Salmon is very much one of the favorite types of fish out there, and with so many different ways to cook it, and more ways of complimenting it into certain dishes we wanted to show you 5 different ways that you can enjoy that next piece of Salmon that you guy from the local fishmongers, or grocery store. Take a look at these 4 unbeatable ways we have explained for you below.
First of all, you need to think about how much time you actually have to cook the Salmon, by this we mean; are you in a rush? Or are you preparing a spectacular dinner party where time doesn’t particularly matter?
The simplest way, and the quickest is to oven cook you salmon. With a little olive oil on the top and some sprinkling of black pepper and sea salt you are all ready to get underway. For each half-an-inch piece of salmon you want to cook it for a good 4 – 6 minutes on each side, and usually you find that the thickest part of most salmons usually averages around the 1-inch mark, so you can have both sides cooked in around 15 minutes.
Watch out for: The fish becoming less opaque, and use a fork to see if the fish is flaking (key signs the fish is cooked and ready to eat.)
Now you are ready to eat the salmon you can choose some extra dressings, the obvious choice is lemon and fresh herbs that really bring out some of the flavors of the salmon, but you can also try pesto and other herbs and spices that may be in your kitchen cupboard.
You would be surprised at just how much this cooking option works (with any meat or fish). Find a sealable bag and place you salmon inside, now start to dress the fish in a marinating sauce. You can use garlic, salt, olive oil, pepper, lemon juice etc.
Once you have done this start moving the bag around so the juices and ingredients all start to spread evenly and the salmon is fully coated for maximum flavour.
You can then add the salmon to a baking tray and then allow the fish to cook thoroughly before serving.
Note: Another option is to put the bag into a refrigerator for around half-an-hour prior to cooking, to allow the juices to really marinate the fish.
The third option is to grill your salmon which is another popular choice for many people, this step requires you to preheat your grill, and keep the temperature at a medium to high heat in order to give it those grill lines that run diagonally across the fish.
Prepare your salmon in the usual way with some salt, pepper and oil and then place it diagonally on the grill (for those grill lines). Whereas oven cooking requires about 4-6 minutes per half-an-inch, grilling usually takes 3 – 4 minutes so keep that in mind when you are cooking under a grill. Usually you can cook a 1-inch thick piece of salmon in around 6 – 8 minutes (don’t overcook it).
To make sure its cooked, look for that flakiness and make sure that the salmon I less opaque and more firm.
Watch out for: Make sure your grill grate is well oiled as the salmon can easily stick to this and ruin your presentation.
After grilling the salmon you can add yourself some lemon juice, and the serve it with herbs, broccoli or just eat it on its own as it came out of the grill…the choice really is yours!
One method not used much is pan-searing, which can take as little as 6 minutes. All you need to do here is coat a frying pan in cooking spray or oil and then increase the heat to a medium level so its not smoking but it is hot.
Add your salmon to the pan and then cook on both sides for 3 minutes. Again, you will need to check the salmon can flake in the center when you break it with a fork, and it should no longer be translucent to the eye.
Tip: Use a spatula to pick the salmon us as tongs or any other kitchen tool will break it (especially if you need a good presentation).