Cast Iron Skillet Salmon. Salmon is beautifully seared crispy and tender and surrounded by a flavorful Spring Ragout of celery, carrot, shallot, garlic and white beans. The combination of flavors is simply outstanding.
I’ve always blamed my lack of seafood cooking skills on the fact that I’m landlocked and we don’t have good access to quality seafood.
Rather lame excuse these days, now that fishing boats and pier stations can process and deep-freeze seafood within hours of the catch. And then ship it so that we the consumers can enjoy the freshest product possible.
With that said, I’d like to thank Sitka Seafood Company for offering to send me samples of Alaska cod and salmon. Blast-frozen at the peak of freshness to ensure the highest quality, guaranteed and wild-caught from the pristine waters of Southeast Alaska and the North Pacific.
And, this company takes the consumer experience a step further and delivers their seafood directly to your doorstep. What a very cool program. Check it out, and head over to their website for the full story.
Discount Code For Sitka Salmon Order
AND, Sitka Salmon has offered my readers a special discount code – COTR – to share with my friends, family and followers. This code will give you $25.00 off of your order. Just enter COTR when placing your order to save $$$
Disclaimer: If you order from Sitka Salmon and use this code, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. I am a affiliate member.
Land-locked me was absolutely thrilled to receive packages of wild caught cod and salmon. The fillets were sealed in a sturdy container and frozen solid thanks to dry ice. Impressive system.
Needless to say, I promptly thawed a piece of the salmon and grabbed my cast iron skillet for this recipe for Cast Iron Skillet Salmon with Spring Ragout.
And I must say, this is hands down the best salmon we’ve ever tasted.
Cooking Salmon With A Cast Iron Skillet
If I trust my beloved cast iron skillet to sear sea scallops, you bet I’ll trust it with tender salmon.
You see, Cast iron is a very dense metal so it holds heat like a champ. This guarantees even heating. It will brown meats and vegetables better and faster. That also means you don’t have to manage the heat source on the stove top or rotate pans in the oven.
As with any pan, heat the cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot add the cooking oil. When the oil is shimmering add the vegetables or protein, lowering the heat a bit and let it do its magic.
I would trust my cast iron skillet for cooking about anything … except eggs. I’ll continue to grab my non-stick skillet for that.
I’ve had my Lodge Cast Iron Skillet for years. And I use it regularly. If you’re interested here’s a link to purchase the skillet. I’m a member of the Amazon Affiliate Program. If you purchase this skillet through this link, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.
Cooking Diced Vegetables For The Spring Ragout
To prepare this Cast Iron Skillet Salmon with Spring Ragout, I first prepared the vegetables to make the ragout. Ragout simply means a dish of meat cooked with diced vegetables. This Spring bean ragout consists of:
- Diced celery
- Diced carrots
- Diced shallot
- Diced garlic
- And a can of drained and rinsed white beans. Cannellini beans or Great Northern Beans work well here. Easy!
Tip: This is an excellent and necessary time to practice knife skills. Evenly cut vegetables result in even cooking which results in a superior flavor. Trust me! 🙂
Just heat two tablespoons of canola or olive oil in the cast iron skillet and then add the celery, carrots and onion. Rosemary and thyme season this ragout. Cook until just tender and then add the drained white beans and the garlic.
Cook, stirring gently just until the beans are hot and the garlic is fragrant. Don’t over mix or overheat the beans or they’ll fall apart.
The cast iron skillet does a beautiful job with the diced vegetables, cooking them with a slight brown sear. And the flavors came together for a sweet and savory vegetable side dish.
Remove the Spring ragout to a plate and keep warm.
Cast Iron Skillet Salmon
Add two more tablespoons of oil to the skillet. Once the oil is hot, add the salmon fillet, skin side down.
Let the salmon cook for a couple of minutes, or until you can see the flesh starting to turn colors about half way up the fillet. Make sure the skin is crispy. If you’re so inclined, salmon skin is completely edible and provides a nice textural contrast to the soft flesh.
With a metal spatula, turn the salmon to let the flesh side sear. This will only take a couple of minutes to cook the fillet.
Simply transfer the salmon to plates and surround with the spring ragout for a healthy, delicious and nutritious meal.
Tip: If you can’t cook fish immediately after thawing, place fish in a bag with crushed ice. This will help keep the fish ultra-fresh.
Tip: If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, you can cook this in any heavy bottomed skillet. Note, a non-stick skillet won’t brown the salmon as efficiently and as quickly, but of course will work.
Culinary School Tip: Make sure that fish is dry. Place fish on a tray lined with paper towels and place in the refrigerator for about thirty minutes. This will drain and extract more of the moisture for better searing or grilling.
Recipe for Seared Salmon with Spring Ragout
I hope you give this cast iron skillet salmon recipe a try. It’s super healthy, ultra nutritious and very easy for a weeknight dinner.
And if you do, please come back and give the recipe a star rating. And leave a comment about your experience with the recipe.
And if you have a favorite recipe for salmon cooked in a cast iron skillet, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
More Salmon Recipes
- Peach Jam Glazed Salmon Recipe
- Maple Mustard Glazed Oven Roasted Salmon
- Mirin Glazed Roasted Salmon
- Salmon and Spud Salmon
Looking for more seafood recipes? Don’t miss my Seafood Category. You’ll find lots of fun ideas, including the most popular recipe on my site for Heavenly Halibut.
Cast Iron Skillet Salmon with Spring Ragout
Ingredients
- 14 1/2 ounce White Beans canned, drained and rinsed
- 4 Tablespoon olive oil divided
- 1 cup carrots cleaned and diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1/4 cup shallot diced
- 1 clove garlic diced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 3/4 pound Salmon fillet
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Using a colander, drain and rinse the beans.
- Chop the carrots, celery and shallot. Chop the garlic and set aside separately from the other vegetables.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the carrots, celery and shallot. Add the thyme and rosemary.
- Cook, stirring often until the vegetables are starting to soften and are slightly toasted. Add in garlic and beans. Cook just until garlic is fragrant and beans are heated through. Using a spatula, remove vegetables from the pan to a plate. Cover to keep warm.
- Wipe out the cast iron skillet with a paper towel and add the remaining two tablespoon of oil. Heat should be at medium to medium high. Depending on your burner power.
- When oil is hot, add the salmon skin side down. Salt and pepper to taste and add a squeeze of lemon if you'd like. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes, or until skin is crispy and salmon appears to be cooked about half way through.
- With a metal spatula, turn the salmon to cook on the flesh side. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes or until salmon appears to be done. Press on salmon. If it is starting to flake (flesh spreads apart), salmon is cooked.
- To serve divide the salmon between two plates. Surround with the Spring Vegetable Bean Ragout. Serve immediately.
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
I like cast iron for searing anything! And I’ve got a couple of skillets over a hundred years old, and still going strong. Those things last forever! Anyway, Alaskan salmon is the best, and this is such a nice way to prepare it. Thanks!
Great presentation and everything sounds delicious. Wish I were a renowned chef and blogger so companies would send me stuff.
🙂 Thanks Larry – I think.