The Lodge at 58 North perches on a bend in the cold, surging Naknek River in King Salmon, Alaska, where every summer millions of Pacific salmon pass through en route to spawn in freshwater. This means that resident chef Jason Brown is quite literally sourcing the freshest salmon on earth, starting with lean, glowing sockeyes in June, then prized, fatty kings at the July peak, and milder, reddish coho come August.
Yet no matter the salmon species or cooking method (his favorite is pan-seared), whether the fish was caught hours or months ago, Brown always begins his prep the same way: submerging portions in a wet brine. It’s a mostly hands-off step that pays off handsomely.
“The number-one reason to wet brine is texture,” says Brown. “The difference is pretty dramatic. You get that beautiful flake on each piece of meat. It’s way more moist, with that fat encapsulated in. In my opinion, it’s worth the extra effort every time.”
Even for chefs, cooking salmon can be finicky to get just right. If you sear it too hard in the hope of lusty, crisp skin, you end up with albumin (a.k.a. protein a.k.a. white stuff) oozing from the flesh. And if you start with wild salmon, the fat content is lower, making the margin for error even smaller.
Think of wet-brining as insurance. Easy-to-understand, cheap-to-buy insurance. Brown explains that wet-brining salmon—soaking it in water seasoned with salt—helps solidify the fat within the protein, so it doesn’t leach out as quickly once the fish hits the heat, “keeping it nice and succulent.” In other words: less chance of drying out.
The other option is dry-brining, or curing. Instead of soaking in saltwater, you simply sprinkle the fish with salt. This might involve fewer dishes, but when it comes to cooking salmon, Brown avoids it for good reason: Wet-brining distributes seasoning more evenly. “Dry brining also leaves more room for error, insofar as you’re not injecting as much flavor evenly through the fish,” he says.
Science aside, it’s hard not to wax poetic on the notion that getting a fish back into water will yield the plumpest results. “That’s kind of how I was taught in fine-dining restaurants,” Brown says. “This animal lives in water, why wouldn't you then reintroduce it to water to season it and change its texture?”
How to wet brine salmon
Next time you’re cooking salmon fillets—whether they’re seared or grilled—brine them beforehand. It takes 20-ish minutes and you can spend most of that time doing something else, like working on a salad or unloading the dishwasher. Inspired by Chef Brown, here’s the test kitchen’s method.
- Make the brine. In a bowl or measuring cup, combine 3 cups cold water and 5 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Stir to dissolve salt.
- Brine the fish. Add two 6–8-oz. salmon fillets to a bowl or casserole dish. Slowly pour saltwater on top of salmon until it’s covered, discarding any extra liquid. (If you need more liquid, make another batch of saltwater and pour as much as you need on top.) Cover the dish and refrigerate it for 15–30 minutes while you work on the rest of dinner.
- Cook the fish. Any cooking method works wonders on wet-brined salmon: smoking, grilling, baking, or pan-searing. Whichever path you choose, first thoroughly dry the fish with a paper towel, then lightly season it with kosher salt.
