Poached Salmon is the most fool-proof method of cooking salmon. Gently simmering salmon in a deeply flavorful broth with wine and aromatics keeps the fish intact, gets to the exact moist and tender "doneness," and best of all, it's quick, easy, and healthy! Shall we?
What is Poached Salmon | What Ingredients You Need to Poach Salmon | Best Kind of Salmon for Poaching | How to Make Poached Salmon | Pro Tips and Tricks | Tools and Equipment | What to Serve | Wine Pairing | RECIPE
What is Poached Salmon
This Poached Salmon recipe cooks salmon by barely simmering it in a pot of flavorful broth of wine, water, and aromatics, which keeps the salmon light and more tender and moist than more aggressive, high-heat forms of cooking like pan-searing, grilling, or baking.
"Poaching" refers to an easy, gentle method of cooking in which food is submerged in barely simmering water or broth. At the lower heat, food cooks more evenly and finishes tender and moist . Foods that are more delicate like fish, or are prone to overcooking and thus drying out like chicken, are perfect for poaching.
Poaching can be done in a few different ways, from using very little liquid, which is more like steaming, to the more classic definition of fully submerging the food.
This Poached Salmon recipe uses a simple combination of water, wine, and lightly aromatic herbs to fully cover and cook the fish.
Health and Dietary Considerations
This Poached Salmon recipe is:
- dairy-free
- gluten-free
- sugar-free
- anti-inflammatory
- keto and Whole30 adaptable if you replace the wine with water or bone broth
What Ingredients You Need for Poached Salmon
Fresh/refrigerator ingredients:
- salmon, 4 6-ounce filets or 1½ pounds total, at least ¾-inch thick
- garlic, 4 cloves lightly crushed
- lemon, 1 cut crosswise into ¼-inch round sunshines
- onion, ½ cut into ¼-inch slices
- fresh parsley, dill, and/or chives
Dry/pantry ingredients
- water, 2 cups plus more as needed
- white or rosé wine, 2 cups or sub: more water or broth
- sea salt, 1 teaspoon
Best Kind of Salmon for Poaching?
The truth is, because poaching is the gentlest form of cooking, you can use any kind of salmon without having to worry about overcooking, drying out, or breaking apart. That being said, here are my personal favorite kinds of salmon for poaching.
Wild Sockeye Salmon
Sockeye salmon, which is the deeper red filet in the photo above, is becoming the new house favorite, especially for poaching. Sockeye has a more robust color and flavor than king salmon, is generally more affordable, and has a longer season so you will find it fresh earlier in the year and well into summer and even fall. It is also leaner than other varieties of salmon, which is great because poaching has a lot of liquid for it to swim in. Sockeye salmon is a smaller fish, so the fillets will be thinner, which means it cooks faster too, making it even better.
Wild King Salmon
Wild king salmon, also known as chinook, has historically been my favorite salmon for ANY recipe, and is generally in season May-September. King salmon is richer in texture but slightly lighter in flavor than other varieties of salmon like coho and sockeye. In Los Angeles, I get my seafood from Santa Monica Seafood.
You can substitute almost any other fish for salmon, like cod, a firm, flaky white fleshed fish, and even thin delicate fish like petrale sole. Simply adjust the cooking time on the fish to account for thinner fillets.
What Kind of Wine for Poaching Salmon?
Use whatever dry white or rosé wine you have open and are drinking while cooking.
A citrus-forward Sauvignon Blanc to complement the lemon in the poaching liquid, or an unoaked Chardonnay are great choices here. I have also made Poached Salmon with dry rosé and shockingly, Champagne.
All other fresh herbs and produce from either the Santa Monica Farmers' Market on Wednesday, or Whole Foods Market when I can't find what I need at the farmers' market.
How to Make Poached Salmon
You can use salmon cut into individual filets or a large piece that you can cut after poaching.
If you haven't already, run your hands over the surface of the salmon to check for any pin bones that the fishmonger may have missed and pull them out. A pair of kitchen tweezers works best for this. If the salmon has skin, also be sure to scrape off any rogue scales with the back of a knife.
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan with at least 2-inch high sides, place 4 cloves lightly crushed garlic, slices from 1 lemon, slices from ½ onion, and fresh parsley in a single layer.
Place salmon skin side down onto the vegetables. Gently pour in 2 cups water, 2 cups wine, and 1 teaspoon salt. Add additional water so the poaching liquid reaches to just the top surface of the salmon.
Set the saucepan over medium heat and bring the liquid to a bare simmer, which means there is movement in the liquid, but no large bubbles. Do not let the liquid boil.
Poach the salmon until the temperature in the thickest part reaches 120°F for medium (** see note below), or until the salmon flakes apart easily with a fork. For salmon that it ¾-inch thick, this will take about 8 minutes from the start of the liquid simmering.
Gently lift the salmon out of the poaching liquid to a plate to rest. Two large spatulas will work well for this. The salmon will continue to "cook" for a few minutes while resting. Discard the poaching liquid.
Garnish with chopped fresh chives, dill, and parsley and serve.
Pro-Tips and Techniques for Poached Salmon
Q: How much salmon should I buy?
A: Allot 4-6 oz of salmon for each serving, which amounts to 1-1½ pounds total for this recipe. Cooked salmon will keep in the refrigerator for up to three days, so go ahead and make the bigger portion. You will be happy to flake the leftovers into pasta or a bowl of whole grains and drizzle with leftover lemony, caper-y piccata sauce the next day.
Q: What type of skillet or pan should I use to sear salmon?
A: I use a 10-inch saucepan with a heavy, flat bottom and 2-inch high sides. You can use a regular pot, but it will be slightly more difficult to lift the poached salmon out of the pot intact.
Q: Can you double the recipe? Can you make half the recipe?
A: You can very easily ratio the recipe up or down!
Q: Cook in advance?
A: Yes! You can make Poached Salmon in advance. Poached Salmon will keep in the refrigerator in a sealed container for about three days, which makes Poached Salmon a great recipe for meal prep. However, the recipe comes together so quickly, there's no need to do anything too far in advance.
Tools and Equipment
- Kitchen tweezers to pull any rogue pin bones from the salmon
- Chef's knife, this one is the my kitchen workhorse
- 10-inch saucepan with heavy bottom and high straight sides
- Fish spatula to lift the poached fish out of the pan (with wooden handles if you're trying to phase plastics out of your kitchen!)
- favorite stoneware serving platter with handles! (the mediterranean blue that I have is sold out everywhere, but love this deep red)
- extra large, sturdy, stable cutting board - this is the actual 20x15 inch size I have
How to Serve Poached Salmon: Best Sauces
A generous piece of simple poached omega-3-rich salmon is the ultimate blank canvas upon which to build an entire meal! Add something green, and whatever little space you have left on plate, fill in with a little bit of complex carbs. Here are some favorites:
Healthy sauces to serve with Poached Salmon:
- Italian Salsa Verde - the all-time favorite in this house!!!
- Peruvian Aji Verde
- Green Olive Salsa Verde
- Miso Mustard Sauce
Best Side Dishes with Poached Salmon
- simple garlic sautéed asparagus or spinach!
- Caesar-ish tri-colore salad, staying right in the ocean theme
- LOVE a roasted broccoli, or steamed if you want to keep all your cooking on the stovetop
Best Healthy Salmon Recipes
What is the Best Wine to Pair with Poached Salmon
Fish almost always calls for a crisp, white wine, and salmon is no different, especially in this classic poached preparation. An unoaked Chardonnay that leans a little citrus is a great pairing. If you're "not a Chardonnay person," that's cool (and we'll change that later). Try a Sauvignon Blanc that's citrusy, with only a hint of herbs.
But salmon itself is rich in flavor and fats so it can also handle a light- to medium-bodied red. My favorite Italian red grape, Sangiovese, which is used in familiar Chianti and Rosso di Montalcino, is a great example of a medium-bodied red wine that works well with food. I love this Rosso di Montalcino, shockingly affordable.
For something a little more fun, this wine is made from California-grown sangiovese, and fermented as whole clusters in a process called carbonic maceration so the wine has a slight natural fizz.
For more tips on pairing wine with food, check out this post about wines from Paso Robles, California, and this post about wines from Santa Barbara, California.
Poached Salmon Recipe
Ingredients
for Poaching Liquid
- 4 cloves garlic lightly crushed
- 1 lemon, cut crosswise into ¼-inch sunshines (rounds)
- ½ onion, cut into ¼-inch slices
- 4 sprigs fresh parsley
- 4 6-ounce filets of salmon at least ¾-inch thick
- 2 cups water, plus more as needed
- 2 cups white or rosé wine sub: more water
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- chopped fresh parsley, dill, and/or chives for garnish
Instructions
- In a saucepan with at least 2-inch high sides, place 4 cloves lightly crushed garlic, slices from 1 lemon, slices from ½ onion, and fresh parsley in a single layer.
- Place salmon skin side down onto the vegetables. Gently pour in 2 cups water, 2 cups wine, and 1 teaspoon salt. Add additional water so the poaching liquid reaches to just the top surface of the salmon.
- Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring the liquid to a bare simmer, which means there is movement in the liquid, but no large bubbles. Do not let the liquid boil.
- Poach the salmon until the temperature in the thickest part reaches 120°F for medium (** see note below), or until the salmon flakes apart easily with a fork. For salmon that it ¾-inch thick, this will take about 8 minutes from the start of the liquid simmering.
- Gently lift the salmon out of the poaching liquid to a plate to rest. The salmon will continue to "cook" for a few minutes while resting. Discard the poaching liquid.
- Garnish with chopped fresh chives, dill, and parsley and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Food for Afterthoughts
After all the excitement leading up to Easter sunday, I was disappointed when a big family brunch at my place fell through. Still, even if I had to set the table for Tickle-Me-Elmo and my stuffed hippo Happie, dammit!, I was going to make brunch! Thank goodness for guests who came though at the end, else no one would have appreciated what I couldn’t believe turned out to be picture perfect poached salmon my first time. (All my stuffed animals are on glp-1s, so they wouldn’t have touched the stuff.)
I’ve watched many a celebrity chef poach foods on tv, and with all the detailed instructions, “be careful to do this” and “make sure you do that,” I thought my first few amateur attempts would understandably leave me with watery, overcooked fish. First one out of the gate and it came out a winner. You see, although there is a technique, there’s no talent for making poached salmon. Those silly chefs just purposely make it look hard so that they look like culinary geniuses when their salmon cooks into perfect, tender, flaky filets. But I’m onto them now. Next thing you know, I’ll determine soufflés are nothing more than a piece of cake. Literally.
Anonymous says
that salmon looks AMAZING! you should have invited me over!!!-Eve
Anonymous says
They were amazing! -Figi.
sarah j. gim says
hee hee! thanks, guys! my next eggs-periment will be eggs benedict with poached eggs - and you are all invited for SURE!
James says
I have an egg poaching thing that has these little cups w/ holes in the bottom for each egg that come out of the pan, it was only like 30 bucks at William Sonoma and you can do four eggs ata time in it.
Where's the recipe for the hollandaise? I don't like it super lemony...how's yours taste?
(I LIKE EGGS BENEDICT A LOT, FYI)
sarah j. gim says
yeah, not so lemony...more like, buttery, creamy, FATTY - haha! and you have called me out - i used a *gasp!* package to make the hollandaise. i cheated.
James says
I admitedly glossed over the end where it says that...'doh!
What brand package then?
sarah j. gim says
a chef can't reveal all her secrets, now can she?!?!
okay, this is how cheap i am - i think it was actually the in-store generic brand! ralph's, brown package. $1.99 :)
Anonymous says
so why is your picture the same as the one on this website? http://www.slashfood.com/2006/04/13/garden-party-smoked-salmon-benedict/
can you say copyright infringement and intellectual dishonesty?!
sarah says
anonymous: don't worry. they checked with me before they used it!
sarah says
donut: that's right. one step beyond martha keeping her own chickens and laying those darn eggs myself. :)
d* says
next time, i could probably lay the eggs myself.haha!!looks SO good!
Anonymous says
amazing i made it for mothers day! happy mothers day everybody!
chow
frenchiefries says
I am going to poach something if it kills me.
TheDelicious says
TKell's Poached Salmon recipe from the Ad Hoc cookbook is on TasteSpotting:
http://www.tastespotting.com/features/poached-salmon-thomas-keller-ad-hoc-at-home-recipe