Pan-Fried Salmon

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Gather your ingredients. Salmon is a fine fish, and fresh, natural fish is the key to a great dish. Fresh chilled fish is best — you can check its freshness by the color of the gills, which should be pink. The fish should feel firm and spring back quickly when pressed with a finger. Use any vegetable oil, but it must be refined, or it will scorch.

2. Step 2:

   

   Rinse the fish well and be sure to pat it dry with paper towels — otherwise it will spatter a lot in the hot oil. Make sure there are no water droplets on the fish. Use a salmon steak or a ready-cut fillet, but always skin-on. Without the skin, the fish won't hold its shape and will just fall apart into little pieces.

3. Step 3:

   

   Salt the fish — I recommend coarse sea salt. Let it sit for about 5 minutes so the salt dissolves and seasons the fish.

4. Step 4:

   

   Sprinkle the fish with pepper. I use lemon-flavored white pepper, but any ground pepper works — black, red, or allspice. To my mind, a fish like salmon doesn't need much seasoning; its flavor is already fantastic. But everyone has their preferences, so feel free to add your favorite herbs and seasonings. Of the herbs, I'd suggest thyme, tarragon, and dill.

5. Step 5:

   

   Drizzle 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over the fish and spread it over the whole piece.

6. Step 6:

   

   Let the salmon marinate for just 10–15 minutes, though longer is fine too — you can go up to an hour.

7. Step 7:

   

   Heat the vegetable oil well in a skillet. It needs to be really hot, or the fish may stick. If you're cooking skin-on fillets, fry the skin side first. Cook over low heat. Salmon cooks fast, so 7–10 minutes per side is plenty.

8. Step 8:

   

   Gently flip the fish and cook it through on the other side.

9. Step 9:

   

   Serve the pan-fried salmon with fresh seasonal vegetables and fragrant herbs. Enjoy!