Sous vide salmon is the best hands-off method for making incredibly flakey, fall-apart tender salmon! The precision cooker will yield ultra-moist filets with hardly any prep work on your end.
Why this recipe works
Sous vide salmon produces the most delicate, juicy, and flakey salmon you’ll ever try. While we love baked salmon and grilled salmon, it can be a little tricky to find the sweet spot for doneness using these methods, but in this recipe, the precision cooker handles all the responsibility.
After its regulated water bath, we sear it with a kitchen torch for a nice crust. Alternatively, you can pan-sear the filets, but be careful not to overcook them during the process as they’ll be going into the pan already cooked.
Ingredients you will need
Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.
Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions
SALMON – Opt for fresh center-cut salmon, cut into 2 large filets.
HERBS – Fresh herbs lend tons of flavor. Season with your favorite aromatics as desired, we chose dill and rosemary.
How to Make Sous Vide Salmon
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.
- Fill sous vide water container and position sous video cooker into place. Preheat sous vide cooker to 130 F.
- In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, garlic salt, and pepper.
- Using gloved hands, coat both salmon filets (on both sides) with oil mixture.
- Break the rosemary sprig into a few smaller pieces. You don’t want it too small because you will be removing it after the salmon has cooked. Place the sprig pieces on top of seasoned salmon filets.
- Place each seasoned filet with fresh herbs into vacuum seal bags. Vacuum seal them shut.
- Sous vide the salmon for 45 minutes.
- Remove cooked salmon from bags, place on wire rack, and discard herbs.
- Use a kitchen torch to sear the outside of the cooked salmon.
Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips
Yes, you can use frozen salmon following the same instructions. Add an additional 25-30 minutes when cooking from frozen. Seasonings will not stick well to your salmon if frozen and you will not need the olive oil. However, you can still generously sprinkle salt and pepper over your frozen filets before cooking, granted that you purchased them non-vacuum sealed.
Instead of a kitchen torch, you can simply sear the sous vide salmon in a hot skillet with some olive oil or butter. You will want the pan hot so that you can sear it quickly. If you take too long to sear it, the fish is already cooked so it could begin to flake apart.
Serving Suggestions
Optionally top sous vide salmon with our rosemary cream sauce or enjoy as-is with a squeeze of lemon. Serve with a side of roasted potatoes and steamed or cooked vegetables like green beans, asparagus, broccoli, or carrots. You can also serve it over rice or lemon couscous. Enjoy!
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Sous Vide Salmon
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 1 ½ pounds center cut salmon cut into 2 large filets
- ½ Tablespoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 ½ Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 sprigs fresh herbs we used 1 rosemary and 1 dill
Things You’ll Need
Before You Begin
- Instead of a kitchen torch, you can simply sear the sous vide salmon in a hot skillet with some olive oil or butter. You will want the pan hot so that you can sear it quickly. If you take too long to sear it, the fish is already cooked so it could begin to flake apart.
Instructions
- Fill sous vide water container and position sous video cooker into place. Preheat sous vide cooker to 130 F.
- In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, garlic salt, and pepper.
- Using gloved hands, coat both salmon filets (on both sides) with oil mixture.
- Break rosemary sprig into a few smaller pieces. You don’t want it too small because you will be removing it after the salmon has cooked. Place sprig pieces on top of seasoned salmon filets.
- Place each seasoned filet with fresh herbs into vacuum seal bags. Vacuum seal them shut.
- Sous vide the salmon for 45 minutes.
- Remove cooked salmon from bags, place on wire rack, and discard herbs.
- Use kitchen torch to sear the outside of the cooked salmon.
Nutrition
Chef Antoine Davis
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CindyB says
While I haven’t actually made this recipe yet, I gave it 5 stars based on ingredients, ease & end-product visual. My dilemma, however, is that I don’t have a sous vide cooker. Is there any reason for not just using a pot of simmering water so long as a thermometer is used to maintain the cooking temperature?
Amanda Formaro says
We haven’t tried that but imagine it would work. However, something to keep in mind is that a pot on the stove will have a higher degree of water evaporation. So use the biggest pot you have and keep a second pot of water going to replenish your water if needed. You will need to keep an eye on it too and make sure that your water is staying at the temp you need. Should you end up enjoying the process, you will probably want to do it more. So get yourself a sous vide water container https://amzn.to/3WwOSvP and a sous video cooker https://amzn.to/3WxxzKu
CindyB says
Thank you, Amanda! All excellent advice! I will try it using your tips and if I’m able to turn out a successful dish, I’ll definitely be looking to purchase the proper tools for cooking it in the future. I live in Southcentral Alaska and am fortunate enough to be able to stock my freezer with fresh halibut & sockeye salmon that we catch ourselves, so we’re always looking for creative new ways to prepare it. Bon Appetit and Merry Christmas!