When you cook salmon, it is important that it is cooked properly. If it is cooked for too long, it will be too dry, hard, and lacking flavor. If it is undercooked, it will be tough and cold. The best way to enjoy salmon is to cook it to the perfect medium where it is light, flaky, and full of flavor.

Press on the Salmon with a Fork

The simplest way to tell if salmon is cooked is gently press down on the top of it with a fork. You should see it separate along the white lines across the top of the filet. If it flakes this way, it is ready to eat. If you continue cooking it at this point, it will dry out and be very crumbly when you cut it. When it is just right, it will easily flake off, fall apart, and melt in your mouth.

Use a Cake Tester

If you have a cake tester in your kitchen, you can use it to determine whether your salmon is finished cooking. The cake tester is a skinny metal rod and you stick it into the middle of the thickest part of the fish. You can hold it in place for approximately three seconds and then remove it. If you touch the tip of the cake tester to the skin under your bottom lip, feel whether it is warm. If it is, then the fish is cooked all the way through. If it is cold, you should continue cooking. You don’t want it to be hot because this means that the salmon is overcooked.

Cook it on Medium and Use a Meat Thermometer

It is important to make sure that you cook the salmon at a medium temperature. If you cook it on high heat, it can move from raw to overcooked in just a few minutes. If you prefer your salmon medium to medium rare, you will want the thermometer to read between 125 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit. If you like it more done, 145 degrees Fahrenheit is the ideal temperature. If you let it cook more than that, it will be overcooked.

When you are cooking salmon, it is important to know when it is cooked. If you cook it too long, it will dry out and lose all of its flavor. Follow these tips and your salmon will be just right.