Pan Grilled Salmon

Four grilled salmon fillets on a serving platter

5 from 6 votes

How to make incredibly tasty Pan Grilled Salmon. The dry rub that goes on the fish adds lots of flavor to an already tasty fish. Serve this with a favorite vegetable side dish for a complete meal.

Prep Time4

Cook Time11

Total Time15

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Author: Precious

Ingredients

4 salmon fillets 6 ounces each, skin on, fish should be at room temperature
¾ teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper or ground black pepper see note 3
1 teaspoon garlic powder or granules
1 teaspoon onion powder or granules
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

Pat dry room temperature salmon fillets with paper towel on both sides.
Make the seasoning mix. In a small bowl, mix together the salt, white or black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, dried basil and dried parsley.
Pour about a teaspoon of the seasoning mix over each salmon fillet. Using your fingers, rub the seasoning mix over the fillets ensuring that the seasoning is well distributed on the fish.
Place a cast iron skillet or grill pan on medium heat and let it heat up. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan and swirl to ensure the oil coats the pan. Let the oil heat up for 1-2 minutes until shimmering then add the salmon skin side down to the pan. Let it cook on one side undisturbed for 5 minutes or less depending on the thickness of the fish. I cook 3 fillets at a time in my grill pan and 2 fillets at a time in my 10-inch cast iron pan.
Flip the salmon to the other side and let it cook for another 4 minutes until the fish is opaque and easily flakes or until the desired doneness. Remove the salmon from the pan and repeat the process with the remaining 3 salmon fillets, starting with adding the remaining olive oil to the pan.
(I used fairly thick salmon, so I had to cook them on the other side for about 4-5 minutes. So watch your fish; depending on its thickness, it might take a shorter time to cook.) The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires cooking salmon to reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the fish from heat at around 140 degrees F. It will continue to cook as it rests.
Serve this Pan Grilled Salmon warm with your favorite vegetable or carb side dish. I love it with sautéed vegetables!

Video

Notes

1. It is important to use fish at room temperature because that makes for even cooking. If the fish is not at room temperature some portions will cook faster than others. So take the fish out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes to an hour before cooking.

2. Patting the fish dry with paper towels ensures that the fish gets a nice crust on the outside.

3. I love using white pepper with fish. The flavor of white pepper really complements fish well. But if you can't find white pepper just go with black pepper.

4. Do not overcrowd the pan when making this Pan Grilled Salmon. I used a standard 10-inch cast iron pan so I only cooked 2 fillets at once so there was enough heat to properly sear each fish.

5. Feel free to scale the recipe to suit the quantity you need. If you need only half the salmon, half every other ingredient in the recipe.

Nutrition