Simple Pan-Seared Salmon - Cooks Illustrated

Published March 1, 1999.

The ultimate weeknight dinner, this salmon is on the table in less than 15 minutes from the time the pan hits the stove.

The Problem

Our efforts to create nice, healthy crust yielded fish that was overcooked to the point of being dry and chalky, while our efforts to protect against overcooking yielded a wimpy crust.

The Goal

Salmon is the perfect weeknight meal for family or guests: readily available, flavorful, supremely quick and easy to cook, and uniquely satisfying. We wanted to find an effortless indoor technique that would exploit salmon's high oil content and natural moistness while also creating a crisp, even, deeply golden crust.

The Solution

Preheat the pan to make sure it is hot and use a scant teaspoon of canola or vegetable oil; turn down the heat after the salmon is in the pan. Cook the salmon until almost cooked through in the pan, then allow residual heat to finish cooking the fish off heat.

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