Crispy Skin Salmon {Every Single Time!}

Crispy Skin Salmon: It doesn't get any better than this. It's easy to prepare, it's kid friendly and it works every single time!

Crispy Skin Salmon

Soft flaky tender flesh Salmon with a crisp skin that the kids go crackers for. Yep, if you've got some Salmon fillets knocking about, it's time to get this recipe made!

Salmon is probably the one fish my kids love. And this always surprises me. I guess it's because I've been making Salmon fishcakes for so long, with their creamy mashed potato deliciousness, that the kids feel Salmon is something they unquestioningly eat and enjoy. So naturally I take full advantage of that since Salmon is so good for them and grab some whenever I can get my hands on it!

Long gone are the days of dried out, chewy and over cooked Salmon fillets I remember from my childhood (sorry Mom!) and in their place is this super fast, crazily easy way to get the skin crisped up on your Salmon in no time at all. And that's in one pan which always makes everything a little better, right?!!

I use butter when I'm doing this. You can use oil, I prefer butter. I find the flavor's richer and the crisp perfect. While I serve this with lemon, the only ingredients needed are Salmon, butter and a little sea salt. Love Salmon? You'll love this recipe.

If you've pan fried fish before you'll know the skin has a habit of curling up as soon as it comes into contact with the heat. This can cause the fish to cook unevenly, but by pressing down gently on the top for 30 seconds or so when you add it to the pan, you can avoid this happening.

I've found Salmon to be the leats problematic when it comes to curling, the flesh is heavier the a lot of other fish fillets, but pressing gently keeps it nice and flat regardless and lets the skin make full contact with the pan so the 'crisp' you want is even.

The cook time is hard to estimate given that Salmon comes in all sizes and this will of course dictate your overall cooking time. The timing's I've given below are for the regular sized Salmon fillets yu buy in the supermarket, but keep an eye on it as it cooks.

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Can You Eat Salmon Skin?

You most certainly can eat Salmon skin and even though I'd never eaten it until I started cooking it this way, it's a firm favorite when you realise how good it is!

If like me you were used to using your knife to scrape the Salmon flesh away from the skin, you're in for a treat :)

Simple Crispiness

Crispy Salmon skin needs a few things to make it awesome.

Firstly, your Salmon needs to be dry when you cook it. Start by using a sharp knife to take some of the scales off the skin. Run it gently against the grain of the scales and remove any loose scales several times. This helps release any excess moisture.

Next, use a paper towel to pat the moisture out of the skin. Moisture can get trapped between the scales so having taken some off, you'll be able to get as much of the moisture out of the skin as possible.

Then all you need to do is rub a little room temperature butter into the skin. I use about half a teaspoon per fillet, and while this isn't exact and it doesn't matter if you use slightly more, what's important is that you rub the butter into the skin well. I use my hands to do this, yes it's a bit messy, but the end result's better!

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I use my cast iron cookware to cook this. The heat is more evenly distributed and since you need to leave the Salmon to cook untouched for a few minutes at a time, you want the fish to be cooked evenly throughout and cast iron allows this to happen. I've tried doing this in most of the pans I have and the cast iron is the best option by far.

What To Eat With Crispy Salmon

This Salmon is delicious with some lemon juice sprinkled on top, but I get that you may want something more!

Salmon's lovely to eat all year around, I've been making this cold Salmon salad a lot recently and it goes down a treat, there's not a 'better' time of year for Salmon. If you want a lighter meal when the weathers warm you could serve this with a salad, or turn it into a more substantial meal with some scrummy mashed potatoes and side dishes of cauliflower cheese.

If you find yourself with some leftover Salmon think about making these Salmon patties. They're the kids go to for quick lunches!

More Fish Recipes

• Grilled fish Tacos go to for quick lunches!
• Easy lemon baked white fish
• Quick salmon patties for kids
• Homemade any-day fish fingers
• Yummy quick Kedgeree
• Kid friendly tuna burgers

How To Make Crispy Skin Salmon

Ingredients

• 4 Salmon fillets
• 2 tsp Butter Room temperature, you can also use Olive oil
• Sea salt

Instructions

• Preparing the Salmon
• Use a sharp knife to descale the skin. Brush the knife against the natural grain of the scales to remove any loose scales and then rinse the fillet under the cold tap to wash any debris away
• Using paper towels, pat each fillet dry and remove as much moisture as you can paying particular attention to the skin and making sure this is a dry as it can be. Place the fillets on a dry plate
• Take a little of your butter and using your fingers, work it into each fillet making sure all the skin has a butter coating. Repeat until all your fillets are buttered
• Season well with your sea salt and place skin side up on the plate
• Heat a large cast iron skillet on a high-heat, not adding any oil or butter
• Once your pan is hot (this might take a 3-4 minutes) it's time to pan fry the fish. Place your fillets skin side down in the pan, pressing gently on each one for 30 seconds to stop the skin curling, before adding the next one
• Turn the heat down to a medium-high heat
• Leave the salmon to cook, untouched, for 5-6 minutes to sear it.
• After the skin side has cooked, use tongs or a fish spatula to turn the fillets on their side and give them 3-4 minutes before turning onto their other sides and repeating the cook time
• Flip the fillets onto their tops and cook for a couple of minutes to brown the top
• Transfer the cooked Salmon onto a clean plate, skin side up, and take the largest one and check it's cooked through. If it needs a bit longer, put it back in the pan, skin side down, until fully cooked
• Serve skin side up to preserve crispiness with black pepper and lemon.
• You can keep your Salmon warm in the oven if you're cooking this in batches.

Crispy Skin Salmon Recipe