Cook salmon sous vide is the easiest way to get perfectly cooked salmon every time.
If you think mastering chicken breasts is a delicate affair, salmon takes the challenge up a notch. And while you can achieve a perfect medium-rare center through traditional methods like poaching or pan-searing, it often involves a bit of trial and error—which, let’s face it, can get expensive with salmon.
This is where the sous vide method truly excels. It eliminates the guesswork, ensuring perfectly moist, tender results every time. With sous vide cooking, you can experiment with different textures too, from buttery-soft to flaky-yet-moist, achieving results that are hard to replicate with other cooking techniques.
Sous Vide Salmon Temperature and Time
Salmon is very sensitive to temperature, the cooking temperature has a decisive impact on its final texture, and even a few degrees difference can result in overcooking or undercooking. Fortunately, I got the Typhur Sous Vide Station, which offers precision and consistency, reaching ±0.09˚F (0.05˚C) of accuracy. This allows me to cook salmon without any worry.
Here are some recommended temperatures for cooking salmon. I prefer cooking salmon at 113°F (45°C) for 50 minutes. This results in an extremely moist and smooth texture with a slight flakiness.
Adjusting the cooking time for different thicknesses of salmon filets is also crucial. Thicker filets might need up to an hour to achieve the perfect doneness.
Sous Vide Salmon Temperature Chart
| Like firm sashimi | 104°F (40°C) |
| Translucent and starting to flake | 113°F (45°C) |
| Very moist, tender, and flaky | 122°F (50°C) |
| Firm, moist, and flaky | 131°F (55°C) |
Ingredients for Sous Vide Salmon
When preparing Sous Vide Salmon, selecting the right ingredients is crucial to achieving that perfect, delectable result.
Salmon Filets
Pacific or Atlantic salmon are the most common and readily available types. Look for filets that appear moist and vibrant in color. Avoid any pieces with brown spots or discolorations. The skin should be intact and not curling at the edges. Freshness is key, so if it smells overly fishy, it might not be the freshest.
Note: Whether you’re preparing a single serving of salmon or a meal for a larger group, the process remains consistent, without needing to adjust the cook time, It ensures each filet is perfectly cooked.
Others
- Kosher salt
- Unsalted butter or olive oil (depending on your preference)
- Fresh cracked pepper
- Fresh thyme
- Garlic clove, whole and crushed (skin on)
- High-temperature oil for searing (such as canola, grape seed, or avocado oil)
How to Sous Vide Salmon
- Prepare the Water Bath
Add enough water to the sous vide container to ensure that the ingredients are fully submerged and the minimum quantity of water is reached. Complete setup by securing the circulator tower to the sous vide container.
- Choose the Doneness
I’m using Typhur Sous Vide Station which has preset the temperature for different doneness. I chose 113°F (45°C) for 50 minutes for a tender with a warm center texture. The sous vide machine starts to preheat.
- Prepare the Salmon Filet
Make sure to remove the pin bones from the filet, before cutting into approximately 4oz portions.
- Seasoning
Moderately season each salmon filet with salt and fresh cracked pepper before placing them in the vacuum bag along with olive oil or unsalted butter, garlic, and thyme.
- Vacuum Sealing
Using the vacuum sealer, make sure that the salmon is completely sealed and that any excess air has been removed from the bag.
- Put it into Sous Vide Bath
To ensure your vacuum-sealed salmon stays submerged and cooks evenly in the sous vide bath, secure the snap weight to the bottom of the vacuum bag before carefully lowering it into the sous vide container. Secure the vacuum bag by inserting the bag clip into the rack.
- Sous Vide Cooking
Allow the salmon to sous vide for 50 minutes at 113°F (45°C) for a translucent and flaky texture.
- Remove the Filets from the Water Bath
Once the salmon has finished cooking, carefully remove the filets from the water bath. Remove the salmon from the bag along with the herbs and garlic to a paper towel-lined plate or a sheet tray. Before searing, thoroughly dry the skin of each filet with a paper towel.
- Searing
Place a non-stick sauté pan over high heat and add high-temperature cooking oil. When the oil begins to smoke lightly, carefully place the salmon filets in the pan. Sear each side for approximately 1 minute. When searing the last side, add the butter and aromatics to the pan and spoon the aromatic butter over the salmon filets.
- Serve
Enjoy your salmon with some simply sautéed veggies, over rice, or on a bed of salad greens for a healthy weeknight dinner.
Sous Vide Salmon
Video
Equipment
- Vacuum Sealer
- Vacuum Bag
- Non-stick Pan
- Spoon
- Paper Towels
- Chef Knife
- Fish Spatula
- Fishbone Pliers Clip
Ingredients
For Sous Viding the Salmon
- 8 oz Salmon Filet skin and pin bones removed
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 tbsp Unsalted Butter or Olive Oil, for sous vide cooking
- 10 turns Fresh Cracked Pepper
- 1 sprig Fresh Thyme
- 1 each Garlic Clove, whole skin on crushed
For Searing the Salmon
- 1 tbsp High Temperature Oil: canola oil, grape seed oil, avocado oil
- 1 tbsp Unsalted Butter, for basting (optional)
Instructions
- Add enough water to the sous vide container to ensure that the ingredients are fully submerged and the minimum quantity of water is reached. Complete set up by securing the circulator tower to the sous vide container.
- Choose your preferred doneness.Taste: Tender with a warm center Temperature: 113.0 °F Time: 50 minutes
- Make sure to remove the pin bones from the filet, before cutting into approximately 4 oz portions.8 oz Salmon Filet
- Moderately season each salmon filet with salt and fresh cracked pepper before placing them in the vacuum bag along with olive oil or unsalted butter, garlic, and thyme.8 oz Salmon Filet, 1 tsp Kosher Salt, 10 turns Fresh Cracked Pepper, 1 sprig Fresh Thyme, 1 each Garlic Clove, whole skin on crushed, 1 tbsp Unsalted Butter or Olive Oil, for sous vide cooking
- Using the vacuum sealer, make sure that the salmon is completely sealed and that any excess air has been removed from the bag.
- Secure the snap weight to the bottom of the vacuum bag before carefully lowering it into the sous vide container. Secure the vacuum bag by inserting the bag clip into the rack.
- Allow the salmon to sous vide for the duration of the given cooking time.
- Once the salmon has finished cooking, carefully remove the filets from the water bath. Remove the salmon from the bag along with the herbs and garlic to a paper towel-lined plate or a sheet tray. Before searing, thoroughly dry the skin of each filet with a paper towel.
- Place a non-stick sauté pan over high heat and add high-temperature cooking oil. When the oil begins to smoke lightly, carefully place the salmon filets in the pan. Sear each side for approximately 1 minute. When searing the last side, add the butter and aromatics to the pan and spoon the aromatic butter over the salmon filets.1 tbsp High Temperature Oil: canola oil, grape seed oil, avocado oil, 1 tbsp Unsalted Butter, for basting (optional)
- Enjoy your salmon with some simply sautéed veggies, over rice, or on a bed of salad greens for a healthy weeknight dinner.
Nutrition PER SERVING
(Nutrition information is calculated automatically by Spoonacular API and should be considered an estimate.)
