How to Tell If Salmon Is Cooked?

Salmon is a tasty, quick-cooking seafood that can be prepared either on the stovetop, in the oven, or on the grill. Once you master the technique, cooking salmon is simple — that is when the key question is asked: how do you know when it's done?

Overcooked salmon is nothing more than a dry and tough piece of fish; dry to the touch, and trust me, nothing is worse than that. Read through this article to make sure you won't overdo this tasty fish!

How to Tell When Salmon Is Done?

Different salmon varieties come in various thicknesses and with different amounts of fat content, leading to all of them being cooked differently. Here are some ways by which you can tell if your salmon is finished cooking.

1. Check for color

Cooked salmon should be slightly pink, almost coral when done, while translucent pink indicates undercooking, and fully opaque pink indicates overcooking. Depending on the cooking method, the outside of the salmon may appear white, beige, or brown — and that's completely normal.

2. Check for flakiness

The flakiness test is an easy way to determine whether your salmon is good to serve since overcooked salmon crumbles right away at the touch of the fork or knife. Flakiness doesn't necessarily mean that the salmon actually “flakes", but rather that it somewhat resists flaking when pressed with a fork while still allowing you to tear off little bits of it.

To avoid tampering with the presentation of the dish, you can also insert the tip of a paring knife into the salmon. To test whether the flesh separates easily, hold the knife vertically and gently press it halfway down into the fish in one motion. Just a 1-inch depth cut is enough to get a glimpse into the salmon's center.

3. Use a food thermometer

The FDA recommends seafood in general to reach 145 °F for well done. However, for salmon, there are varying degrees of doneness that you can opt for based on personal preference.

In the thickest part of the salmon filet, the food thermometer should read:

125-140 °F for medium to well-done salmon.
110-125 °F for medium-rare salmon.
Below 110 °F for rare salmon.

Salmon will keep cooking even after you turn off the heat. This often requires 5 to 10 minutes of resting time. Therefore, make sure the salmon cooks to below 140 °F to avoid drying it out and making it tough.

Is It Okay If Salmon Is a Little Undercooked?

Cooking a salmon to a rare or medium-rare level that achieves a balance between the fish's safety and its tenderness, juiciness, and flavor is also an art. Salmon can go from raw to well-done in the blink of an eye and will continue to cook for a bit after being taken off the heat. So generally speaking, it's much better undercooked than overcooked.

Yes, rare or undercooked salmon is totally edible. However, it's important to note that you can’t just buy raw salmon from the store and eat it straight out of the package. Raw salmon must be properly stored, frozen, defrosted, and prepared properly. Check out the FDA's freezing guidelines for storage of frozen seafood.

Salmon is used in various dishes where it can either be raw or completely cooked. For example, raw salmon is often enjoyed in sushi, sashimi, ceviche, etc. but you can also find it cooked in pasta, soup, and many more. It all depends on your personal preference and the dish you're making.

How Long Does Salmon Take to Cook?

The cooking time for salmon changes according to the type of salmon you choose, the thickness of the filet, and the degree of doneness you prefer.

For example, when compared to farm-raised salmon (like Atlantic salmon) — which has a larger fat content and requires more baking time, wild-caught salmon (such as Sockeye or Coho salmon) is frequently thinner and cooks more quickly.

Check out our articles on different cooking methods for salmon for more precise cooking time:

Tips to Cook Salmon to Your Desired Doneness

Add the salmon filets with uniform thickness into the same cooking batch (the best bet is to choose filets that are no thicker than an inch).
Salmon should be salted or seasoned immediately before cooking. Long-term salt absorption in fish will remove moisture during cooking, leaving behind dry, rubbery meat.
Always keep the salmon skin on and cook it skin-side down first.
Always remove the salmon right before it reaches your desired doneness and let the salmon rest for a couple of minutes before serving so it finishes cooking internally.
Don't preheat the stove/grill/oven/air fryer too high before adding salmon in.
Remove the salmon bones if they haven't already been removed when you purchase them. You can easily locate little bones in salmon filets by running your hand over them. Use tweezers to pluck these pin bones out of your filets carefully.