Good salmon is at a premium these days. Dana recently wrote about her special splurge on truly wild salmon. We've also reported on the increasing rarity of really well-raised salmon. We do anticipate that it's in the fish industry's best interest to increase the ocean friendliness of their fishing practices and that eventually well-farmed fish will be easier to find. Until then, we are very careful about the salmon we buy and eat. And when we do buy it, we stick to the classic, totally dependable way of cooking our precious salmon fillets.
How To Bake Salmon Fillets
We bake our salmon until it's delicately cooked - sweet and juicy. Overcooked salmon is detestable - dry and flaky. Yuck!
But it's not hard at all to do it right. In fact, if you're willing to spend a little money on a good piece of salmon, the tradeoff is just about the easiest and most delicious dinner you can imagine. It's so easy!
Here's how we bake our salmon.
How to Bake Salmon Fillets
- Heat oven to 350°F ...and line a baking pan with aluminum foil. Lightly grease with olive oil.
- Cut 2 1-pound salmon fillets in half ...and lightly brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Optional: Add a creamy mustard sauce. We like to brush ours with a little bit of yogurt sauce, sweetened with honey, and seasoned with dill and mustard.
- Bake for 20 minutes. No more! Just until it's tender and flakes with a fork.
- Serve hot or cold. We're partial to this cold, served with just a little more yogurt.
How do you cook your salmon?
Related: Recipe: Warm Potato and Salmon Salad
(Images: Slow Roasted Sockeye Salmon Filet by Flickr member SiFu Renka, licensed for use under Creative Commons; Faith Hopler)
Tags
Ingredients - Seafood, Tips & Techniques, Healthy, Quick, Fish/Shellfish, Main Dish, Easy, How To, salmon, wild salmonRelated Links
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Comments (8)
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I usually rub a little oil, salt, pepper into the salmon. Put it skin side down on a hot pan and sizzle for a few minutes. Flip once and sizzle the other side for a moment. I love raw fish so I don't cook it too much. Barely done for me.
Sometimes I will put a lid on it to give it a wee steam if I have people eating with me that don't like their fish so undercooked.
Serve with steamed vegies. Heaven!
view buda's profile
One of the best baked salmon fillets I ever had was made with only a thin coating of mayo and a light sprinkle of salt.
view joyosity's profile
I love poached salmon served cold with mustard sauce when I'm out; but when making it at home, prefer to simply bake it with dijon, salt & pepper. A good friend of mine tops her homemade salmon with very thick homemade pesto before putting it in the oven, then tops with sliced almonds - it is divine.
view christianne's profile
I've always loved this Giada de Laurentiis recipe I saw years ago:
Broiled Salmon with Herb Mustard Glaze
Quick & easy.
view any such name's profile
I could have used this post LAST night before I made dinner. I was a little wrapped up in my purchases from Lululemon and forgot about my poor salmon filet. Hopefully cold, dried out salmon tastes better than warm, dried out salmon.
view Amandica's profile
I love slow cooked salmon - 250 for 30 min.
view steamykitchen's profile
I made this once and loved it!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/CRUNCHY-WASABI-SALMON-WITH-LIME-237322
view ashleym's profile
I spread a thin layer of mayo on the salmon and sprinkle with lots of lemon pepper. Then I grill it. It's so simple and tasty.
view Lorie09's profile