Crispy-skin salmon easy to make at home
My family has always served whole baked salmon fillets slathered with some kind of butter sauce. But this year, I’m moving in a new direction: salmon fillets with crispy skin and a Greekish sauce. I was inspired by the crispy-skin salmon that’s become a mainstay on restaurant menus in recent years. The contrast of the fish’s crisp and flavourful skin with its moist and flavourful flesh is a knockout.
But it never occurred to me to attempt it at home until now. It turns out that it’s really quite simple. You just need to make sure the skin is very dry before you cook it. Not only must it be patted down with paper towels, it also has to be scraped repeatedly with a knife to remove any excess moisture. Then all you need is a hot skillet and some oil with a high smoke point. (While the salmon’s cooking, you’ll have to press it down frequently with a spatula to prevent the skin from buckling and shrinking.)
The tart sauce is a snap. It’s a mix — half-yogurt and half-mayonnaise — flavoured with lemon, dill, garlic and pepperoncini. (Those Tuscan pickled peppers often used to enliven Greek salads with a tiny bit of heat). The sauce’s tartness provides a welcome contrast to the fish’s richness.
Now that I know this easy and effective technique, it’s how I’m always going to cook salmon — even when it’s not a holiday.
Salmon With Crispy Skin and Pepperoncini Lemon Sauce
Start to finish: 40 minutes Makes: Four servings 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt 1/4 cup mayonnaise 2 Tbsp minced seeded pepperoncini 1 Tbsp liquid from the pepperoncini jar 1 to 2 tsp lemon juice, or to taste 1/2 tsp minced garlic 1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill Kosher salt and black pepper 4 6-oz salmon fillets with the skin 1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil with a high smoke point In a bowl, combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, minced pepperoncini and pepperoncini liquid, lemon juice, garlic and dill; add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill.
Preheat the oven to 450 F. Pat the fish skin very dry. Scrape the skin with a large knife, at a perpendicular angle, eight to 10 times to remove any excess moisture, wiping the knife clean each time.
In a large ovenproof skillet, heat the oil over high heat. When the oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium and add the salmon fillets, skin side down. Immediately press down evenly on the top of each fillet to keep the skin from buckling up. Cook the salmon, pressing down frequently, for four minutes or until you can see that the skin is getting crispy and the flesh has lightened about one-half of the way up the side. Season the flesh with salt and pepper, transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for another four to six minutes, or until the salmon is cooked to the desired degree of doneness.
Transfer to plates, skin side up, and top each portion with some of the sauce.