Oven-Steamed Salmon Recipe (2024)

I cook the most delicious salmon every week - living on the beautiful West coast of British Columbia. My recipe is similar - except instead of the water I wrap in parchment. 10 minutes at 400. Superb.
As my Mom always says "10 minutes per inch of thickness".

Heat the oven to between 225 and 275 degrees. What does this mean? Do you mean 250?

TIPS: Season the FULL fillet, then slice into individual serving "strips" BEFORE COOKING (true for all salmon fillets) giving even "cuts" for serving. Keep together when 'steaming' for presentation, or cook an inch/two apart for shorter cooking time. Season with juice & zest of 1 lemon. A smear of garlic paste/powder adds a dynamic. For lower fat/thiner Salmons (Coho) a bit of butter helps, gIves sheen. GR8 4 Arctic Char, Salmon Trout & steak cut.

Why go through all of this when it's easier to put the salmon on a plate or in small thin baking dish, season any way you like, but including a small amount of liquid in the pan such as mirin/soy mixture, wine/butter, or other, and bake at 225F until done? The salmon comes out medium rare and moist, and there's one less pan to wash.

I grew up on salmon. The main thing I've found is that there is a sweet spot where the flesh remains translucent, but tender and flakes easily under the fork. Salmon cooked for too long or at too high of a temperature turns opaque. The oils congeal. The color changes from a brilliant, saturated orange-y pink to a dull, greyish-pink tint. The taste is bitter and carries a whiff of ammonia, and the texture is dry. Keep the oven low and take a little longer to cook the fish.

Oven temps are Fahrenheit. The oven temp range is due to the various weights of the salmon. Lower weight~~lower oven temp; and lower weight~~shorter cooking time. I cook 2 skinless filets 1-inch at thickest point, (6-7 ounce portion), oven temp 250, steamed for 10-12 minutes. Test doneness with a fingertip @ thickest point; press gently and when you feel slight resistance it is about 115 degrees. If you do a whole side filet increase time & temperature. Thin sheet pan is critical.

This recipe was simple and deliciously moist.For safety, I boiled a cup of water in the microwave and added it to a pan already in the oven. No spills! I served the salmon on a bed of butter-braised leeks and brussels sprouts along with a little teriaki sauce. Yum!

I checked this out with another NY Times recipe using an identical technique for oven-roasting salmon. Temp for 300 F and replies indicated it was perfect. Hope this helps. I will use 300 F as my guide for this recipe.

I cook salmon at low oven temp once a week. Simply set oven temp to 200-220F and watch carefully &/or use a good instant read thermometer. There is plenty of moisture in the fish. Additional steam added to the oven (and the fuss this recipe calls) for should not be needed. It's hard to dry out a piece of fish/meat at a temp below or near water's boiling point. To speed up the process, use a higher temp and wrap the fish in parchment; which will keep the moisture contained.

Ummm, this salmon is over cooked. When you can see the albumin (the white stuff) the protein tightened up and sent that stuff to the surface. Absolutely nothing wrong with it, but it's dry and well done. All that juiciness is on the tray and not in the fish...get a good thermometer and a cedar plank and babysit it (grill or oven)...the lower temp in this recipe is genius

My opinion is that tuna is far better seared on the outside, raw in its center.

Brining the salmon for about ten minutes before patting dry, brushing with olive oil, and putting in the oven, relaxes the muscle fibers of the fish so they don't tighten and squeeze out the albumin... also enhances the flavor.

Delicious recipe. I wouldn't use the picture that accompanys the recipe as a guide. The fish in the picture is over cooked...the white stuff on the surface of the fish is albumen pushed/ squeezed up as the flesh dries out.

The thin sheet pan is ESSENTIAL for the time & temp to succeed.You can make an effective substitute out of several (at least 4) layers of aluminum foilThe fish in the picture is over cooked...the white stuff on the surface of the fish is albumen pushed/ squeezed up as the flesh dries out.

I'm struggling with this recipe. I've tried it twice now, once with previously frozen but (sold thawed) wild sockeye, and once with fresh farmed king salmon. The first time I cooked to 115 degrees, the 2nd to 120. In both cases, the flesh was VERY mushy, and I'm left wondering if I've exposed myself to parasites from undercooked salmon. The mushiness was quite unappealing. I do not have much experience under my belt cooking fish. Am I supposed to test the temperature in a lot of places?

I had thawed two 5 oz salmon fillets so I had to cook them even though it was late after a long day and i was NOT in the mood. This recipe worked perfectly! And my mood lifted. :-)

This is the best way to cook salmon I’ve ever fOund. I used four layers of aluminum foil. The salmon came out impeccably moist, steamed just enough to retain a hint of raw. So good.

I also oven "steam" my salmon fillets in individual oiled parchment packages, spread (per fillet) with a mixture of 2 tbsp good cream cheese, 1.5 teaspoons dijon mustard, 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill and a squeeze of lemon. No need to worry that the folds will hold - make folds and staple at the corners and a few times around. Roast at 400 F for 10 minutes unless fillets are thin - then no more than 8 minutes. All those lovely juices are in the package when you open and no pan to wash.

easy and excellent

This is now how I make salmon always. So good, so easy! As I had a fennel orange salad on the side, I made a simple orange-butter and added a dollop with fennel fronds before serving.

I followed the advice to make a tin foil pan for the fish. It was a 1.5. salmon fillet. I cooked it at 250F for 20 minutes. We live in the NW, so salmon is regular part of our summer and now winter meal schedule. My husband who is the fish expert, declared this was the best cooked salmon ever and suggested it become our default method for anytime we have salmon.

Make sure it's cooked through, don't just go by thermometer.

Great idea to add the skillet of boiling water. I baked it at 250 for 15 min. Perfect salmon. The essence of minimalism. No oil, no butter, no herbs, no garlic. Just fish.

This recipe worked beautifully for a 1/2 side of wild salmon. My experience with wild salmon is that it's often a little dry. Not so using this steaming method. Cooked at 250 for 12 minutes to internal temp of 115, per instructions. Perfect!

I heated water in a stainless steel frying/saute pan to boiling, and then put it on the lower rack. Easy to grab the handle to slide in and slide out after cooking.

I did not have a thin sheet pan, but this worked with my heavy pan--my 2.5-lb fillet cooked in about 20 mins. at 250F, then another 10 at 275F. It was moist and tender, and fantastic with a homemade aioli, and very easy. A lovely way to cook salmon and the result was amazingly succulent.

This was fine. 3 sockeye filets, each ~4oz. Oven at 270°F. Took about 15-16 minutes. The texture of the fish is different when cooking it this way - more silky, less flaky. Next time I'll use much less salt as it didn't melt as it would when roasting or sauteeing. Served with brown rice pilaf and braised bok choy.

I fond this recipe sometime ago, tried it and have never looked back. It's my go-to for an easy and extremely tasty salmon preparation. I have lightly dressed it with everything from miso sauce to brown sugar with ground chilis and never been disappointed. I use mostly Coho and time the cooking accordingly. Convection roast @ 225 deg. for 11 to 15 minutes.

can u make this with another fish