For Moist And Flavorful Salmon, Use A Common Cooking Gadget

Foodie spoke with Kory Foltz, executive chef of Sunseeker Resort in Charlotte Harbor, Florida, about novel ways to cook fish ... and his answer was definitely something we didn't expect. We love using an Instant Pot for quick and effortless weeknight meals that minimize hands-on cooking time and deliver big flavor, but, we admit that we never considered using one to prepare our favorite flaky, pink seafood.

"Yes, you can cook salmon and other seafood in an Instant Pot," he says. "It's quick, keeps seafood moist, and locks in flavor." Foltz previously pointed out that poaching was an overlooked salmon cooking technique, so it wasn't that we didn't believe in his expertise, but we were initially skeptical. Turns out that he's totally right – the internet loves Instant Pot salmon because it cooks very quickly — it takes just one minute to bring a salmon plank of moderate thickness to a safe 145 degrees once the appliance comes to pressure — and turns out succulent and flaky. The Instant Pot is also an amazing way to infuse flavor into your fish, whether you choose a teriyaki sauce or honey Dijon mustard marinade, among countless other tasty options. 

So, how does it work? Pressure cooking allows the cooking liquid to penetrate deep into the tender flesh of the salmon, ensuring that every bite of your meal is flavorful. Also, you can cook frozen seafood just as quickly and easily as fresh with this method!

While the Instant Pot might just be the best method for cooking salmon that you haven't tried yet, chef Foltz warns that there are some tricks to getting it exactly right. "The downside is you won't get crispy skin, and the texture can be a bit more uniform, which some people don't love," he admits. "Plus, seafood cooks fast, so it's easy to overdo it if you're not careful." 

This doesn't mean that you shouldn't try pressure-cooking your salmon! Just use it for applications that don't beg for a nice, golden skin — our staff recipe for leftover salmon croquettes and sauce is a perfect example. A safe bet for not overcooking any kind of fish in the Instant Pot is to aim for ever-so-slightly undercooking it. Once the timer goes off and pressure is released, you can always put the lid back so passive (or "carryover") cooking can bring a barely-underdone filet up to temperature.

You can even cook a complete meal in your Instant Pot with salmon if you put the fish on a trivet and cook rice or potatoes beneath it at the same time. Grab a pouch of microwave veggies, and you have a meal that will come together quickly and cook hands-off while you do some after-work chores (or even unwind with a glass of wine). What's more, it can easily taste delicious and will nourish your whole family.