How to Pan Saute Salmon

Add vegetables as a side dish to your sautéd salmon.

Sautéing is a cooking process used to cook foods quickly on a high heat in little fat. A sauté pan is best used when sauteing salmon. If done correctly, your end result will be a crisp, flavorful outside crust, and your salmon will be cooked all the way through. When sautéing, you want to use a fat or oil that has a high smoking point so that the fat does not burn. Canola, peanut and soybean oils all have a high smoke points. This means you can let the oil get really hot and it will not burn. If you want to sauté with butter, add a little olive oil so the butter does not burn.

Things You'll Need

• 4 salmon steaks, 6 oz. servings
• Sauté pan
• High-smoking oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 stick of butter
• 1/4 cup of honey

Instructions

1. Season salmon with the salt and pepper and your favorite herbs and spices. Intensify the flavor by letting the salmon sit in a marinade for one hour. Do this by grating two whole cloves or garlic and melting a 1/2 stick of butter into a sealable container. Coat the salmon with the mixture on both sides and place covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 hour before cooking time.

2. Add 2 teaspoons of the oil to your sauté pan. Let the pan get hot. You will know when the oil is ready by taking a drop of water and letting it fall to the olive oil. When the oil ripples, you can add your salmon to the pan. Let salmon sauté for about 5 minutes before you turn it over to sauté the other side. Cook time is 10 minutes per inch of thickness.

3. Remove salmon from pan. Make a honey-glaze mixture by adding a 1 tablespoon of melted butter to 1/4 cup of honey. Once the salmon is done sautéing, it will be ready to eat. Brush the top of the salmon with the honey glaze to keep it moist until ready to serve. You can keep it warm by placing the salmon in a 200-degree oven.

Tips & Warnings

• Add your favorite vegetables to make a complete meal.

• Be careful not to overcook salmon. The meat will get flaky and hard when overcooked.

References

• Salmon Saute with Fresh Vegetables
• Recipe Land: All-American Salmon Saute with Mushroom Sauce
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Tips for Sautéing Foods

Resources

• Meals Matter