Crispy-Skin Salmon with Lemon Butter
Restaurant-crisp salmon skin at home, using a cold pan and a lot of patience.
Recipe Author
Riff Kitchen@riffkitchen
EuropeanHigh ProteinQuick & Easy
Crispy-Skin Salmon with Lemon Butter
Restaurant-crisp salmon skin at home, using a cold pan and a lot of patience.
By Riff KitchenOn Riff.kitchen, recipes start from what is already in your fridge. Add what you have, and it plans around whatever goes off first.
- 5 prep · 10 cook
- 15 min
- servings
- 2
- effort
- Easy
Classic's note
Almost everyone cooks salmon too fast and too hot. Starting skin-down in a cold pan renders the fat slowly, so the skin crisps instead of curling.
Method
6 steps · tap one to tick it off
Tips
Buy fillets of even thickness. Center-cut pieces cook at the same rate. A thin tail end overcooks while the thick end is still raw.
Scrape the skin with a knife. Running the back of a knife along the skin squeezes out moisture and any stray scales, so it crisps flat and evenly.
Keep the lemon off the skin. Squeeze it into the butter and over the flesh. Juice on the skin softens it within a minute.
Swaps
No Butter? Olive oil with a little extra lemon. No nutty butter flavor, but the skin stays just as crisp.
No Lemon? Lime, or a splash of white wine vinegar added with the butter.
Storage
Fridge: 3 to 4 days in a sealed container. The skin goes soft overnight, so flake the fish into salads or rice bowls.
Freezer: 2 to 3 months for best quality. The flesh comes back a little drier and the skin will not crisp again.
Reheat: Skin-side down in a covered skillet over medium-low heat until steaming hot (75°C in the center).
Fridge and reheating follow Illinois Extension; freezer times are for quality and follow the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as on what freezes and what does not.
Made it?
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Ask the chef
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Classic's note
Almost everyone cooks salmon too fast and too hot. Starting skin-down in a cold pan renders the fat slowly, so the skin crisps instead of curling.
Instructions
Follow the steps to perfection.
Tips
Buy fillets of even thickness. Center-cut pieces cook at the same rate. A thin tail end overcooks while the thick end is still raw.
Scrape the skin with a knife. Running the back of a knife along the skin squeezes out moisture and any stray scales, so it crisps flat and evenly.
Keep the lemon off the skin. Squeeze it into the butter and over the flesh. Juice on the skin softens it within a minute.
Swaps
No Butter? Olive oil with a little extra lemon. No nutty butter flavor, but the skin stays just as crisp.
No Lemon? Lime, or a splash of white wine vinegar added with the butter.
Storage
Fridge: 3 to 4 days in a sealed container. The skin goes soft overnight, so flake the fish into salads or rice bowls.
Freezer: 2 to 3 months for best quality. The flesh comes back a little drier and the skin will not crisp again.
Reheat: Skin-side down in a covered skillet over medium-low heat until steaming hot (75°C in the center).
Fridge and reheating follow Illinois Extension; freezer times are for quality and follow the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as on what freezes and what does not.
Made it?
Tap a star to rate it.
Community Reviews 0
No reviews yet. Be the first to try this!
Riff Assistant
Ready to Remix