What's the best way to do salmon? (mustard, paprika, pepper)

[sinatras]

I think I'm doing salmon wrong. It never comes out perfectly cooked like at restaurants.

How do you guys cook salmon? I need details. Marinade or no marinade? Pan fry or oven roast? What kind of pan do you use? What kind of oil?

And since most of the time I am cooking from frozen, how do you defrost it? Is it ever OK to cook it partially frozen?

[lubby]

I never buy it frozen but if you are cooking from frozen let it thaw out a couple of hours. I pan fry it with a little olive oil. I leave the skin on because my husband likes it like that. I season it with dill and lemon juice. If it's a thin filet it should not take more than 2 -3 minutes on each side. I buy it fresh and I get a thick piece. My husband likes it rare in the middle so I only cook it 2 minutes per side and I use a non stick fry pan. You can bake it on a cookie sheet and season it the same way. I did that with cat fish filets recently. They were 2 thick pieces but I seasoned those with lemon juice, dill, paprika and garlic powder. Baked on 350 for 20 minutes. he said it was delicious.

[StrkAliteN]

Salmon optimum internal temp to be considered done ( but not over done is around 145 degrees or so / most other meats are 165ish so fish is less )
That is the temp of the center of the THICKEST part of the salmon.

Few keys to success are: salmon will continue to cook a few minutes AFTER its removed from the grill / oven or skillet bakeware. You cannot uncook it. NEVER overcook it, Think of baking chocolate chip cookies. Everyone loves chewy fresh baked choc chip cookies. Bake them maybe 2 mins too long and they go from moist / chewy to overdone and crunchy. There is a fine line between cooked just right and over cooked. And the consequence is you blew it and now your $15-20lb salmon filet is just so so vs off the charts great !

learn the tricks to check its doneness ( timing it is tricky ( but a good rule is 10min cook time per inch thickness.

Its harder to over cook salmon when you have it wrapped in foil and sealed. When wrapping it keep in mind you wanna have a quick simple access to check it for donesess ( don't wrap it like some psycho McGyver elf )

Another trick is to portion up into individual servings prior to cooking. Remember thinner pieces will cook faster than the thick ones - DO NOT overcook it

Restaurant salmon is usually prepared to near perfection as the cook is no rookie. Takes a lot of tril and error to know what to do and what not to do.

I think the perfect salmon has some done texture to the exterior / slightly firmed up and soft moist interior. That is achieved by open face grilling or baking or frying non covered in foil. When the salmon is wrapped in foil - all the fish is the same moist texture done thru and thru.

I prefer contrast -

The wrapped in foil and baked method is good for beginners as its harder to mess it up. Lots of various seasonings you can add ( less is more if its really fresh nice fish )

One of my fav ways is in a cast iron skillet seared fried in bacon fat with a crust coating of dry Cajun spice rub. The exterior of the salmon pieces develop this really nice crust seasoned char as they are fried in bacon fat ( not covered - just coating of the cast iron maybe 1/16 inch deep oil ) You can fry both flesh side and then skin side and finish off in the oven for maybe 5-8 min until optimum doneness is reached ( see above )

this is the most flavorful as I think the bacon fat and the dry Cajun rub coating crust is a magnificent compliment to the moist inner fish texture.

I know many recipes - but all are in my head - not from a book. I have caught 1000s of salmon ( I live in the PNW )

Quality retail fresh salmon is expensive - much more so than good steak. Do your experimenting with sauces ON THE SIDE and add them to small portions if you must at the end of the cooking process or when plated.

I am not a big sauce herb cook with fish as fresh salmon can be cooked plain as is and taste wonderful with not much fan fare cooking skills.

My above dry rub Cajun spice - you should dab the salmon pieces with olive oil so more Cajun dry spice sticks to ea piece as you sprinkle it on. It is not super peppery hot - just has alittle kick.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/recip...mon-hater.html

similar thread - maybe more ideas ?

also using cedar planks when grilling is kinda trendy and some think adds a unique flavor. I think its more showey than changes flavor - but to each their own. You have to soak the cedar planks in water before you place them on a hot grill ( seen some dummys not know this and dry wood burns - duh ) - biggest benefit of this method on the grill is zero chance you drop and tasty fish thru the grill slots as when flipping bare fish on the grill.

another good skill to learn is de-bone the filet prior to cooking as many people are put off by bones when eating fish.

Its a very easy and simple skill - use tweezers and just pull the bones out with a quick pull. All the bones are lined up and easy to see and feel with finger tips. A small step that many cooks do not do.

sorry for rambling on ... its hard to type being a 2 finger pecker as fast as the thoughts hit my brain

[emm74]

do not cook it frozen.

Pan seared in a cast iron pan and then baked in that same pan is my favorite, but mostly I bake it because it's easier.

My son prefers it plain so I don't usually use marinade, but it's delicious with a teriyaki marinade.

[Pilot1]

I usually brush olive oil, then sprinkle a Cajun seasoning on mine. I like to grill it, skin down on the outdoor grill. Make sure to brush the grill with a little olive oil so the skin doesn't stick. It takes maybe three minutes per side, but I do cut into it to make sure it is done.

[Gorges]

I top fresh salmon fillets with a mixture of grainy mustard, soy sauce, garlic and olive oil for about 10-30 minutes before cooking. I put it on a broiler pan covered with parchment paper and bake it at 375 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes for a 1" fillet. Comes out perfectly every time.

[emm74]

Originally Posted by Gorges

I top fresh salmon fillets with a mixture of grainy mustard, soy sauce, garlic and olive oil for about 10-30 minutes before cooking. I put it on a broiler pan covered with parchment paper and bake it at 375 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes for a 1" fillet. Comes out perfectly every time.

I have to remember to use parchment paper next time, it would be nice to have the easy clean up!

[ABQConvict]

For a moist, tender medium rare salmon fillet, ~1/2 pound, 225 grams

Preheat oven to 350F, 175C

Lay out sheet of parchment paper.

Put 1-2 pats of butter in center of paper.

Put 3-4 sprigs of dill on butter.

Put a few slices or shreds of onion on dill.

Put 3-4 slices of lemon on onions.

Add salt and pepper.

Put salmon fillet, flesh down, on top of everything.

Gather edges of paper and fold over into a pouch. Tie with string.

Bake on a baking sheet, flesh down, paper fold up so it doesn't leak, at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and open pouch.

Remove skin from fillet.

Turn fillet, flesh side up, onto serving dish or plate. Dispose of lemon slices. Garnish fillet with the onions and dill. (most of the dill will probably stick to the fillet anyway).

The melted butter, having picked up flavor from the lemon, dill, onions, salt, and pepper, is the base for a sauce. You can add wine, cream, and/or stock to taste, or simply pour the melted butter on the fish and/or boiled potatoes that have been lightly mashed with the back of a fork.

If the salmon comes out of the oven underdone, you can pop it under the broiler or pan fry it for about one minute or less. Be careful not to overcook!

[blueherons]

Put a cast iron skillet in the oven and put the oven on 500.

When oven is ready at 500, take skillet out of oven, and turn oven to 350.

Put (use coconut oil) salmon upside down in pan on burner and sear on one side for four minutes.

Remove from heat, flip salmon, place back in oven for approximately six minutes to finish.

[hawaiiancoconut]

Smoke that moth'a......