Diners in the United States can’t get enough salmon: It’s generally right behind shrimp as the country’s most-consumed seafood. Quick-cooking, flavorful all on its own, and amenable to all kinds of marinades and cooking styles, it’s no wonder salmon is such a reliable fish to have on-hand. Whether it’s for a weeknight cooking or an impressive dinner party main, these are the salmon recipes Eater editors love the most.
Air Fryer Salmon
Lisa Bryan, Downshiftology
Salmon is the thing that got me to understand why so many people love their air fryers so much. (That, and making the crispiest nuggets very quickly.) I generally follow an approach like this one from the blog Downshiftology: cook for about 8 to 10 minutes at 400 degrees, or until the salmon just flakes apart and is kissed with a slight brown crust. I love that I don’t have to wait around for the air fryer to heat up, unlike the oven. I also appreciate the technique of brushing Dijon on top of the fish, though the same cooking parameters work even if you swap out the Dijon for another glaze or opt for a marinade instead. If all the air fryer did well was nuggets and salmon, both perfect and quick, I think I would still love it. — Bettina Makalintal, senior reporter
Sesame Salmon Bowls
Kay Chun, NYT Cooking
With two young kids in the house, there aren’t many meals that satisfy everyone in my family. Either I’m pushing something a little too fussy, or — as is more often the case — I’m eating some form of chicken finger or pasta every night. This staple recipe is one of the few exceptions, and is somehow also chock full of nutritious stuff and simple enough for a busy weeknight. It’s a real unicorn of a dish, and well-worth its permanent spot in our weekly repertoire.
There’s nothing to it, really: The salmon cooks right on top of the vinegary rice, and then it’s all scooped into bowls topped with avocado, cucumbers, and a sesame slaw. I now improvise by adding whatever crowd-pleasing veggies I happen to have on hand: edamame, shredded carrots, roasted broccoli — so far, nothing’s failed. Garnished with torn toasted nori sheets (I use store-bought seaweed snacks), the flavor profile hints at sushi, which we all love, and is endlessly flexible. I’ve even taken to adding a squiggle of Kewpie and sriracha sauce to drive the point home. — Lesley Suter, special projects editor
Salmon with Lentils and Mustard-Herb Butter
Shelley Wiseman, Epicurious
This recipe, which is on a semi-regular rotation in my household, is the one by which I judge other salmon preparations. While there’s not much downtime in the prep, the recipe is accurately timed to 40 minutes and reads like a cascading waterfall, with each step flowing seamlessly into the next. Most importantly, it offers a lovely balance of flavors, thanks in part to the butter that’s incorporated into each step of cooking (and gives the salmon a nice, buttery crust), as well as the compound butter that tops everything off. Each velvety bite concludes with a sharp hit of lemon and mustard. Although the recipe calls for unsalted butter, I like to use salted. — Brenna Houck, Cities manager
Buttered Salmon with Red Onions, Capers, and Dill
Alison Roman, A Newsletter
I like to call this recipe “Party Salmon.” It’s one of my go-to’s when I want to make a show-stopping centerpiece for a few guests — there’s something special and intentional about going to a fish market to choose a large piece of fish for an occasion. One of the recipe’s unique qualities is that (as Roman implies) it’s bagel-inspired, as it uses generous portions of capers, dill, red onion — and who doesn’t love a good bagel?
If you’re new to cooking fish, rest assured the recipe is hard to mess up. After you simmer the toppings in a pan you put the fish into the oven for a short period of time. It comes out looking beautiful; all you have to do is top it with dill. The salmon’s unctuous taste and buttery texture combined with tang from the capers, lemons, and onions gives it a luxurious feel, and I always get many compliments from my guests when I make it. — Terri Ciccone, associate director of audience, analytics & operations
Lemony Salmon with Fennel and Orange Salad
Adeena Sussman
As someone who looks for excuses to sneak preserved lemon paste into almost everything, I felt as though I’d found my personal Xanadu when I came across this recipe in Adeena Sussman’s first cookbook, Sababa. The salmon portion of the recipe involves two main ingredients, salmon and preserved lemon paste, the latter of which is spread over the former. The whole thing is garnished with preserved lemon slices and a little paprika, baked until it’s cooked through, and then parked under the broiler to develop some color. When people say a recipe could not be simpler, this is what they mean. Even if you make the accompanying fennel and orange salad, which I recommend, the recipe is still a low-lift endeavor, one that offers rewards disproportionate to the initial investment required. Salmon, lemon, and salt make beautiful music together, and this recipe broadcasts it in surround sound. — Rebecca Flint Marx, editor of Eater at Home
