Perfect Crispy Skin Salmon
on Jan 31, 2024, Updated Apr 04, 2024
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This perfect crispy skin salmon is sure to be on your weekly rotation. The combination of the crisp skin and the tender salmon is the perfect main protein. It’s a simple list of ingredients, just salmon, salt, pepper and neutral oil, and it comes together in under 20 minutes. We love to serve this salmon with our Citrus Salad in the winter, but you can pair with any salad, or grain you love!
What ingredients do you need for this pan-seared salmon?
Salmon: We’re using salmon filets and searing in a large pan. You can use any salmon you have available to you.
Salt and Pepper: We find that the perfect salmon skin needs the simplest seasonings; salt and pepper. We want our salmon to shine, so we like limiting the seasonings here. Also, since we are searing the salmon on a high heat, sometimes additional seasonings or spices may burn the salmon and the skin.
Neutral Oil: To get our crispy skin, we like using neutral oils like avocado oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, or grapeseed oil. Using neutral oil allows us to get that crispy skin while also not overpowering the salmon with flavor.
How do you cook crispy skin salmon?
Prep Your Salmon Fillets
- Dry your salmon really well with paper towels. You want this as dry as possible so the skin will crisp. Season the salmon on all sides with kosher salt and black pepper.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add in your neutral oil until hot and almost smoking.
Sear Salmon
- Place the salmon filets into the skillet on the hot pan, skin-side down first. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes, pressing down gently with a fish spatula to crisp the skin.
- Flip the salmon and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes on the other side until the salmon reaches your desired temperature.
Serve
- Transfer the salmon skin side up to serve. Serve with our Citrus Avocado Salad with Chili Crisp.
Tips, Tricks, and Substitutions
What pan do you recommend for crispy skin salmon? Although there are lots of pans you can use, our favorite way to get the crispiest skin is with a non-stick skillet. We want to avoid having the skin stick to our pan and we find that a non-stick is the perfect pan fry for cooked evenly salmon skin! Other great options is also a cast-iron skillet.
What are some side dishes I can pair with this salmon? There are so many things you can have with this salmon! From salads like Shaved Celery and Fennel Salad and Horseradish Kale Caesar Salad, or even White Cheddar Orzo with Crispy Sage and Mushrooms.
Why is my salmon not getting crispy? Make sure that you are drying your skin with paper towels before hitting it on the pan with the oil. This allows the skin to crisp really nicely. Also make sure your pan is on a high heat where it will help crisp.
Looking for more salmon recipes? Check out our favorites below.
If you do make this Perfect Crispy Salmon Skin recipe (first of all, thank you!!), be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram and through social media so I can be sure to see what you’re making! If you’d like to stay in touch and get the latest to your inbox, sign up for our Newsletter here as well!
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Perfect Crispy Skin Salmon
Ingredients
- 4 6-ounce salmon filets
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as avocado oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, grapeseed oil
Instructions
- Dry your salmon really well with paper towels. You want this as dry as possible so the skin will crisp. Season the salmon on all sides with kosher salt and black pepper.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add in your neutral oil until hot and almost smoking.
- Place the salmon filets into the skillet, skin-side down first. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes, pressing down gently with a fish spatula to crisp the skin.
- Flip the salmon and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes on the other side or until the salmon reaches your desired temperature.
- Transfer the salmon skin side up to serve. Serve with our Citrus Avocado Salad with Chili Crisp.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
