Sous Vide Salmon Recipe

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Looking for new ways to prepare salmon? Recipe developer Ting Dalton came up with this wonderful dish that uses the help of a sous vide cooker, which is easy and efficient. If you're not well-versed in sous vide, Dalton describes this method perfectly: "Sous vide is the process in which you vacuum pack food and cook it at a precise temperature."

While sous vide cooking takes a little longer than other methods, it's mostly hands-off and virtually fool-proof. As Dalton says, "In just 40 minutes, you have fish cooked to perfection and then finished off in the pan with butter and lemon juice; it's a winner every single time." We love the sound of that! As far as her favorite part? "How, with just a few simple ingredients, you can create such a tasty dish with not much work," she shares. Keep reading to find out how to whip up this tasty dish.

Ready to start? For this recipe, you'll use a pound of fresh salmon, followed by some salt and pepper for seasoning. You will also need a few peeled cloves of garlic, olive oil, lemon, butter, and parsley. 

Now that you have gotten the grocery list out of the way, it's time to get cooking. Start by filling a pot or container with water, place the sous vide machine inside, and set the temperature to 125 F. Be sure to look over your specific appliance's manual and avoid any common sous vide mistakes. Then, grab your salmon, salt, and pepper. Season the salmon generously with salt and pepper. "About one teaspoon of salt and pepper," Dalton suggests. This will give it a nice flavor. Want more? "Just double the ingredients for more servings," Dalton shares. This specific recipe yields two servings.

After you season the salmon with salt and pepper, you can open the sous vide bag and place it inside. If you don't have a specific sous vide bag, Dalton says you can use a plastic freezer bag instead. Then, add the garlic and olive oil into the bag with the salmon.

Remove the air through a vacuum sealer or using the displacement method. For sous vide cooking, you want to be sure to have as little air as possible in the bag. Now, you can place the salmon in the bath for 45 minutes.

When the salmon finishes in the sous vide, carefully remove the fillets from the bath and take them out of the bag. Then, heat a skillet on high heat and add your butter to it. Continue cooking the butter until it melts. Once melted, you can place the salmon in the skillet, skin-side down. Cook for one to two minutes and squeeze lemon juice over the top — salmon and citrus go together so well! Carefully flip the salmon and squeeze the lemon juice over the top. Baste the salmon with melted butter and cook for an additional minute.

When you take the salmon out of the skillet, simply plate it as you wish and then garnish it with fresh parsley. This would be wonderful on its own, but Dalton also provides a few nice serving suggestions. "Serve with baby potatoes, salad, or spinach; it's a healthy meal for any time of the week," she notes. As for leftovers, she says "you can put them in a suitable container and refrigerator for two days. Reheat in the oven for 10 minutes at 300 F." We hope this salmon recipe becomes your new go-to! 

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This recipe offers a classic, clean flavor — a little salt and pepper, some garlic, and lemon juice. With the easy sous vide cook, though, you can add almost any ingredients that pair well with salmon to the bag and come away with delicious results. Any dry seasonings work great, but use less than you normally would; the sous vide machine will amplify their flavor.

You can also think globally with your salmon: A splash of teriyaki will bring a sweet-savory flavor to the fish and can even be heated back into a serving sauce; adding a little coconut milk to the bag would make the salmon perfect for a Thai-inspired curry. The only thing you want to avoid is adding wine to your sous vide marinades. The unfermented alcohol will evaporate during the cook and can lead to uneven, mushy fish.

You can also change up the flavor by varying how you finish the salmon after its sous vide bath. The butter baste we use here is rich and luscious, but you can opt to broil the salmon skin-side up for a few minutes if you want a less oily finish. For an even harder sear, bring your sous vide salmon to the grill. You can forgo the final cook altogether and instead chill fish right out of the sous vide bag. Once it's cold, you can shred it for use in salads, grain bowls, or another light and fresh dish.

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