Do you ever wonder how restaurants get salmon flesh so crispy and having the best crust? Well they use this technique of cooking on a stainless steel pan to create that delicious and beautiful golden crust, and it is quite easy to do if you follow these steps!

Ingredients and Substitutions:

  • Salmon – salmon is the highlight of this recipe, obviously, but picking the right salmon is SO important to getting this beautiful crust. The best salmon for this is King Salmon or Atlantic Salmon. These are the best kind for pan seared and usually are thicker cut. Try to find a cut that is center cut and thick! The salmon that you should avoid is sockeye and thinner cut salmon.
  • Avocado oil – you are going to want to use a high smoke point oil like avocado oil. You can also use grapeseed oil here or even ghee.
  • Butter, Garlic, & Rosemary – these are used here to flavor, however aren’t necessary to the recipe! You can omit butter if you are dairy free. You can also use other herbs instead of rosemary or in addition to rosemary, get creative!

Tips to Perfecting Pan Seared Salmon:

  • Season the salmon and let it sit presentation side down on a paper towel to dry out. If you use a wet piece of salmon, it will stick to the stainless steel pan and be a MESS.
  • Make sure the pan is hot enough before adding oil. The best way to test this is by the mercury ball water test. This is where you splash your pan with a few drops of water, if they sizzle out, the pan isn’t hot enough. If the water droplets dance on the surface, it is hot enough to add the oil and will essentially be nonstick.
  • Only add the fish once the oil is hot enough. The oil is hot enough right when it starts to smoke.
  • Once you add the fish do not move with your spatula or force it off the pan. If you followed the above steps correctly, the fish will naturally release from the pan once the crust has formed.
  • Flip the salmon over once the crust has formed and it is cooked half way up the side. Luckily it is easy to see how far up salmon is cooked.
  • Once you flip onto the second side, decrease the heat to low and add butter, garlic and rosemary to finish cooking it and flavoring it. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 125*F.
@kellyscleankitchen

How to pan sear skinless salmon on a stainless steel pan 🐠 no sticking and results in a great crust! #salmon #cooking #seafood

♬ Stand By Me – Ben E. King
  • SERVINGS:  2
  • PREP TIME: 5 Mins
  • COOK TIME: 15 Mins
  • TOTAL TIME: 20 Min

Ingredients:

  • 2 thick cut salmon filets, skin removed
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • salt
  • Avocado oil
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 sprigs rosemary
  • 4 garlic cloves, smashed

Preparation:

STEP 1.

Coat the salmon filets in lemon juice and season with salt. Pat dry with paper towels, then let them sit on a dry paper towel, presentation side down. Let them sit for 20 minutes at room temp on the paper towel. You want the salmon to be as dry as possible before adding to the pan to cook so it doesn’t stick!

STEP 2.

Heat a stainless steel pan to medium heat. Use the mercury ball water test to see if the pan is hot enough to add oil. Once water beads dance on the surface, you can add 2 tbsp of avocado oil. Once the oil is at it’s smoking point, add the salmon presentation side down.

STEP 3.

Let the salmon cook on this side until the fish naturally releases from the pan when the crust forms. Don’t try to force it off too early! Once the salmon is cooked halfway up the side, flip. This takes 8-13 minutes typically.

STEP 4.

Once flipped onto the second side, decrease the heat to low and add the butter, rosemary and garlic and let it cook for another 2-4 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 125*F. Remove from the pan and enjoy!

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