Once I Started Cooking Salmon Like This, I’ve Never Made It Another Way (So Smart!)

I don’t cook a lot of fish at my house. It’s finicky and can leave lingering odors, and I’d just as soon leave that whole experience to someone else and order fish when I’m eating out. The one exception to this habit, though, is salmon. I love salmon and used to bemoan not getting to eat it more, while at the same time being committed to not dealing with the hassle I associated with cooking fish at home. 

That all changed when I learned this simple technique from America’s Test Kitchen for cooking salmon in the oven: Preheat a rimmed baking sheet in a 500°F oven, add salmon fillets directly to the hot baking sheet, and then turn the oven down to 275°F. It’s wildly easy, the salmon cooks evenly, and traps most of the fish-cooking smell in the oven. Now I make salmon at home at least once a week. Give it a try the next time you’re making salmon — it might just be your new go-to method, too.

The magic of cooking salmon this way is threefold:

• It’s adaptable. You can season the salmon any way you like. You can use the spices from your favorite recipe, or make up your own blended dry rub or wet marinade. I’ve done a lot of experimenting with flavor profiles and have never run into one that didn’t work with this technique. This also works whether you want whole salmon fillets or chunks of salmon (say, for a rice bowl). You can use a fish spatula to slide the full fillet off the tray, or a fork to flake it into chunks to top grains or noodles.
• You don’t have to skin the salmon. I know some people love salmon skin, but I don’t. I’m also terrible at skinning it. This technique removes the need to, however, because the skin sticks to the hot baking sheet, so you can easily flake the cooked salmon off without dealing with skinning the fillets.
• The salmon cooks gently and evenly. Cooking fish can be a bit fussy. Fish can go from undercooked to overcooked in a flash, so cooking it often requires confidence and a close eye. By starting the salmon in a ripping hot oven and then dropping the temperature dramatically, the salmon cooks slowly and evenly in the residual heat, while still only needing between 9 and 13 minutes total cook time.

1. Preheat the oven and baking sheet. Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 500°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil (for easy cleanup), then place the foil-lined sheet in the oven while it preheats.
2. Season the salmon fillets. I usually cook about 1 pound of salmon cut into four fillets. Season them any way you like. Some of my favorite easy seasonings are a mix of soy sauce, miso, and powdered ginger, or a sprinkling of berbere, minced garlic, and a little kosher salt.
3. Roast. Place the salmon fillets skin-side down on the hot baking sheet and place it in the oven. Lower the oven temperature to 275°F and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the fillet registers 125°F, 9 to 13 minutes.