The Best Pan Fried Salmon

If you’re a fan of fish and you love Salmon, this recipe is going to blow your mind; especially if you like sushi. With the exception of rice and Nori, this dish has almost everything you would expect in and on a traditional salmon or “Vegas” roll(no cream cheese either). The main difference is that this recipe uses a 4 oz pan fried salmon fillet instead of the itty-bitty pieces of fish, thinned out through the center portion of a sushi roll. Then the addition of spicy mayo, crushed french onions and eel sauce top off the best pan fried salmon, garnished with sliced cucumber.

Fresh or Frozen Salmon

Most of you don’t know much about my background, where I come from or what I’ve accomplished in my life. I’ve stayed very private because, for me, this is about the food, not me and my life. You might care to know, however, that I spent some time in the fishing industry and fished commercially for a living in Alaska for while so, I know a thing or two about seafood. I’ve also been trained professionally and my wife loves salmon. That means this recipe has to be top notch if I’m going to spend my valuable time writing, filming and posting about it.

Salmon is one of those commercialized fish that’s sold fresh or frozen. I will always recommend buying fresh, when it comes to fish because the freezing actually changes the filet’s drastically and they’re never the same again once they’re thawed. But, that being said, if you purchase your salmon frozen this recipe will still be amazing. Just know that, if you have the option and it’s affordable, you should always buy fresh. Your results and the quality, in my opinion, will always be 3 to 4 times greater than cooking with pre-frozen fish.

The Secret to Pan Fried Salmon

The average salmon filet portion size, per person, is cut 3 to 4 ounces but you can cut yours as big or as small as you like. Just season with kosher salt and pepper, pre-heat a non-stick pan to medium heat, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and sear each filet, meat side down first for, approximately, 2 minutes. Flip and sear for an additional 3 minutes to crisp up the skin and reach a medium to medium rare filet. If you prefer your salmon cooked less, just reduce your cooking time by a minute on the first side. Then remove from the heat and add the toppings.

If you don’t like spicy mayo, try using my Oriental Dressing instead. It will make an excellent substitution because it isn’t spicy and it has Asian ingredients, too.

Pan Fried Sushi Style Salmon

1 lbs Salmon Filet, cut 4 oz portions
1 tbs Spicy Mayo
1 tbs Unagi or Eel Sauce, per filet
1/2 cup French Onions, crushed
Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive Oil for pan frying

Spicy Mayo
2 tbs Mayonnaise
2 tbs Sriracha

Eel Sauce
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Mirin
2 tbsp Sugar
2 tbsp Sake

Kosher salt and pepper the salmon, pan fry in olive oil(both sides 2 to 3 min), smear top of Salmon with Spicy Mayo, add crushed French Onions and drizzle eel sauce. Watch the short video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how it’s done.