How to cook sockeye salmon on the stove

How to cook sockeye salmon in a pan, grilled, in air fryer, Instant Pot or baked dry rub salmon is here! Cook until flaky and tender or in a creamy sauce.

Need to know how to cook sockeye salmon? We will explain how to make it flaky several different ways here. Above has a creamy sauce but you can make a lightly seasoned low carb version too with no breading. Just one of many easy fish recipes on our site. (affiliate links present)

How Long to Cook Sockeye Salmon

If you need to know how long to cook frozen salmon the answers are here in this post. This time we are focusing on fresh or defrosted fillets. There isn’t a huge cook time difference actually but enough where I thought it was important to do two different posts explaining the best cooking methods.

We have a lot of air fryer fish recipes recently and shared them on our site. I was born in HI and ate a lot of it growing up. Now that I am older I cook it myself and since I do it so often now my girls love it too. It was time to talk ALL things salmon. Wild caught is amazing, healthy, and great for your heart.

If you want to use your oven, that is a great way to do it. This is how long to cook salmon at 400 so it is always fork tender.

What is the best cooking method for salmon?

To keep it the moistest I would say salmon in a pan with a bit of creamy sauce is ideal. If you need it to be dairy free there are options for that, or just use olive oil and your favorite seasonings. Second best is to steam in a pressure cooker.

How do I stop sockeye salmon from overcooking?

First off you want to steam it with a lid on your pan, that will keep it nice and moist. Check it often and as soon as it flakes with a fork remove it immediately from the heat source and let it rest for a minute. Then serve immediately for best results as it will begin to dry out the longer it sits.

How to Cook Sockeye Salmon in a Pan

I will share below how to cook it using this method, and others will be in blue links. If you want to try the others just click on the one you want and it will take you to the instructions for that too. The recipe card at the bottom is pan fried and sauteed in a rich sauce we love.

Here is what you’re going to need, you can see all the ingredients below. Of course you can make substitutions if need be. We will discuss that too.

Get out a skillet or make it as cast iron salmon (my personal favorite). Those pans remind me of my grandmother and they should already be well seasoned which will add flavor. You’ll want one with a lid to create steam inside.

If you can find great button mushrooms you could easily quarter those. Second best is canned and drained. Most of the time they are already cut into fourths. This will take a total of about 15 minutes from start to finish.

How to Pan Cook Salmon

• Rinse the salmon fillets and pat dry with paper towels. Remove any small bones you see with tweezers. Brush the top with 1 tbsp of your olive oil, the salt, add any spices or seasonings you want.
  • I think 2″ thick pieces is easier to handle than the whole filet
• Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan. Pan fry salmon skin side up and fry over medium high heat for about 2 minutes. Carefully flip the pieces over to the other side for another 3 minutes.
  • if you aren’t adding the sauce increase timing to 5 minutes with a lid on and remove when fish is flaky with a fork.
  • you can certainly cook plain and then drizzle mustard sauce with salmon over the top when done
• If cooking with the sauce which is recommended; Transfer the fried fish to a plate. Put the mushrooms and tomatoes into the pan. Fry for 3-4 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally.
• Pour the cream into the pan, stir and turn down the heat.
• Wait 2-3 minutes. If the cream is too thick, add some water.
  • Transfer the salmon pieces to the skillet and simmer in the creamy mushroom sauce for another 5-6 minutes with a lid on the top. 145 F is ideal internal temperature
• Ladle your sauce over the fish and turn off the heat. Cover with a lid and leave for 2-3 minutes.

Serve immediately with lemon slices for squeezing and salt and pepper. Add a drizzle of more sauce on top too (you just can’t have enough of it). If you need to make multiple batches preheat oven to 200 just to keep warm wrapped in foil.

How to Cook Sockeye Salmon on a Grill

Ok so you can’t really add a lot of sauce like this if you are using a charcoal grill or Traeger. Instead you’re going to want to cook it inside aluminum foil packets like our teriyaki salmon in foil. You really could use any sauce you like with this method but not more than a few tablespoons.

Forgot to defrost your seafood? I’ve been there done that so I have a solution. Here is directions on how to make grilled frozen salmon instead. You may not have thought this was even possible but it totally is y’all.

How to Cook Sockeye Salmon in Air Fryer

Ok so let’s move on to using a Cosori or Ninja Foodi. This way you will get a nice light crisp on the outside and edges. If you are a no for any harder edges on fish then this would not be the way to go for you. I have instructions for sockeye salmon in air fryer and teriyaki salmon air fryer recipes here for you.

Once again, if you are forgetful we have you covered. Air fryer frozen salmon can totally be done too. You could easily make this sauce, listed below, and still serve that on top. You just couldn’t saute it together inside an air fryer basket unfortunately.

Instant Pot Sockeye Salmon

Last but not least before we get to the pan method below, you can certainly make frozen salmon in Instant Pot like this. OR if you are way more on top of it than me and did remember to thaw your piece, follow the recipe at the bottom of our Instant Pot fish recipes post for this.

For all of these the ideal internal temp should be 145 F, no more. Use an instant read thermometer in the thickest part to see where it’s at. It can dry out fast whether pan seared, steamed or baked so keep an eye on it often.

How to Cook Salmon in Microwave

You can actually do this if it is your only cooking method. Place into a shallow dish with a pat of butter and seasonings on top. Cover with plastic wrap and poke 4 holes in the top. Microwave for about 3.5 minutes, lift plastic and check in the middle if it is flaky and cooked thru.

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How to Cook Sockeye Salmon

How to cook sockeye salmon in a pan, on the grill, in air fryer or Instant Pot is here! Cook until flaky and tender or in a creamy sauce.

Course Entree, Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword how to cook, salmon, sockeye, stove top

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 368kcal

Author The Typical Mom

Equipment

• 1 pan or cast iron pan

Ingredients

• 1 lb salmon 4- 2.5" wide fillets
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 pinch pepper
• 1 – 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 lemon wedges, optional
• Salmon sauce Use your favorite to cook it in, or drizzle on top. One idea below.
• 1/2 c heavy cream
• 1 c mushrooms sliced or canned, drained and chopped
• 4-5 cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp thyme

Instructions

• Rinse the pieces of chilled fish and pat dry with paper towels. Remove any remaining small bones with tweezers or fingers. Brush with 1 tbsp of your olive oil, the salt, add any spices or seasonings you want.

• Heat the remaining olive oil in a frying pan. Place the salmon skin side up and fry over medium heat for 2 minutes. Carefully flip the pieces over and fry on the other side for another 3 minutes. (if you aren't adding the sauce increase timing to 5 minutes with a lid on and remove when fish is flaky with a fork)

• If cooking with the sauce which is recommended; Transfer the fried fish to a plate. Put the mushrooms and tomatoes into the pan. Fry for 3-4 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally.

• Pour the cream into the pan, stir and turn down the heat. Wait 2-3 minutes. If the cream is too thick, add some water. Transfer the salmon pieces to the skillet and simmer in the creamy mushroom sauce for another 5-6 minutes. Cover the pan with a lid. 145 F is ideal internal temperature

• Drizzle the top of the salmon with the cream sauce and turn off the heat. Cover with a lid and leave for 2-3 minutes. Carefully transfer the fish to a plate and serve with fresh herbs, remaining sauce, mushrooms.

  How to cook a sockeye salmon fillet in a pan?

  Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Gently lay the salmon into the hot oil with the skin side facing up and cook until the the flesh side is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes; turn and continue cooking until the skin side is slightly browned, about 5 minutes more.

  Is it better to cook salmon on the stove or in the oven?

  Roasting salmon fillets in the oven gives you beautiful, succulent fish that doesn't require constant attention. This method, which we recommend if you're cooking four or fewer fillets, has you sear the fish in a pan on the stovetop first, which crisps the skin delectably.

  How long should you cook salmon for on the stove?

  Cook the fillets. Cook the salmon undisturbed until the lighter-colored flesh has moved about 3/4 of the way up the fillets. This will come to a total time of 8 to 9 minutes for thick fillets and 6 to 7 minutes for thinner fillets.

  How do you cook sockeye salmon so it doesn't dry out?

  Baking sockeye salmon in foil (with the skin on) is the best way to cook it without drying it out. Sockeye salmon is thinner than other salmon types, making it easy to overcook. You can remove the skin after baking, but leaving it on while you cook it helps keep it moist.