Just a quick post about getting that salmon skin crispy on the outside and keeping the flesh of the salmon inside as tender as possible. Salmon can change on you quickly, and there is nothing I can’t stand more than dried out, overcooked salmon. I actually don’t order it in restaurants anymore unless it is sashimi or sushi! Eating it that way (raw essentially) is divine to me, but the next best thing is cooking it at home and getting that skin crispy!
Get your salmon out of the fridge and flavor it as you like.
This time, I had some lemon pepper seasoning I had from Whole Foods, and I was short on time so I just used that. Here is what that seasoning looks like:
This one isn’t too peppery, and anyone who knows me and eats with me knows I can’t take too much pepper. I wish it was different, but I am what I am! I cook with pepper but not in excess.
Start with the raw salmon and sprinkle as much or as little as you like. I did this on both sides, and then added a little sea salt on the skin side as well.
I sprinkled about double lemon pepper seasoning on the flesh side as I did on the skin side.
Next, get out a cast iron pan and heat it to medium. You don’t want the pan too hot as to burn the salmon skin, but just hot enough to sear and get that skin crispy.
Then, add some olive oil to the pan and when the pan is ready the oil will start to burn off a bit. Give it a good swirl, and then put the salmon in skin side down. It will sizzle – that is okay!
Set your timer for 8 minutes. Let it sit and cook in the cast iron for 8 minutes, then turn it over. Set your timer for another 4 minutes. Take it off when you hear the buzzer, and serve it crispy skin side up!
This photo of the salmon looks a little burned, but it wasn’t! It was so crispy and yummy – like a salmon potato chip!
This keeps the flesh really tender, and I served it with curried, riced broccoli. 👆 I will post about that another day – but the whole thing was done in 15 minutes and it was delish! 😋
If this looks and seems a little rare to you, by all means, cook it for another minute or two. I would do a maximum of 3 more minutes, but after that, you are risking chewy, “stick to your teeth”, overcooked salmon. 😨 – I’m just sayin’!
Crispy Salmon
Author Wendy Miller
Ingredients
1 piece salmon
2 tbsp lemon pepper seasoning
2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
In a cast iron pan, drizzle it with olive oil and heat the pan to medium.
Meanwhile, sprinkle the lemon pepper over the salmon on both sides. Use more on the flesh side.
Once the pan just starts to smoke, put the salmon in the pan skin side down for 8 minutes. Turn and cook another 4 minutes.
Serve immediately and enjoy!