Crispy skin is one of the true delights of cooking fish like salmon, trout or bass. The combination of perfectly cooked fish and skin so crisp you could strike a match on it is in my opinion one of the best textural experiences in the culinary world.

Too often I find people removing the skin, largely due to bad experiences eating fish improperly prepared resulting in soggy, rubbery skin. No thanks! But once you get these few steps down and nail your first fillet, you’ll never go back to sans-skin, trust me.

Salmon is a great fish to start with on this. It’s firm enough that it holds up well in the pan during flipping, and has lots of natural oils which help it to crisp up more easily.

Step 1: Preheat oven to 325F. Start with a smaller piece of fillet (5 oz or so, skin on of course). Ensure all the scales of the fish are removed by running the blade of a knife against the direction of the scales across the skin. Rinse under cold water.

Step 2: The most important factor in crisping skin is removing as much excess water as possible from the skin. Excess moisture will cause steam and prevent the skin from browning properly. Dry the fish thoroughly with a paper towel. Next, use the blade of a knife and draw it over the skin. This is called the “Squeegee” technique and is designed to draw out excess moisture from the skin. Dry again with paper towel.

Step 3: Using a good size sauté pan, heat over med-hi heat. Coat the bottom of the pan a thin layer of vegetable oil or a similar good high heat oil. It is very important to ensure the oil gets hot enough before placing the fish in the pan. It should be hot enough to sizzle right away, but not hot enough that the oil is smoking, this will cook the skin too quickly causing it to burn before it crisps.

Step 4: Season the fillet with salt and pepper and place skin side down in the hot pan. Cook for approximately 5-6 minutes, until the fish is nearly cooked through, and the skin is golden. Flip the fish and place immediately in the oven to continue cooking for an additional 3 minutes.

Remove from the oven and serve…..skin on!