Restaurant-Style Pan Seared Farm-caught Salmon (Carbon Steel Method). Carbon steel is, no-argument, best surface for Bunny Bear approved crunchy salmon.
Below is the technique that consistently yields the “glassy,” shatter-crisp skin while keeping the flesh tender. It synthesizes the best practices from chefs like Ramsay and Kenji, optimized specifically for carbon steel.
The “90/10” Carbon Steel Salmon
This method cooks the fish 90% of the way on the skin side. This ensures the skin gets bootyliciously crispy; We then use the skin as a heat shield => gently steaming the delicate flesh above it.
Prep time: 10 mins (plus room temp resting) Cook time: 6–8 mins
Ingredients
- Salmon Fillets: Center-cut, skin-on (approx. 6oz each).
- Oil: Enough avocado oil to coat the bottom of your pan and enough to cause a ripple when you tilt your platform
- note: olive oil’s smoking temperature is too low; you just can’t use it w/o f’ing up your own house.
- Seasoning: Kosher salt and white pepper (black pepper can burn during the long sear).
- Optional Finish: 1 tbsp Butter, fresh thyme/rosemary, 1 clove garlic (crushed), lemon juice.
Instructions
1. The Dry & Temper (Crucial)
- Temperature: Take the salmon out of the fridge 20–30 minutes before cooking. Cold fish hits a hot pan = seizing and sticking.
- Dryness: Use paper towels to pat the skin extremely dry. Moisture creates steam; steam kills crispiness.
- Pro Tip: Take a sharp knife and gently scrape the skin moving against the scales to squeegee out trapped moisture.
2. Preheat the Carbon Steel
- Place your clean carbon steel pan on medium-high heat.
- Dry Heat First: Let the pan heat up dry. You know it’s ready when you can flick a drop of water in, and it beads up and dances across the surface (google Leidenfrost effect).
- Add Oil: Add the oil and swirl to coat. Wait until the oil just starts to shimmer and barely smoke.
3. The Press (The Anti-Curl)
- Season the salmon generously with salt right before it hits the pan. (Salting too early draws out moisture).
- Place the fillet skin-side down gently, laying it away from you to avoid splatter.
- IMMEDIATELY press down on the fillet with a fish spatula or your fingers (carefully). Hold for 10–15 seconds.
- note: Salmon skin contracts when it hits heat, causing the fillet to curl up. If it curls, the center of the skin lifts off the pan and stays soggy. Pressing keeps it flat and ensures even contact.
4. The “Don’t Touch” Phase
- Turn the heat down to medium.
- Do not move the fish. Carbon steel releases food when the sear is complete. If you try to move it and it sticks, it’s not ready.
- Cook for roughly 5–7 minutes (depending on thickness).
- Watch the sidewall: Look at the side of the fillet. You will see the color change from translucent raw pink to opaque cooked pale pink. Wait until that opaque line travels 90% of the way up the fillet.
5. The Kiss & Release
- Once the flesh is almost entirely opaque and the skin releases easily from the pan:
- Optional Baste: Toss in the butter, garlic, and herbs. As the butter foams, tilt the pan and spoon it over the raw top of the fish for 30 seconds.
- Flip: Flip the salmon onto the flesh side.
- Turn off the heat. The residual heat of the carbon steel is enough to finish cooking the top. Leave it for just 30–60 seconds.
6. Serve
- Remove immediately and serve skin-side up
Troubleshooting Carbon Steel
| Problem | Cause | Solution |
| Skin Stuck | Pan too cold or moved too soon. | Stop! Don’t force it. Wait another 60 seconds. The proteins will eventually release from the seasoned surface once a crust forms. |
| Soggy Skin | Wet fish or crowded pan. | Ensure the skin is bone-dry. Don’t cook more than 2 fillets at a time; overcrowding lowers pan temp and causes steaming. |
| Burnt Skin | Heat too high. | Carbon steel conducts heat very fast. Once the fish is in, drop heat to medium or med-low. You want a slow, deep crunch, not a flash burn. |
Pro Tip: How do i make sure my farm caught salmon isn’t fishy
Since “farm-raised” salmon is often fed a diet that can lead to a “muddy” or distinctly “fishy” flavor (unlike the clean, oceanic taste of wild salmon), you need to treat it slightly differently before it hits the pan.
Here are the three best chef techniques to neutralize that flavor, ranked by how well they work with the Carbon Steel recipe I gave you.
1. The “Quick Cure” (Best for Crispy Skin)
This is the absolute best method for your specific recipe. It draws out the surface moisture (which contains the fishy/muddy compounds) and seasons the fish simultaneously.
- The Mix: In a small bowl, mix 2 parts Kosher Salt to 1 part White Sugar.
- The Application: Sprinkle this generously over the fillet (flesh and skin).
- The Wait: Let it sit on a plate for 10–15 minutes. You will see beads of liquid forming on the surface (this is the “fishy water” leaving the meat).
- The Rinse & Dry: Rinse the fillets quickly under cold water to remove the salt/sugar, then pat them bone dry with paper towels.
- Why this wins: Not only does it remove the odor, but removing that moisture also guarantees the skin will be shatter-crisp in your carbon steel pan.
2. The “Grey Line” Removal (Anatomy Check)
Farm-raised salmon often has a much thicker layer of grey/brown subcutaneous fat (the bloodline) sitting right between the pink meat and the skin. This area concentrates the strongest fishy flavors.
- Look closely: If you see a thick grey stripe running down the center of the fillet (on the flesh side) or peeking out from the sides, take a sharp knife and carefully trim it away.
- Note: If you are cooking skin-on, the grey fat is also adhering the skin to the meat. You can’t remove all of it without losing the skin, but trimming any exposed grey bits on the sides helps significantly.
3. The Milk Bath (The “Grandma” Trick)
If you are very sensitive to fishy smells, this is chemically the most effective method, though it makes it harder to get crispy skin later.
- The Method: Submerge the salmon fillets in a bowl of cold milk for 20 minutes.
- The Science: A protein in milk called casein binds to trimethylamine (the compound that causes the fishy smell). When you pour out the milk, the smell goes with it.
- The Warning: The fish will be waterlogged. You must spend extra time drying it with paper towels, or it will stick to your carbon steel pan.
Flavor Tweak for the Pan
Since you are using carbon steel, you can use the “basting” stage to mask any remaining flavor.
- Go Heavy on Aromatics: When you add the butter at the end of the recipe, add two cloves of crushed garlic (instead of one) and a slice of fresh lemon peel (yellow part only) into the hot oil.
- Baste: Spoon that lemon-garlic butter over the fish. The lemon oil extracts into the butter and neutralizes the fishiness without “cooking” the fish with acid like lemon juice would.
