How to make salmon skin crispy in oven

Simple and exquisite salmon that takes about 10 minutes to prepare and will go perfectly with any side dish. This pan seared salmon is simple to make and will make you feel like you are dining in a 5-star restaurant.

Crispy Skin Salmon

Salmon is often my go-to protein for an easy, wonderful dinner. It’s always delicious, juicy, and flavorful. Even if it’s simply seasoned with a little salt and pepper, it always tastes delicious.

Of course, the way salmon tastes highly depends on the quality of fish itself. Same is true for every ingredients you will ever cook with, so pick out the best ingredients for the best results.

Besides picking out a beautiful salmon filet, there is not much effort required to make this 5-star fish.

There are only a few easy steps and tips to remember when cooking this recipe.

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What pan is the best to use:

I’ve used this method of cooking salmon countless times and I’ve used several different pans. After several fails and not-so-perfect outcomes, I’ve come to prefer my stainless steel pan. Pan that I used include cast iron, non-stick, mineral coating, and stainless steel. The best results seem to always be with the stainless steel pan.

It’s important to make sure the pan is clean so that fish doesn’t get stuck to anything.

It’s also important to make sure to pre-heat the pan first. Preheating the pan is an important step in everything you cook but it is especially important when cooking fish or cooking on stainless steel.

Don’t turn your heat up higher than medium.

Note: using stainless steel pan is not a requirement, it is simply what I found to have best results.

How to make crispy skin salmon:

There are two basic ways to prepare crispy skin salmon: pan-seared or in the oven under the broiler. I found the best results to be with pan-seared method and that is the method I will be sharing.

A few tips to remember in this recipe are to making sure the skin is dry before adding it to the pan, making sure the pan is pre-heated, making sure the heat is not too high, and making sure to serve the salmon skin side up with nothing on top.

Set pan over medium or just a little below medium heat. (Every stove is different especially comparing gas and electric, so you will know your stove best. Just don’t set the heat higher than medium.) It will take about 5-7 minutes to preheat the pan.

Before cooking it, make sure salmon is cold, straight from the fridge. Pat salmon dry with a paper towel and gently rub it with a little oil all around. Don’t add salt and pepper to the skin until ready to place in the pan. Salt draws out moisture so salting salmon long before cooking will make it wet.

Add a couple of tablespoons of canola oil to the pan, spread it around, and add salmon to the pan, skin down. (If the pan is smoking a lot after adding oil, it’s too hot so turn down the heat a bit.)

Let salmon cook on the skin side until it’s 90% done. Check the skin by gently lifting salmon once in a while to make sure it’s not burning.

Turn off the heat and flip salmon. Let it cook for another minute- minute and a half and take out of the pan.

Total cook time will always depend on the thickness of salmon fillets.

How to serve crispy skin salmon:

Unlike oven baked salmon, crispy skin salmon should always be served skin up and on top of salad, sauce, or sides. Noting should go over the top of the crispy skin or it will get soggy very fast.

One of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made when I was first learning how to make this salmon was to pour sauce over the beautiful crispy skin that I finally achieved.

So always nestle salmon over whatever you are serving it with and if you are serving it with sauce, pour sauce in the plate first and place salmon on top.

Some more tasty seafood recipes to try:

4-Ingredient Orange Salmon

Stuffed Salmon

Salmon Florentine

Lemon Pepper Tilapia

Shrimp and Grits

Seafood Salad

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Crispy Skin Salmon

Simple and exquisite salmon that takes only 10 minutes to cook and will go perfectly with any side dish. 

4.54 from 13 votes

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: crispy, pan seared, salmon

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 7 minutes

Total Time: 12 minutes

Servings: 2

Calories: 322kcal

Ingredients

• 1 lb salmon fillets average 2 fillets of Atlantic salmon (use other if prefered)
• salt
• fresh cracked black pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Before cooking it, make sure salmon is cold, straight from the fridge. 

• Set pan over medium or just a little below medium heat. (Every stove is different especially comparing gas and electric, so you will know your stove best. Just don’t set the heat higher than medium.) It will take about 5-7 minutes to preheat the pan.

• Pat salmon dry with a paper towel and gently rub it with a little oil all around. Don’t add salt and pepper to the skin until ready to place in the pan. Salt draws out moisture so salting salmon long before cooking will make it wet.

• Add a couple of tablespoons of canola oil to the pan, spread it around, and add salmon to the pan, skin down. (If the pan is smoking a lot after adding oil, it’s too hot so turn down the heat a bit.)

• Let salmon cook on the skin side until it’s 90% done. Check the skin by gently lifting salmon once in a while to make sure it’s not burning.

• Turn off the heat and flip salmon. Let it cook for another minute- minute and a half and take out of the pan.

• Total cook time will always depend on the thickness of salmon fillets. For a nice juicy salmon the center temperature should be around 125°.

• (Note: more details and tips can be found in the post.)

Notes

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have a slight variation.

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