In the past, I’ve always discarded my salmon skin. I knew it could be eaten, but it always turned out squishy and limp, so I didn’t want to eat it.
I came across this post from Serious Eats, and decided to give salmon skin another chance. I’m so glad I did! This crispy salmon skin definitely rivals the best crispy chicken skin.
An important part of getting salmon skin to crisp uniformly is pressing the salmon into the pan as it cooks. This keeps all the skin in contact with the pan. In order to do this for multiple filets at the same time, I put four boxes of bone broth into a round cake pan and placed the pan on top of the salmon while it cooked.
This was also the first time I tried brining fish. I subscribe to Cook’s Illustrated magazine and saw this article when it was first printed, but I never got around to trying it because I thought it seemed fussy. However, I must now concede that brining the salmon does make the finished product nicer looking, well seasoned, and moist. It was definitely worth the 15 minutes of my time.
Blackened Salmon with Crispy Skin
Ingredients
For Brine
- 2.5 tbsp salt
- 1 quart water
For Blackened Seasoning
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp onion powder
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder
- 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp dried thyme
- 1/8 tsp dried oregano
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
For Cooking Salmon
- 1 pound salmon filets (with skin)
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
Instructions
- Combine the brine ingredients. Soak salmon in brine for 15 minutes.
- While the salmon is brining, combine all ingredients for the blackened seasoning.
- When the salmon is almost finished brining, heat the avocado oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium high heat.
- Drain the salmon and pat dry with paper towels. It is important to get the salmon dry or the skin won’t crisp.
- Sprinkle 1/4 tsp kosher salt evenly over the salmon skin, then press it into the skin with your fingers. Sprinkle the blackened seasoning over the salmon flesh, then press it into the salmon with your fingers. Do not put the blackened seasoning on the skin, as it could burn during cooking.
- When the avocado oil is shimmering, place the salmon in the skillet with the skin side down. Immediately do two things: weigh the salmon down with a cake pan or another skillet that has something heavy in it AND lower the heat to medium low.
- Cook the salmon skin side down until the skin is crispy, the salmon releases from the pan easily, and the flesh is cooked nearly to the top of the salmon, approximately 7-9 minutes
- Flip the salmon and cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 120°F-130°F, about 1 minute.
- Serve immediately with the skin side up.