Sous Vide Salmon Filets are a great weeknight dinner that you can make in under an hour. The beauty of sous vide salmon is that it is cooked at the precise temperature for perfectly tender and flaky fish every time.
I find myself reaching for my sous vide precision cooker quite often during the week because you can set it and forget it.
It’s very forgiving with the cook time so dinner will not be ruined if someone is running a few minutes late.
You can also use this great recipe with Salmon steaks instead of filets.
The cook times and temperature will be exactly the same either way.
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The Joule
I recommend the Joule Sous Vide appliance if you’re new to sous vide cooking.
It has a fantastic app that you can download that will help guide you through the cooking process for pretty much anything you’d like to cook.
You set the temperature and cook time within the app then your food will be cooked precisely at temperature until the app tells you that it is cooked.
After your food is cooked, you can leave it for up to 2 hours in most cases, and your food will still be perfect.
You will also need a sous vide container or a large stockpot to use as a cooking vessel.
I always use a large stockpot because I like to buy things that pull double-duty in my kitchen.
I don’t have a lot of space to store items that I won’t use very often.
Whichever container you choose, be sure to put it on a heat-proof surface because it will get hot while your food is cooking.
Key to Success #1 – Oil and Season the Filets
An important step in preparing any fish for sous vide cooking is oiling and seasoning the meat.
Sprinkle your favorite seasonings for the salmon filets.
We like a little salt and pepper and sometimes some lemon pepper seasoning.
You can use olive oil or any good vegetable oil to oil the salmon.
Key to Success #2 – Bag the Salmon
Instead of a more traditional vacuum seal, we’re using a gallon-sized zip-top baggie for these salmon filets.
When adding the salmon to the bag, you want to make sure that the salmon is in a single layer.
Do not overlap one filet on top of another one.
You can use two or more plastic bags for the salmon to ensure that they fit in a single layer.
Once the seasoned salmon is in the bag, you can add in the oil.
Be sure to oil both sides then turn the bag a few minutes to make sure the oil is well-distributed.
The oil really helps ensure that the delicate fish will not stick to the bag and will slide out easily when fully cooked.
Key to Success #3 – Choose Your Thickness and Doneness
For perfect Sous Vide Salmon Filets, I like to set the precision temperature to 122 degrees F.
This temperature results in tender and flaky salmon filets
If you want your salmon to be firmer, you can set your temperature to 131 degrees F.
The cook time depends on the thickness of your salmon.
For a salmon filet that is 1 inch thick, cook for 40 minutes.
For a salmon filet that is 1 1/2 inches thick, cook for 1 hour.
If in doubt, go with a slightly longer cook time.
Your salmon will still be perfectly cooked because you can leave meats in a sous vide bath for up to 30 minutes past the minimum cook time and the meat will still be at the same temperature.
This is one of the beautiful things about sous vide cooking that is not talked about enough in my opinion.
It’s nearly impossible to mess up your dinner even if someone is running late.
And since we’re on the topic, another thing that is great about sous vide cooking is that it frees up your oven and other appliances.
If you’re cooking for a large family or a large party, this is such a huge help when planning and prepping for your dinner.
You can literally put your meat in the sous vide several hours in advance and not have to worry about how your dinner will turn out.
Key to Success #4 – Sear Skin Side Down
Searing the salmon is optional, but I like to slide the cooked salmon into a hot pan with a little oil to sear the skin.
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat then add a little oil or butter before sliding the salmon filets into the pan.
Sear for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the skin is golden brown.
If you dare, you can flip the salmon meat side down for a just a moment to let it kiss the heat.
You run the risk of your flaky meat falling apart, but if you’re careful you can pull it off.
I use two spatulas, one on the top and one on the bottom when I remove my salmon from the skillet.
This easy Sous Vide Salmon is great served with some seasoned rice on the side.
Cooking Frozen Salmon
You can cook Sous Vide Salmon from frozen!
The cook temperature is the same whether you are cooking fresh salmon or frozen salmon.
The cook time is longer for frozen salmon.
For 1 inch thick salmon, cook for 1 hour and 10 minutes. For 1 1/2 inch thick salmon, cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
It’s just that easy! All the other steps remain the same for perfect salmon from frozen.
Save this Sous Vide Salmon recipe to your favorite Sous Vide Recipes board or your Fish Food board.
Sous Vide Salmon Filets
Ingredients
- 2 lbs salmon steaks
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 Tbsp butter
Instructions
- Place salmon steaks in a single layer in a gallon-sized zip-top baggie. (Can use more than one bag, if needed.) Pour olive oil over steaks. Turn to coat.
- Fill a stockpot or sous vide container 3/4 full of water. Place on heat-proof surface and add immersion circulator.
- Heat water to temperature based on your preferred doneness for your fish. We prefer our salmon cooked to 122 degrees F. You can go up to 131 for firmer fish.
- When water is heated, lower each bag into the water making sure the meat is fully submerged. Fold the top of the bag over the side of the stockpot. Clip bag to the side, if needed.
- Set timer for cook time. Cook time depends on the thickness of your fish (1-inch = 40 minutes, 1 1/2-inches = 60 minutes).
- After cook time is finished, remove bags from sous vide and remove salmon steaks from the bag.
- Preheat heavy skillet over high heat. Place 1 Tbsp butter or olive oil in skillet then sear salmon for 1 -2 minutes skin side down.
Notes
- For frozen salmon filets, cook 1-inch thick filets for 1 hour 10 minutes, 1 1/2-inches for 1 hour 30 minutes).
Equipment
Nutrition
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Roy
Sunday 26th of December 2021
Nice little article but you sort of forgot to mention the most important bit - that you need to remove the air from the bags. Otherwise, the salmon won't cook properly. This is easily done by slowly submerging the bag into a pot of water, pushing all the air out, then sealing it when there is no air left in the bag. I'm not trying to be critical, but it is a key step.