How to grill salmon well


How to grill salmon well
This is not as simple as it might at first appear. A properly grilled piece of salmon should be crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. This soft interior is achieved by very strict timing (cooking fish just right is a sign of a true chef), as undercooked it is unpleasant, and overcooked the salmon dries out.
473 K 3.9/5 (221 reviews)
Grade this recipe:
Keywords:
Last modified on: October 13th 2010
For 2 people, you will need:
  • 1 salmon fillets 2 salmon fillets

Change to the quantities for:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 15 min.
Resting: 5 min.
Cooking: 6 min.
All in all: 25 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time

Step by step recipe


Stage 1 - 5 min.
How to grill salmon well
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.

Stage 2 - 3 min.
How to grill salmon well
Leave to cook like this for 3 minutes, season with salt and pepper then turn over.

Stage 3 - 2 min.
How to grill salmon well
When turned, pull off and discard the skin, which should now come off easily.

Stage 4 - 3 min.
How to grill salmon well
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.

Stage 5
How to grill salmon well
Remove the fat completely. Be thorough, especially around the central backbone where it is thicker, as shown by the green arrows.

Stage 6 - 1 min.
How to grill salmon well
Salt and pepper the top side, then turn over again.

Stage 7 - 3 min.
How to grill salmon well
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).

Stage 8
How to grill salmon well
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.

Stage 9
How to grill salmon well
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.

Stage 10 - 5 min.
How to grill salmon well
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.

Stage 11
How to grill salmon well
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.
Remarks
Use white pepper rather than black if possible, it's less visible on the salmon.

Pay attention to the cooking time. If your are watching for the change from translucent to opaque, don't hesitate to remove the fish from the heat while it is still very slightly translucent, as it will finish cooking while standing.
Keeping: To eat right now.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe80 RDI=30 %040 RDI=6 %680 RDI=30 %2,850 RDI: 30 %
Per 100 g20 RDI=8 %010 RDI=2 %170 RDI=9 %710 RDI: 9 %
Per person40 RDI=20 %020 RDI=3 %340 RDI=20 %1,420 RDI: 20 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman Change to a man
Possible allergens in this recipe: Fish
How much will it cost?
  • For 2 people : 8 €
  • Per person : 4 €

Change currency:

Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Other recipes you may also like
How to make marzipan decorations
How to make marzipan decorations
Making marzipan decorations for cakes or desserts is fairly simple. Here are some tips to make it even easier.
October 13th 2010211 K 24.3 15 min.
Beef Wellington
Beef Wellington
Beef Wellington consists of a beef fillet (or tenderloin) that is first seared, then cooked in the oven in a puff pastry crust stuffed with a mushroom duxelles and morsels of foie gras. The recipe is rather long, but fairly straightfoward. Here I show you all the tips to help you make it sucessfully...
December 24th 2023116 K5 1 hour 40 min.
How to cook Morteau sausage well
How to cook Morteau sausage well
This is, in my opinion, the best smoked sausage. You can cook it in a number of ways, here are three of the best known.
November 15th 20182.74 M 23.4 40 min.
Surprise bread
Surprise bread
This recipe is for a large surprise bread so you can make six layers (48 small sandwiches if you divide each layer in 8), with three different flavours: smoked salmon/lime, smoked ham/butter, mayonnaise/chicken.
December 27th 2020697 K 84.5 6 hours 25 min.
Boeuf (beef) bourguignon
Boeuf (beef) bourguignon
Bœuf bourguignon is a traditional recipe of French cuisine (bourguignon means from Burgundy). It's chunks of meat cooked slowly with bacon, onions, carrots and mushrooms in red wine.
February 21th 2011468 K 32.5 4 hours 20 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com

Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2024-12-01)

*Your e-mail Your first name or nickname
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing
Follow this recipe (as 20 people already do)
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.

Back to top of page