How to Bake Perfect Salmon Every Time!

Most of us don’t make fish at home, because we are unsure of how to cook it. And that’s fair. We all want to be sure that our fish is fully cooked and flaky without being dry, and that can be a challenge. If you follow this very simple recipe, your salmon will be perfect every time.

Cooking Time

24 minutes

Preparation Time

5 minutes

Servings

a 4 or 5 ounce piece of raw fish filet per person will be a nice size serving when cooked. I usually cut 6 pieces from a full half-fish filet that weighs about 1.5 pounds

Equipment

A baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or lightly oiled to prevent the fish from sticking
Several paper towels to dry the fish after rinsing it

Ingredients

Raw salmon filet- the thickness should be about 3/4 inch for a 24 minute cook time.
Olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425F and make sure the baking rack is in the middle position
Remove the fish from its wrapper and gently rub the fish as you rinse both sides under cool water to remove any loose scales. Run your fingers up and down the flesh side to check for any bones that may have been missed when the salmon was fileted.
Using the paper towels, thoroughly dry both sides of the filet.
IMPORTANT: if your filet is 3/4 inch thick in the center and then tapers off on the edges, cut the thin part off. The thin part can only tolerate cooking for 12 minutes. If you are using the precut frozen salmon portions, those are often rather thin, Chose your cook time according to the thickness of the piece of fish.
If you are making multiple servings and wish to precut each serving, place the fish on a cutting board and slice your portions. (If you want to present the whole filet, do not pre-slice the fish)
Place the filet on the baking sheet, skin side down. Lightly oil the top of the fish with olive oil.
If you would like to season the fish, you can do so now. If you are thinking about using a very flavorful sauce, you might wish to forgo seasoning the fish. If you do not season the fish, pop it in the preheated oven and set your timer.

TIPS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

I DO NOT recommend squeezing any sort of citrus juice over the fish prior to cooking. If you wish to add lemon, lime, lemon, or pineapple juice after the filet is done, that works.
If you’d like to season the fish, I suggest the following:
- Sprinkle Beggs Bold Blends Seasoning all across the top of the fish. These are all delicious options: Poultry & Pork Seasoning, Caribbean Jerk Seasoning, Greek Seasoning, and Southwest Seasoning. Any of those will flavor the fish beautifully and you’ll need no other seasoning.
- OR-Sprinkle garlic powder and any of the following dry herbs over the fish: rosemary, thyme, parsley, paprika,