coming off,what am I doing wrong?

Make 3 more of those 😆

👍👍👍

❤️❤️❤️

I love that we’re all here just for salmon lol

is that my boy kenji?

Hi, we are Korean reality TV program “Europe Outside Your Tent : Norway”. We are now making the episode of Salmon and it will be really great if you could allow us to use this video in our show! We will be looking forward to ur response! Thanks!

Flip 15 seconds it's ready?

Only edit o suggest is to wait until Pan is hot before adding oil, you should not add oil to a cold pan

If You add some garlic it would do wonders 😋😋

Thank you for this great guide! Makes me less nervous about christmas preparations. I have one question though, is the temparature given in C or F?

👍

Tha k god for this vid. I was gonna use *dirty* paper towels to dry my salmon 😅

What temperature is "medium low"? I tried this on my in-laws new gas range and medium low had no sizzle. I brought it to medium, got a little sizzle, but the skin didn't get crispy and I got lot's of albumen. They only have non-stick skillets so maybe that makes a difference? And some of the salmon pieces weren't as thick

Buying a stainless steel pan changed my life.

For some reason the salmon sold in my country is often cut horizontally (?), like steaks (?). How am I suppose to cook those?

Calories for this meal?

Pro tip to avoid shrinking Score the salmon skin in half in slices and it will help

So once the thermometer shows 120 deg F you stop take the fish out of the pan?

Isn't it albumin not albumen?

15 secs on the other side is nothing near enough. I ll give it 2 minutes depending on the thickness of the salmon.

where do i even get a thermometer lol :) came from vietnam

Pro tip, buy an instant read thermometer. Stop guessing about doneness. You can't just follow a time you saw in a recipe because fish and other meat vary in thickness.

I've made this 3 times and for some reason the skin keeps sticking to the pan. I tried drying it very generously with the paper towels but not sure why its still sticking. Any thoughts?

I am ready for Gordon

15 seconds... lol for me it's another 5 to 10 mins

2:18 - Yo that's raw

2:18 that does not look ready

gotta butter-bast it

Getting Salmon from Alaska frozen is best. It has Omega-3 & 6. 3 is good, 6 not so much. Getting Farm Salmon has only 6.

Make sure to always serve skin side up else it will lose that crisp.