published about 2 hours ago
It can feel like a delicate task when you cart home a beautiful piece of fish from the market. Fillets, like salmon, aren’t inexpensive, so of course you want to cook them perfectly. Mistakes happen, though, and we’ve all sat down to a dry, overcooked fish dinner. But I have one word that will fix that problem: parchment. Wrap up salmon fillets in parchment paper, bake for about 15 minutes, and you’ll have perfectly cooked fish every time.
How to Cook In Parchment Paper
En papillote is the French term for cooking food in a parchment packet. You can cook many things this way — chicken, tofu, veggies — but fish is probably the most common. The moist-heat cooking method is a foolproof way to prepare fish like salmon because you don’t run the risk of drying it out. Plus, it’s super simple. Place the fish on a large piece of parchment, add some butter or oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and fold up the packet. If you want to get a little fancier, you can tuck in a few lemon slices and herb springs as I’ve done here.
Make sure you fold or twist the edges of the parchment to seal the packet tightly. The goal is to trap all the flavorful steam inside, which will gently cook the fish. As the salmon cooks the packet will puff up and about 15 minutes later dinner will be ready. Carefully unwrap the packet (the steam inside is hot!), transfer the fish to plates, and enjoy your perfectly cooked salmon.
