Salmon Fillet
Skin-on fillet, about 1″ thick
Salmon Fillet: roast at 400°F for about 12 min. Internal temp: 145°F (FDA) or 125°F (medium).
Cooking Methods
↕ Slide the temperature to see how cook times change
Look for fillets with a bright, almost wet sheen and tight, springy flesh (you can test this with your finger). If it smells fishy rather than clean and briny, it's past its prime. I have no take on whether you should purchase farmed vs. wild-caught salmon but be aware of two things: 1) Wild-caught salmon will be leaner and cook faster (pull 1-2 minutes early) and 2) Color isn't the best quality cue for farmed salmon, as it is often dyed. Ask for center-cut pieces of even thickness so they cook at the same rate; the thin tail end always overcooks while you wait on the thick fillet. Leave the skin on for cooking even if you don't plan to eat it. The skin helps to protect the flesh and makes the fillet far easier to flip. Run your finger against the grain to find pin bones and pull them out with tweezers or needle-nose pliers before cooking. Fresh salmon keeps 1–2 days in the coldest part of the fridge. To freeze, wrap tightly and it'll hold 2–3 months, and most "fresh" salmon at the counter was previously frozen anyway.
Salmon is an easy fish to cook well and easy to ruin as well (the line between silky and chalky is about 10°F). Most people overcook it because they're chasing the fully-opaque, flaky look, but salmon is at its best pulled at 125–130°F when the center is still a deep, translucent orange. The other half of the battle is the skin: pat it bone-dry and start it skin-side down in a hot pan and you get a crackly, chip-like crust instead of a rubbery one. Below you'll find salmon cooking times and the internal temps for every method — roast, air fry, grill, broil, and pan-sear.
FDA recommends salmon reach 145°F. Most chefs and sushi restaurants serve it at 125°F (medium-rare) which is widely accepted as safe for high-quality, properly handled fish. The risk with fish is parasites, not bacteria, and freezing to -4°F for 7 days (which happens in the packing and shipping process) kills parasites. If your salmon was previously frozen (most is), medium-rare is considered safe. When in doubt, pregnant, elderly or immunocompromised, go to 145°F.