Sour Cream Baked Salmon

This easy baked salmon recipe is perfect for a weekday, but could also fill in for a special occasion. The fish is smothered with a mixture of sour cream, mustard, and parmesan cheese. When baking the fish, be careful not to overcook. For moist salmon, bake until the salmon is barely done at the thickest part then remove from the oven cover with foil and let rest.

Ingredients:
4 (6-ounce) salmon filets
½ cup whole fat sour cream
1½ teaspoons whole grain mustard
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions:
Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet or baking dish. (Instead of oiling the pan, you could also line with parchment paper). In a small bowl, combine sour cream, mustard, and the cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place salmon onto a baking sheet then spread two tablespoons of sour cream mixture on top of each salmon filet. Bake 10 to 15 minutes until barely done in the center at the thickest part of the salmon. The center should be firm, but with a small amount of uncooked salmon in the very center. Depending on how thick the salmon is, it may need a few minutes longer. (The internal temperature should be around 125 degrees F). Remove from oven then cover lightly with aluminum foil and let rest 5 to 10 minutes. During this time, the salmon will continue to cook.

Tips:
How to tell when salmon is cooked: Your best bet for checking if salmon is cooked, is a thermometer — we cook salmon to 125 degrees F, which means it will be soft, tender and slightly pink in the center. For a visual cue, look for the flesh to be somewhat opaque. Also, when inserting a knife into the salmon, it should slide through easily.

How Not to Overcook Baked Salmon – We’ve done it plenty of times in the past. It’s a complete letdown, but don’t worry we’ve got a couple of tricks to help us all out. Here’s the first trick. You only want to cook salmon until it’s barely done in the center – you can tell when it’s ready by using a knife and peeking into the middle of the salmon. If it’s firm, but still has a small amount of uncooked salmon in the center take it out of the oven, and then loosely cover with aluminum foil. Let the salmon rest for 10 minutes. During this time, the center will cook just enough to be perfect. Another trick is to use a thermometer. We take our salmon out when the center reaches 125 degrees F (51 degrees C). Then, remove, cover with foil and rest. Finally, (and, yes we realize that this one is coming from a recipe website) – Don’t trust the recipe cooking time. Let us explain. Ovens vary, it stinks, but it’s true. So, while our filets of salmon might take 10 minutes to bake, yours may take longer. So, be mindful of how your salmon is cooking. It’s completely fine to check the salmon a little earlier than the recipe states. You’ll usually find us checking twice. To test for doneness, remove the salmon from the oven, close the oven door (to keep the heat in) then check the fish the same way we mentioned above. If the salmon needs more time, slide it back into the oven. If not, pat yourself on the back, you just prevented overcooked salmon.

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