1-2tablespoonsghee, avocado oil, olive oil, butter or other cooking fat*
Two 6 to 8-ounce, skin-on wild-caught salmon fillets*
Sea salt, I like the flakey stuff and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Thoroughly pat dry your salmon fillets with paper towels. Place on a plate, skin side up, uncovered and place into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour, this allows the skin to dry out and to maximize skin crispiness.
Just before you are ready to cook the salmon, remove from the fridge, give it another little pat with the paper towels.
Season the skin side of the fish with sea salt and black pepper.
Heat your oil or fat in a cast iron skillet over medium-high, get nice and hot and make sure the oil is shimmering. Once the pan is hot, reduce the heat to medium, carefully place the salmon into the pan skin side down. Season the non-skin side with sea salt and black pepper. Immediately press down each filet with a flat metal spatula to keep the sides from curling up. Hold for just a few seconds.
Cook for 4 minutes, skin side down. I like to lift up the filets in the last minute or so, to let some of the oil run underneath it, to maximize crispiness.
After 4 minutes, turn off the heat, flip over the filets and let them cook another 2 minutes on the other side until you reach your desired level of doneness. Do not overcook! *if your salmon filets are super thick, it may take another minute or two.
Transfer the filets, skin side up to a plate for serving, season with more salt and pepper and any flavors you want, fresh herbs, lemon juice, garlic, etc. Enjoy immediately with a side of greens or on top of a Big F*ckin Salad.
Notes
The amount of oil/fat you need will spend on the size of your pan. If it's a larger pan, go with more fat, you want it to evenly coat the bottom. We've been loving sockeye salmon lately, as it's in season. Any variety of skin-on salmon will work. Photographed here are sock-eye salmon, center cut filets, any filet cuts will work in this method. If your skin is sticking to the pan around 4 minutes, it may not be quite ready to flip yet, give it another minute. If you want to check the temperature of your salmon: cook until salmon registers 110°F (43°C) in the very center for rare, 120°F (49°C) for medium-rare, or 130°F (54°C) for medium.