Instant Pot frozen salmon
Rock-hard frozen salmon to flaky, tender fillets in about 20 minutes, finished with a quick lemon garlic butter, for the nights you forgot to thaw.
- 25 min total
- 5 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 2
- About $4.66 a serving
- 470 calories
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 25 minutes.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 1 lemon, half sliced, half juiced
- 2 salmon fillets, frozen, about 6 oz and 1 inch thick
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 cup water
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 470 calories, 35 g protein, 3 g carbs and 34 g fat, and costs about $4.66 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Pour the water into the pressure cooker, add 2 lemon slices and set the trivet inside.
any ice off the frozen salmon, set the fillets on the trivet skin side down and with the salt and pepper.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Dolly’s tip: Pry the fillets apart if they’re frozen together. Stacked fish cooks unevenly.Lock the lid, set the valve to sealing and cook on high pressure for 4 minutes.
Timer: 4 min
Dolly’s tip: Fillets thicker than an inch need 5 minutes. Thin tail pieces need 3.Turn the valve to venting to release the pressure right away, keeping your hand away from the steam.
Check that the thickest part flakes easily and is opaque in the center. If not, close the lid for 2 more minutes.
Food safety: Fish is done at 145°F, when the middle looks opaque and flakes apart easily with a fork.
the butter with the garlic and lemon juice in a small over low heat and spoon it over the salmon.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Low heat
Scatter the dill over and serve.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
