subject: How Long to Cook Salmon – The 2 Best Ways to tell How Long to Cook Salmon [print this page] How Long to Cook Salmon The 2 Best Ways to tell How Long to Cook Salmon
If you've ever tried cooking any type of fish, you may have found it difficult to figure out exactly how long it needs to be on the heat. Not enough time, and you get a gross, raw texture. Too much, and your fish surpasses that nice flakiness and becomes mush.
Luckily there are 2 excellent ways to tell how long to cook salmon, as well as other fish. The first is my favorite, and in my opinion, the one that you will need for the tastiest salmon dishes anyway. The other method for telling how long to cook salmon is great, too, but not something you should rely on once you gain some experience.
1. Checking the Color of the Fish
Every fillet and steak of salmon you eat is different in size, so you can't just go by a rigid rule of cooking time. To really figure out how long to cook salmon, check the color on the sides of the piece! This works especially when pan-frying a fillet.
If you lay the piece skin-side down (and you should!), you will see the darker red on the bottom start to give way to a very light pink color as the heat travels from the bottom up. Once you see nothing but pink on the side, the fish is done that easy! Just make sure you do the majority of the cooking on the skin side crispy salmon is delicious!
2. Using a Thermometer
Personally, I hate bothering with thermometers in the kitchen, but until you learn other methods for assessing doneness, it can be a great way to tell how long to cook salmon. Just make sure you get the probe deep into the flesh of the fillet or salmon steak you want to measure the internal temperature, not the external. You can see it's done on the outside!
People disagree on exactly how long to cook salmon. If you want it to be completely well-done then cook until the internal temperature is 155-160 degrees. However, this produces somewhat of a rubbery taste and texture. I would recommend staying around 140 degrees for the internal temperature. Once you take the salmon off the heat, it will continue cooking (let it rest!) another 5 degrees or so. Doing it this way will give you a nice, medium doneness and a great texture and taste.
