Pan fry salmon what temp

[xCJ]

My family recently started purchasing bags of wild caught salmon, which I pan fry. However, I am having difficulty getting the fish just right with a moisture to fully cooked ratio.

These salmon pieces are very thin, most of them are not much thicker than half an inch, and beyond the thickest part they get real thin.

My stovetop goes from 1 (low) to 9 (high) what setting would you cook the salmon on, and for how long on each side? I just made a piece on temp 4, three minutes on the skin side and 2 minutes on the inside, and it was raw right in the middle, so I gave it about another minute and a half.

I'm thinking of next time doing it on 5, three minutes on the skin and two minutes on the inside. What would you do?

 

[Andy M.]

Your best bet is to experiment to find the best combination of doneness and crispness. I won't tell you minutes and settings because you may not like your fish cooked they way I like mine.

Consider pan frying with a lid. This holds the heat around the fish so it will cook through when the skin is crisp.

 

[Harry Cobean]

hard to say without knowing what type of pan you use & how you like your fish.personally,i like my fish,particularly salmon & tuna,"underdone".if it was a steak it would be medium rare.the other thing to remember is that most meats & fish should be at room temp when cooked & a resting period is just as important for fish as meat.so,if i were cooking a piece of salmon that thickness,i would set my hob on the highest setting,get the pan smoking hot,oil/season the fish then give it no more than 1 minute on the skin side first then no more than 30 seconds on the flesh side,then rest the fish on a warm plate,loosely tented with foil if you like,for 1-2 mins.that should give you an evenly cooked piece of salmon.don't try to cook it all the way through in the pan.you'll have leather on the outside & overcooked fish inside.the resting period takes care of the "eveness" of cooking.

 

[roadfix]

I do my seasoned, olive oiled salmon on cast iron over high heat, til almost blackened under sear, maybe 3 min or so, then turn over, do the same on the skin side.

 

[Roll_Bones]

Put fry pan on stove. Turn to high heat. When pan warms up, add oil or butter.
Add fish fillets and as soon as they start to sizzle, turn the burner down to medium.

This is when you will know if medium is to high, to low or just right. Adjust if needed to keep the fish frying.

Fish cooks very fast. From your description of the fillets, no more than two minutes per side should be about right. But you have to see for yourself.

Do you marinate your fish or season it before frying/sautéing?
I like to marinate salmon fillets in a bourbon, soy sauce, honey marinade.\

Its low sodium soy sauce, bourbon (good stuff), honey, garlic and ginger.
Marinate fillets for 30 minutes.
While the fish cooks, reduce marinade to a syrup and drizzle a bit over the fish when serving.

 

[no mayonnaise]

If it's that thin you may as well just eat it raw. That's the only way I like salmon myself, to me cooked salmon is kinda gross but to each their own right?
Just coat the fillets in salt and sugar and wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a while, then unwrap and rinse off. Slice thinly on an angle and serve with low sodium soy sauce and wasabi.
Or a salmon poke just chop it into cubes then mix with a dressing.

If you really really want it cooked and you can't find a good stove top temp try sous vide and if you want a sear on it use a blow torch to crisp it up after the sous vide bath. A blow torch is still my favorite way to crisp up fish skin right before serving.

 

[Caslon]

I usually bake salmon steaks. 400F for 15 min. However, I once saw a tv ad showing a salmon steak sizzling stovetop in a frying pan in olive oil and it made me try it. It was as delicious looking at it while cooking as it was to eat.