Dry brining salmon is a simple technique that results in incredibly moist, flavorful fish with a seasoned crust While wet brining requires soaking the salmon in a saltwater solution, dry brining relies on a salty, sugary dry rub to season the fish If you’re looking for an easy way to take your salmon game to the next level, learning how to properly dry brine salmon is a must.
What is Dry Brining?
Dry brining, which is also called dry salting, is the process of covering salmon fillets with a mix of salt, sugar, and sometimes spices and putting them in the fridge for a few hours. During this time, the salt penetrates deep into the flesh, seasoning it throughout. The salt also pulls water out of the fish, making it firmer and better able to hold its shape when cooked.
The added sugar balances out the harshness of the salt giving the salmon a lovely sweetness and caramelized exterior when seared or roasted. Dry brining makes the salmon incredibly flavorful locks in moisture so it doesn’t dry out, and eliminates the need to season right before cooking.
How Long to Dry Brine Salmon
When dry brining salmon, you’ll want to let it rest in the fridge for at least 12 hours, but no longer than 24 hours. Any less time won’t allow the salt and sugar to properly penetrate and season the fish. Exceeding 24 hours risks making the salmon too salty and drying it out.
A good rule of thumb is to dry brine salmon fillets that are 12 to 18 hours thick for 12 to 24 hours thick. No matter how thick the salmon is, it should always be cooked within that 12 to 24 hour window.
Dry Brining Steps
Dry brining salmon is surprisingly easy and requires just a few simple steps:
1. Make the Dry Brine
To start, mix equal parts kosher salt and brown sugar to make your dry brine. I like to use 1/4 cup of each for every pound of salmon, but you can change the amounts to your liking.
You can also add extra flavor to the brine with minced garlic, lemon zest, crushed peppercorns, herbs like dill or rosemary, or a dash of soy sauce. Use spices sparingly though, as their flavors will concentrate.
2. Coat the Salmon
Rinse the salmon fillets and pat them dry with paper towels. Place them in a baking dish or large sealable plastic bag. Generously coat all sides of the salmon with the dry brine mixture, pressing it lightly so it adheres.
Make sure the fish is completely and evenly covered for proper seasoning. If needed, you can apply more brine halfway through.
3. Refrigerate
Cover the salmon tightly with plastic wrap or seal the bag, removing excess air. Refrigerate for 12-24 hours depending on thickness. Flip the fillets over at least once during brining.
4. Rinse and Dry
After brining, rinse the salmon under cold water to remove any excess salt and sugar. Pat it very dry with paper towels.
5. Rest at Room Temp
Finally, let the salmon rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking. This helps form a tacky pellicle on the surface that results in a better sear.
Cooking Dry Brined Salmon
Thanks to dry brining, the salmon is already perfectly seasoned inside and out. You can simply cook it as desired without much additional seasoning needed.
It works great with almost any cooking method – baking, broiling, grilling, pan-searing, or smoking. Just be sure to adjust cook times since the drier flesh will cook a little more quickly.
Aim for an internal temp of 125°F for medium-rare doneness. Let rest before serving.
Dry Brining Tips
- Use fresh, sushi grade salmon if possible for the best results
- Kosher salt is ideal since its large flakes distribute well and adhere to the fish
- Sprinkle a very light layer of salt before searing to further season the crust
- Add fresh herbs or citrus slices on top while cooking for extra flavor
- Take care not to overcook, as dry brined salmon can go from perfect to dried out quickly
Dry Brining Benefits
Dry brining salmon has numerous advantages over regular wet brining:
- Infuses the salmon with deep, concentrated flavor
- Makes the flesh firm yet incredibly moist and juicy
- Provides excellent seasoning that penetrates fully into the fish
- Reduces splatter during cooking due to less moisture
- Forms a delicious caramelized crust when seared
- Prevents the salmon from drying out when cooked
- Allows for easier portioning before or after cooking
- Lets you prepare the salmon ahead of time for easy weeknight meals
For seriously tasty salmon that’s juicy and packed with flavor, dry brining is hands-down one of the best techniques you can use. Follow these simple steps to learn how to dry brine salmon and you’ll never go back to cooking it plain again. This technique works for all salmon varieties – Atlantic, wild, farmed, and more.
So next time you’re planning an easy yet impressive salmon dinner, turn to dry brining. It takes just a bit of forethought for salmon that’s perfectly seasoned, unbelievably moist, and an absolute crowd-pleaser.
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It’s good to see Kenji explain the difference between the Kosher Salt and Table Salt brands once more. A lot of people should know about this because it changes recipes so much and causes a lot of trouble for people who follow recipes and think salt is salt. For table salt, the cubes are small, Mortons Kosher is big and flat, and Diamond Crystal Kosher is big and fluffy. For a given volume (ie a tablespoon), the shape affects how much fits. More = up to 2x saltier.
That’s not clear. Do you salt the filets’ skin side first, or do you salt the flesh side first and then turn them skin side up?
I saw this procedure on Kenjis Instagram and tried it with frozen wild Sockeye fillets. The night before, I let the fillets thaw in the fridge. The next morning, I patted them dry, salted both sides (that is, all over), and put them on a plate lined with paper towels in the fridge until dinner. The result was perfectly crisp skin, no spatter, and deliciously moist salmon. I will not make pan-seared salmon any other way now. Thank you, Kenji!.
When cooking salmon from a grocery store, even pre-portioned frozen packages, I recommend splashing it with sake and letting it rest for five to ten minutes before patting it dry. Then add the salt. As Nami Chen of “Just One Cookbook” fame notes, this will remove any hint of fishy odors. The salted fillets will be cured in the fridge for up to a week after I make it. I’ll wrap them in paper towels and put them in a Ziploc bag with the air squeezed out. b&.
The expensive Fleur de Sel and Maldon salts are used to finish a dish. Their crystals give the food a different texture. It would be a waste of nice salt and money to use this method where the salt would get completely mixed into the salmon.
I’d like to know why sea salt, in all its many beautiful forms and variations (from fleur de sel to Maldon flakes), is rarely, if ever, used in NYT Cooking recipes. What’s with this Kosher salt monopoly? Is it something that people in New York just do? Especially with seafood. and in this case, here with salmon. why would I prefer kosher to proper sea salt?.
He says to salt all over – in other words, both sides.
We have been doing this for years. Salt the skin only. You want to use enough salt such that you cant see the skin peering through from below. Wait 30 minutes. Rinse salt off with cold water then pat the fillet completely dry with paper towels. Pan fry skin side down. Overnight salting is not necessary – who has time?. Table salt is just fine – its going to be washed away. When we use this method on a hot stainless steel pan with good oil, the skin doesn’t stick.
It seems that using the stated amount of salt would yield a very salty entrée. What am I missing?.
Prepared a giant Costco filet of salmon as Kenji directed. The results were amazing: much more appealing texture, better flavor and far less mess to clean up. I didn’t separate it into servings until after I cooked it: much easier all around.
Should you rinse the remaining salt off before cooking or just start frying away?
Are you salting only the skin side, or both sides of the salmon?
Could someone explain why pan-frying is better than roasting with the skin side up? This is how I like to cook and it always turns out great.
Let the fillets sit in the fridge uncovered for at least 30 minutes, or as long as you can, to avoid brining them overnight. Press and pat them dry as much as possible, then sprinkle them with kosher salt and black pepper. Clean them off again with a soft cloth and place them skin-side down in a very hot cast iron skillet with a screen cover for one or two minutes. Then flip for 10 secs for color. Prolly not as good as the recipe, but similar results.
I live in Alaska and we never scale salmon. Might be different for farmed.
I was not at all impressed with this process. The change in fresh salmon was disagreeable. I cannot recommend the process.
I thought this made a piece of fish that was mostly salty, like cooking smoked salmon that you can buy in the UK, and I didn’t like it. I will not have much respect for his advice going forward.
Arrrgh. Way tooooo salty. All the subtle salmon flavour is obliterated
Has anyone tried this with any other type of fish besides salmon?
Wow, followed directions, even wiped some salt off, and it was still waaaaay too salty. I only salted the fleshy side. Or did I only need to salt the skin side? I’m going to rinse the rest of the fillet and use it in salad.
It never occurred to me to use the same dry brine method to make tasty, tender, nonstick salmon for dinner. I’ve made gravlax and hot smoked salmon this way before. It’s an easy method for foolproof salmon.
Excellent recipe! I used in on pan-fried steelhead trout. I have a hard time cooking fish because I’m not very good in the kitchen, but this turned out great, and I loved that it didn’t spill.
I’ve been dry brining salmon for years with a 5:1 ratio of salt to sugar by weight and a little black pepper for just 15 to 20 minutes before rinsing, drying, re-seasoning, and pan searing on high heat with the skin side down for a few minutes while pressing on the fish to make the most contact with the pan and keep it from warping as the flesh tightens. Then I flip it over and cook it for another minute. Broil some veggies and prep some farro or rice while all this is going on. Dinner in <30 minutes from start to finish.
I used frozen fillets every time and made this more than twice. This last time I figured, let’s try and brine them directly from frozen. When I took it out of the fridge after a day of dry-brining, I thought it would be a wet mess, but to my delight, it was pretty much the same as when I would have thawed it first and dry-brined it—maybe even firmer, which was better! From now on, I will dry-brine straight from frozen!
Divided a big piece of sockeye in so I could try both broiling & pan frying methods. I really liked broiled for three reasons: 1) the skin stayed on; For ref. , my oven rack was 8 in. from broiler & I cooked 8 min for well done. Perfection! Will try w/ king salmon next time as sockeye was too lean for me.
I am obsessed with this method. We recently were gifted a good amount of Alaskan salmon, and I made it this way every time. So good, unmatched. The only way Ill cook salmon with/without any sauce. I use the broiler method and love it!! I tell everyone I know!.
This method works really well, especially for getting the skin crispy! I love that the fish is more season all over, and it’s pretty amazing how it stops sticking. Because the sides were still so pink at 105, I didn’t think it would be medium-rare, so I waited until 115 to take it out of the pan. But Kenji was right. Eating it at medium was still great.
simply spectacular. The sockeye salmon I used was about 1 lb and flaky. The salmon was more solid than any salmon I had ever had, but still moist (about 6 minutes on high broil). the crunchy skin was a fantastic complement to the firm yet moist flesh. This will be my go to recipe for a quick, delish & classy dinner plate.
I’ve made this recipe several times and it always turns out really well. I never overcook my salmon with this method. Maybe it wouldn’t be a good idea to rinse the fish because that would undo the work of drying it. It might be too salty, so use less salt and think about making changes based on the filet’s size. It’s definitely a little saltier but it shouldn’t taste so salty it’s inedible.
I just made this and I am finding it hard to understand many of the comments. This is some of the best salmon Ive had. It wasn’t very salty, and I’m wondering if some people used table salt instead of Kosher salt. Private notes are only visible to you.
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How to Dry Brine Salmon
FAQ
How to brine salmon before cooking?
What is the ratio of sugar to salt in dry brine?
How long does it take to dry salmon?
How to do a dry brine?
How do you Dry Brine salmon?
Or go sweet and salty with the dry brine by using two parts brown sugar to one part coarse salt. What is dry brining? Dry brining is a technique where a mixture of salt and other seasonings is applied directly to the surface of salmon fillets, allowing the flavors to penetrate the fish while drawing out the excess moisture.
What are the benefits of smoked salmon over raw salmon?
It actually has the same characteristics as raw salmon, being relatively low in calories, it is an excellent source of protein, good fat and several vitamins and minerals. The smoking process just adds an aroma.
How long should you brine salmon?
You should brine for one hour. The salt helps to draw out moisture from the fish and infuse it with flavor. Please note, to ensure food safety, dry brining should always be done in the refrigerator. How do I know when the salmon is cooked?
How do you make smoked salmon dry brine?
To make a smoked salmon dry brine, you will need the following ingredients: In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and kosher salt. Spread a thin layer of the brown sugar mixture in the bottom of a 9-inch baking pan. Arrange 2 to 3 salmon fillets on top of the brown sugar mixture.