Salmon Roasted in Butter

I'm confused. Do you initially put the salmon in skin side down or up? The article says "flip and then take the skin off," implying you put it in skin side down. The recipe says to put it in skin side up.

This was just delicious! I was only doing 2 fillets so I pre-heated my cast iron skillet in the oven. When oven hit 475 I pulled out the skillet, popped butter into skillet w/salt & pepper and put salmon in immediately, skin side down. I added chopped herbs at the end and spooned melted butter over them. So tasty. The skin was a crispy treat.

Growing up in Washington, where fresh, wild salmon is so easily found, we have grown accustomed to the pure taste of mostly-unadorned salmon. Our favorite preparation, along with Mark's variation here, and grilled, is similar to Mark's, but it is put in the oven in foil or parchment, with butter and lemon slices. The steaming keeps the salmon so very moist and tender, thus the delicate and natural flavor of the salmon is allowed to shine.

What the HECK are you all thinking? The skin is the best part! Just leave the fish in the oven 8-10 minutes and the crispy skin and moist fish will make you happy!

I was making this for just one (6 oz. salmon) and decided to roast at 450, which was perfect. I used 1 Tbsp butter and about the same amount of parsley. The skin slipped right off after the first 4 minutes, and another 4 minutes on the flip side was just right. I love the velvety texture of the fish, and it's the perfect fast technique for dinner for one.

Delicious but can be even more simple by doing it all on a pan on top of the stove. This is how I did it. Salt and pepper the salmon. Melt the butter in the hot pan, add the herbs. When the butter and herbs start to sizzle, add the salmon. Saute for about 4 minutes on each side.

No, no, no. Cooking salmon at a high heat as instructed results in globs of white protein leaking from the salmon. The best instruction for roasting salmon is from Cooks Illustrated which calls for quickly sautéing the salmon on the flesh side until browned, flipping it to the skin side for a minute, and then in a 300 degree oven until it reaches 125 degrees. This recipe results in over cooked salmon with yucky white stuff bleeding all over the plate.

From the Pacific NW and this is how we made salmon. To this day I can't eat it any other way. It's simple & it's the best. The only thing I add at times is capers. But not necessary. It's why I never order salmon in restaurant. Because they always overdo it. Let fresh salmon speak for itself, w/ minimal additions. Perhaps wine &/or olive oil for diversity. But always lemon.

Butter is not bad fat!

A good recipe. Fortunately I live on an island (Gabriola BC Canada and we are able to get fish right from the fishermen.)
I used basil and parsley for the herbs and shallots. I found it works better if these are placed under the non-skin side; increases the subtle flavours. 475F was too hot for the thinner filets I used. 375F was enough. I used more salt too and left the kin on.
Lemon wedges look good and lemon juice--a few drops kicked up the flavour a notch or two.

I cooked only a single portion piece (4 oz.) and it only took 4 minutes. Delicious! And the dill butter left in the pan was great for dipping crusty french bread. Accompanied this with a salad of beet greens, thinly sliced baby beets and Granny Smith apple and an orange. The juice from the orange and just a drizzle of olive oil was the perfect dressing.

One other note: try adding balsamic vinegar glaze drizzled over the salmon just before serving. Adds a wonderful tang.

This was good but overcooked. Next time I will reduce oven to 450 and see what happens. Also saw no reason to remove the skin, which I happen to like. Will try substituting olive for some of the butter as suggested.

I've been doing something similar for years, first coating individual thick strips on the flesh side with a mix of coarsely crushed peppercorns and coarse grey sea salt and using very little fat (butter or olive oil, depending). But instead of removing the skin, I cook the fish unilaterally skin side up so that the salmon's fat continually bastes the fish as gravity does its job. At the end of the 10 min cooking period, I flip the filet skin-side down to crisp it a bit.

THis recipe is no-fail, always delicious, and easy!!! Once you make it, it will become an in-my-back-pocket-ready-to cook entree. and you can change the herbs, use a finishing salt.....