Preparation | Resting | Cooking | Start to finish |
---|---|---|---|
15 min. | 5 min. | 6 min. | 25 min. |
1 | Heat a plate. Get salmon portions that are fairly thick (about 2 cm or 1"), with skin, and of as even thickness as possible. The best part for this is the back of the salmon. Wash and dry them. Put a non-sick pan on medium heat, and when hot, add the salmon skin side downwards, without any fat or oil. | |
2 | Leave to cook like this for 3 minutes, season with salt and pepper then turn over. | |
3 | When turned, pull off and discard the skin, which should now come off easily. | |
4 | Scrape the top of the salmon with a serrated knife to remove all the grey part and discard it. This is the fat which is unattractive and tasteless. | |
5 | Remove the fat completely. Be thorough, especially around the central backbone where it is thicker, as shown by the green arrows. | |
6 | Salt and pepper the top side, then turn over again. | |
7 | Now comes the tricky moment: knowing when to stop cooking. the simplest method is to stick an thermometer into the middle, and to stop when the temperature reaches 60°C (140°F). | |
8 | If you don't have a thermometer, you can watch the cut end of the pieces for the change from translucent pink (red arrow): undercooked, to opaque (green arrow): cooked. Remove from the heat immediately as soon as the centre turns opaque. As a general rule, you should allow 3 minutes cooking per side. | |
9 | It's quite likely that a sort of white paste will form on the slice during cooking, as shown by the green arrow. This is normal, and you can remove it by scraping with a small spoon. Once again it's unattractive and adds nothing to the flavour. | |
10 | Place the salmon pieces on a hot plate, then cover with aluminium foil. Leave covered like this for 5 minutes which will tenderize the salmon. | |
11 | The salmon is now ready to be used in your recipe,for example salmon with sorrel as in this photo. For a simple healthy meal, you can serve it as it is with just a sprinkle of lemon juice. This is also the best way to judge how well you have cooked the salmon. |