Sautéing

To sauté successfully you need a to preheat a heavy-bottomed pan with a little bit of oil or clarified butter in it before putting in the pieces of salmon. It’s important that the pan be as hot as possible—but not so hot that it will burn whatever cooking fat you’re using—before you add the salmon. If the salmon starts to brown too quickly, or even burn, you can always turn the heat down once the salmon’s surface is browned. If you sauté at too low a temperature, the salmon will never brown, or even worse, it will release juices and boil instead of forming a crust. The salmon pieces should be dry before you put them in the pan, again to help them brown. Cooks often make the mistake of seasoning the salmon with salt and pepper several minutes before sautéing, which draws moisture out of the fish and makes it wet. When seasoning 30 minutes to 4 hours ahead of time—something I recommend since it allows the flavor of the salt and pepper to penetrate into the fish—be sure to pat the fish dry with a paper towel before putting it in the pan. Otherwise, sprinkle the salmon with salt and pepper immediately before putting it in the pan. An even better method, which firms up the salmon and makes it less likely to stick, is to soak thin pieces of salmon in brine for an hour and thicker pieces for 2 hours and then pat them dry and season them with pepper just before sautéing.