# How would you broil salmon?



## crankin (Oct 7, 2009)

Hi

So I want to perfect broiled salmon using my new oven (just moved into an apartment) and there are two factors that I am uncertain of:

Broil temp: Hi or Lo
Rack position: highest or one down from highest

Which do you think would be the best starting point?  And... for whatever one you recommend, would there be an approximate cooking time?  My guess is that salmon would take about 5-6 minutes if using the high setting?  But this would depend on the rack position I suppose....


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## Dillbert (Oct 7, 2009)

... long winded.....

"broiling" is the application of radiant heat from above the 'cookee'

go for high.

next problem - many oven "temperature control" even the broiler.  I have to prop open the door with some wadded up alum foil to keep the dang broiler elements going (i.e. red hot)

they do a limited amount of 'broiling' when turned off. . . when they cycle on and off you get a combo of "baked" and "broiled" fish.

presuming the elements are on and red hot during the entire process:

"closer'' means faster - faster means "less time forgiving" before the top surface goes "burnt" (radiant energy decreases by the square of the distance - twice as far away = one fourth the radiant energy at the salmon surface....)

so - all things being unequal - start on the second rack distance and see how it goes.


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## GrillingFool (Oct 7, 2009)

This is from a recipe by Alton Brown...
I have found that his advice on cooking to 131 degree internal temperature is spot on! My salmon always comes out sweet and moist that way. 



> Preheat oven to the high broiler setting. Place salmon in the oven 6-inches from broiler. Cook until salmon reaches an internal temperature of 131 degrees F. This will take approximately 15 minutes, but will vary with different ovens. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes, and then serve immediately. Note that the internal temperature of the fish will a rise a little as carry-over cooking occurs.


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## BreezyCooking (Oct 7, 2009)

Okay - I just made broiled salmon filets last night.  As usual I preheated the oven (with the door cracked open) at "Broiler High" for 10 minutes.  Rack was in the topmost position. 

During that time, I lined the bottom of the broiler pan with aluminum foil, & sprayed the top pan with olive-oil spray.  Placed marinated salmon filets on top pan & set in oven.  These were relatively thin filets, so set timer for 6 minutes.  Salmon was perfectly done.

Of course, since oven temps differ, it's best to err on the low side & start checking your fish after 4 minutes or so.  After 12 years, I'm used to my oven so am pretty good at estimating broiler times for it.


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## crankin (Oct 7, 2009)

I posted this in part because I've tried 1 or 2 times and haven't quite got the results I wanted.  Maybe my oven temperature just isn't intense enough - by the time the salmon looks nice on the surface (nicely browned, crust) - it is way overcooked.  In my old oven, it was beautiful - the surface came out golden and crisp with moist interior.  But maybe I just didn't let the broiler heat up enough before putting them in.

I'll give it another test-run tonight.


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## Dillbert (Oct 7, 2009)

crankin said:


> I posted this in part because I've tried 1 or 2 times and haven't quite got the results I wanted.  Maybe my oven temperature just isn't intense enough - by the time the salmon looks nice on the surface (nicely browned, crust) - it is way overcooked.  In my old oven, it was beautiful - the surface came out golden and crisp with moist interior.  But maybe I just didn't let the broiler heat up enough before putting them in.
> 
> I'll give it another test-run tonight.



forgetting the preheat bit, the bit about how close to the broiler is answered.

in the configuration used, the salmon got "over baked" in the time it took for the broiler to make it "golden and crisp"

you can't do anything about the broiler elements, you can do something about the distance between element and fish.

it's a balance between the heat input:  
too much too fast = burnt top
too little too slow = overcooked
just right = golden crisp on top, cooked nicely in the middle/bottom.

don't overlook "carry over" cooking..... the very bottom may not be "done" when you pull it, but residual heat from the top will transfer through the fish to 'finish' the cooking.


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## BreezyCooking (Oct 7, 2009)

Dillbert said:


> forgetting the preheat bit, QUOTE]
> 
> Uh, no.  You can't just "forget" the "preheat bit".  Way too many people snap on the broiler & shove their food in.  That's not the way it works.  Just as with the "bake" feature, you do need to preheat the oven regardless of what feature you're using.
> 
> For broiling, you need to preheat for 10 minutes.


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## Dillbert (Oct 7, 2009)

poorly phrased - agreed - "setting aside the preheat bit" would have been better, mebbe?  it's a given - preheat is good.....


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