Ready in about 25 minutes, this truly quick dish is perfect for a busy weeknight. Even the leftovers are good! I love salmon and make it quite often for my family. I often make baked salmon because it’s so easy and tasty. And poached salmon is moist and delicate. But this recipe is even better because it’s exceptionally juicy and flavorful. The spice combination is amazing. And when it gets charred in a hot skillet, the flavor is so intense. Blackening also keeps the inside of the fish extra juicy because searing the fish in a hot skillet seals the juices in.
Ingredients
You’ll only need a few simple ingredients to make blackened salmon. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Here’s an overview of what you’ll need: Dry rub: I use kosher salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, dried oregano, and cayenne pepper. Salmon fillets: Try to find fillets that are about the same size and thickness. Butter: The milk solids in the butter brown as we heat it and help with the blackening process.
Instructions
Blackening salmon is truly easy. Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps: You start by mixing the dry rub ingredients in a bowl. Then, rub the spices all over the fish. The next step is to cook the salmon in butter in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat, about 3 minutes per side. It won’t be fully cooked at this point, but the outside will be nicely blackened. Now, place the skillet in a 425°F oven for 5-7 minutes to allow the fish to finish cooking and reach an internal temperature of 145°F. After those 5 minutes, it should be juicy and perfectly cooked!
Expert tip
The reason we finish the dish in the oven is to ensure that the fish is fully cooked without charring the outside too much. As an alternative, you can remove the skillet from the heat, tightly cover it with foil (or a tight-fitting lid), and allow the fish to finish cooking in the skillet’s residual heat for about 5 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Variations
I love this recipe as is and almost always make it as written. But in case you’d like to vary the basic recipe, here are a couple of ideas for you:
You can make the rub as spicy as you like. I add just a bit of cayenne for a hint of spice. You can double the amount and make it truly spicy.Instead of butter, you can use ghee (clarified butter) for frying the fish. It’s preferable to use butter because it promotes browning, but ghee should work too.
Serving suggestions
You can serve this salmon with any side dish you like! It’s truly versatile. I often serve it with roasted whole cauliflower, spaghetti squash noodles, or carrot chips.
Storing leftovers
You can keep the leftovers in the fridge, in a sealed container, for up to 3 days. Reheat them very gently, covered, in the microwave on 50% power. I sometimes crumble them cold over a salad the next day for my lunch. Or I use them in this cobb salad instead of chicken.
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Recipe card
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