I Tried It: Should You Microwave Salmon?

The NYT said to do it, so I did.

Things I believed indicated a person was a sociopath/standard asshole:

• Being rude to waitstaff/bad tippers

• People who don’t “get” dogs

• Those who microwave fish

So when the New York Times Cooking published titled, “The Most Foolproof Way to Cook Fish? The Microwave,” I picked up my Bible to see if any mention of fish or microwaves appeared in Revelations because the apocalypse must be on like Donkey Kong.

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According to Times writer Kevin Noble Maillar:

This easy approach to poached salmon turns out buttery, flawless fish. The trick to getting domino-fall flakes of salmon? Microwave it in a simple saltwater solution at full power and let it rest for an equal amount of time before serving.”

If this suggestion came from anywhere else (this sounds like a click-baity Buzzfeed piece!), I’d scroll right on by. But the NYT? It’s one of the only recipe resources I trust. I’m pay them actual money for the privilege! If NYT Cooking says microwaving fish is the best way to cook fish, I’m going to try it even though I feared my house would smell like the Finding Nemo wrap party.

Side note: the NYT recipe never even addresses this concern! Isn’t the smell the whole reason most of us would never microwave fish?!

No, it’s not April Fool’s Day.

We eat salmon a few times a month, but not because we love it. To me, it’s not as gross as dealing with raw chicken, and it’s better for you than beef or pork, and while expensive, it’s less so than a lot of other fish. Plus, it’s so EASY, healthy, and usually tastes pretty okay (except for when it tastes like an aquarium).

My regular salmon method is roughly the following:

1. Slather salmon with a course-grain mustard, olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika.

2. Bake on parchment paper at 400 degrees for about 13 minutes.

3. Broil for a minute or so to crisp up the top.

4. Serve it with some lemon juice, and fresh parsley if you have it (but you probably don’t).

Non-microwaved salmon, cauliflower rice, asparagus.

There’s a lot to love about this approach. First, the prep takes literally 30 seconds. Next, you can toss quick-cooking vegetables (like asparagus or broccoli) in olive oil/salt/pepper and add it to the same sheet pan. Less dishes! Super delicious! Looks pretty on a plate! Healthy, too!

But… could salmon be easier and more delicious microwaved? Only one way to find out.

Per Maillard’s instructions, I placed my salmon filet skin-side down in a pyrex container. I then added cold tap water with salt so it surrounded the fish but did not fully cover. I placed that baby in the microwave (covered with a plate) and let ‘er rip. Full power, high blast, nuclear fish poaching!

(if you actually watched the video, yes— my ex-boyfriend caught this fish. It’s a long story but TL;DR: my dad bought from him at a farmer’s market or something, not remembering him from that era of my life. Then, he gave it to me.)

The recipe said to cook 4-5 minutes (using a fork to check progress at three minutes). Maillard noted the tested recipe used a 1” thick piece of farmed salmon. He suggests cutting cooking time in half for wild caught (less fat than farmed), which is what I had and what I did.

After 90 seconds in the microwave, I checked the fish. Not even close. So I did another 90 seconds. Still pretty raw.

So I blasted it for another full minute, and it looked close. He suggests letting the fish rest, covered, for a few minutes.

In the meantime, I crisped up leftover cauliflower (why not make your house smell like fish AND farts!), zucchini, and made a fennel/cucumber/feta salad inspired by Eden Grinshpan.

This photo is not cute, but you get the point.

Thoughts on microwaved salmon:

• The house didn’t smell any worse than it does when we make salmon in the regular over. Which is to say, it smelled just a little fishy, but waaaay less than expected. Per usual, the salmon skin tossed into the garbage stunk realllllly bad.

• Even cutting back on the time, I over-cooked the fish— an easy fix with more practice.

• Josh and I didn’t love the taste. The recipe doesn’t call for much seasoning, and it needed it. Lemon juice helped, but not enough.

• The microwave preparation was quick and easy. However, unless you are a fancy-ass chef with a vision for what salmon could be, I’ve found nearly every way to prepare salmon is easy.

• I personally didn’t like handling a piping hot glass container of fish-water repeatedly. My oven method is more hands-off, and because you can roast vegetables at the same time, it does double-duty.

• I learned I prefer oven-roasted salmon (read: crispier) compared to poached.

So… should you microwave salmon?

Sure, why not. A LOT of people in the NYT comments said this is how they’ve always cooked salmon (okay, weirdos!). But I’m sticking with oven-baked.

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