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The Best Pan-Seared Stovetop Salmon...& How To Cook Salmon Without Oil

This pan-seared salmon is the best way to cook salmon without oil, & yields the most amazing texture--just like restaurants make! Don't be put off by the detailed instructions below, I just wanted to provide as much info as possible on texture, the steps I take, etc...it's actually super fast & easy!
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Course: Main Dishes
Servings: 1 serving

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 wild-caught Atlantic salmon filet see notes, ideally center-cut
  • Coarsely-ground sea salt
  • Fresh ground pepper
  • Optional: 1/4 teaspoon of sugar or garlic powder or paprika for extra seasoning

Instructions

  • Start with a cold non-stick skillet (mine is stainless steel, so it occasionally does stick, but I don't like the chemicals on the teflon ones).  Sprinkle some coarsely-ground sea salt in the skillet where the salmon filet will be.
  • Pat your salmon dry with paper towels.  Place in the pan skin side down (on top of the salt) and sprinkle the top with salt (more than you think!) and some fresh-ground pepper.  You can also add a tiny bit of garlic salt, or paprika, or sometimes I put the tiniest bit of sugar to help it caramelize gorgeously.
  • Turn on the burner to medium to medium-high and let it start cooking.   As the salmon cooks, you'll see the fat beginning to render from the skin and the skin will start to brown, and you'll start to see a more opaque light pink color moving up from the bottom. 
  • When I have a fairly thick piece, I'll often put a lid over it toward the beginning of cooking, just for 1-2 minutes.  This helps the middle part cook a bit more evenly, without burning the bottom.  It's optional, but I think it helps.
  • Cook it with the skin side down for 5-7 minutes, looking at the salmon to determine when it's time to flip (thickness of filet matters a lot).  When you start to see quite a bit of opaque area, but there's still quite a bit of darker pink on top, that means it's time to flip! 
  • Go ahead and flip your salmon filet, being careful to scrape under the skin to keep it intact as much as possible.  Make it a clean flip and don't move the filet around once you've flipped it over---you want it to cleanly sear the top.
  • The majority of the actual cooking is going to get done when the skin side is down.  Once we flip it, we'll only keep it here maybe 2 minutes, just to finish it off.  You don't want to overcook it or burn the more delicate flesh that's on the top of the filet.  See notes on internal temperature.
  • Once it's ready to take off, very carefully scrape under the filet and remove it from the pan, flipping it back over and putting it on a plate.  Serve immediately.  I usually sprinkle a bit more salt on top as soon as it comes off the heat.

Notes

  1. I've tried this with a few different types of salmon, and have found I like the texture of a wild-caught Atlantic salmon filet the best (it's fattier as well).  Coho tends to be drier, denser, and fishier.  And when I can get them, a center-cut filet is perfection (vs. the ends).  But really anything can work.
  2. I have NOT had good luck thawing frozen salmon filets and using those...there's just too much water and the texture isn't right. I realize that what you get fresh at the store is often previously-frozen, but for whatever reason the texture is totally different.
  3. The USDA recommends 145 F as the internal temp for salmon, which makes salmon sad and dry.  When cooking by other methods, I shoot for 120-125 F, but for my pan-seared salmon I tend to go even lower and just go by by look and feel.  I'd guess I usually end up pulling it off around 112 F.  Don't forget that it keeps cooking a bit once you take it off the heat!