Had to choose between cast iron and nonstick for my salmon last night

Picked the cast iron because I thought it would sear better, but I forgot to oil it enough and now my kitchen smells like burnt fish and regret. Anyone else made this mistake or should I just stick to nonstick for delicate stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

jordan_webb16d ago

Cast iron is a beast for searing salmon if you get it screaming hot and use enough oil (like a good coating, not just a drizzle). That burnt fish smell is rough though, it hangs around forever. A little trick I've learned is to preheat the pan slowly on medium for a few minutes before cranking it up, helps stop that instant burn-on. But honestly, for a quick weeknight salmon, a nice nonstick is way less fuss and your kitchen won't smell like a dockside fire. Just make sure you're not using metal utensils on it and you're golden.

hannahm3917d ago

Wait, you dry fried salmon in a cast iron with NO oil at all? Oh man, that's a tough lesson. I did almost the same thing last month with a pork chop and ended up with a crust of burnt meat powder welded to the pan for three days. For salmon, I'd say a decent nonstick is your friend unless you really baby that cast iron with a good slick of oil first.