• At 140°F and above, the salmon has reached its limit From here on out, it’s just going to get chalkier, drier, and more unattractive This is what salmon that sits in the steam table at the cafeteria looks like, and probably why you didn’t like salmon as a kid So, your goal is really to keep as much of the salmon below the 140°F temperature range (and, preferably, closer to the 125°F range) as possible To this, make sure to always cook salmon skin on if you’re pan-roasting, even if you plan on serving it skinless.¶ By cooking salmon with the skin on, you can alleviate any sort of overcooking problems in the outer layers of flesh The insulative subcutaneous fat acts as a heat barrier, transmitting heat to the interior flesh very, very slowly This slow heat transfer means that skin-on salmon cooks much more evenly and gently than skinless salmon The skin fulfills the exact same role that a batter or breading supplies on a piece of fried chicken or a tempura shrimp—a buffer to slow down heat transfer and provide a crisp element while keeping the flesh underneath from overcooking You may ask, but what about the other side of the fillet? A salmon fillet only has skin on one side, right? And right you are We still have the potential problem of overcooking the skinless side The solution? Just cook it through almost entirely with the skin side down French chefs who want to sound lofty like to call this unilateral cooking—cooking from one side only Personally, I cheat just a bit, flipping the salmon over for the last 15 seconds or so, just to firm up the second side But cooking salmon skin-on does lead to a few other possible problems that need to be dealt with THE WOES OF SKIN-ON FILLETS First off, if you aren’t careful, you still get the leaking albumin problem with skin-on salmon fillets Even worse is this guy: Yep, don’t tell me that hasn’t happened to you At its worst, the skin gets solidly fused to the skillet and the meat ends up completely separating from the skin as it cooks This is not a terrible thing if you don’t plan on eating the skin, and indeed, if you want to serve a skinless fillet, it’s the best way to do it: cook the fillet skin-on, then slide a thin spatula in between the skin and the flesh to separate them At best, you end up with something that looks like this: ... want to serve a skinless fillet, it’s the best way to do it: cook the fillet skin-on, then slide a thin spatula in between the skin and the flesh to separate them At best, you end up with something that looks like this:... its worst, the skin gets solidly fused to the skillet and the meat ends up completely separating from the skin as it cooks This is not a terrible thing if you don’t plan on eating the skin, and...other possible problems that need to be dealt with THE WOES OF SKIN-ON FILLETS First off, if you aren’t careful, you still get the leaking albumin problem with skin-on salmon fillets