No, You Do NOT Need to Cook Salmon to 145°F (2024)

Do a quick search for the correct salmon temperature, and chances are you'll see the number "145°F" big and bold, right at the top of your search page. But cooking salmon to that temperature will ruin the fish, making it dry, chewy, and fairly flavorless.

In truth, it's best to cook salmon to between 120°F and 125°F. Yes, it's safe (read below for why) and it'll result in much more appetizing food on your plate.

So where does the 145°F number come from? Why does the USDA recommend such a high number? And how can you cook salmon lower than that safely?

We'll tell you everything you want to know. Just read on.

Get the recipe: Miso Marinated Salmon

145°F is the temperature recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which sets the food safety regulations in the States. The USDA arrived at this number because the main microorganism, Listeria, that causes food borne illness in seafood and fish is killed more or less instantly at 145°F.

However, as J. Kenji Lopez-Alt notes in his food-and-science book, Food Lab, "there isn't a simple temperature limit that defines when chicken [or fish, or meat of any kind] are safe to consume: rather it's a combination of temperature and time."

Temperatures around 125°F will still kill most bacteria. They just do it a little more slowly. So, a piece of salmon cooked to 125°F is still safe to eat if it remains at that temperature for a few minutes.

Unless you're putting it in the fridge or freezer immediately after cooking, your food won't immediately cool down. In fact, if you take it off the heat at 125°F, it will likely continue to go up a few degrees before starting to go back down.

You can test this yourself with an instant-read thermometer, which is not expensive and which we highly recommend owning.

If you've ever cooked fish to 145°F, you've probably noticed that it doesn't taste great. It's dry, rubbery, and even chalky. You may see white goopy stuff (called albumin) coming out of the fish, and pooling either on the plate or on the fish itself.

Fish like this is overcooked! However, when removed from the heat at 120°F to 125°F, the salmon will be moist and tasty. It can be cut easily with the side of a fork, but doesn't flake or fall apart as easily.

Get the recipe: Butter Baked Salmon

Well, that's perfectly okay!

Many people have grown up eating salmon cooked to 145°F or even warmer, and have grown accustomed to the taste, and even prefer it. We're certainly not here to tell fans of well-done salmon that they need to change.

But if you're finding you prefer flakier, more tender salmon, and you want want to give it a go, we highly recommend cooking it to 125°F. As we said, it's perfectly safe. And if you don't like, it, you can always cook it a little more!

Some people prefer salmon to be cooked even rarer — and this, too, can be safe if you're using good, well-sourced fish. As sushi lovers know, salmon can be safe to eat even raw. In general the risk of food-borne illness is low if the ingredients have been properly handled and stored.

While it won't be as tasty, overcooked salmon is safe to eat as long as it hasn't been charred into charcoal. So if you find that you left it in the pan or oven too long, don't fret! Eat away or or try flaking it and turning it into salmon patties—mayonnaise makes everything taste better.

There isn't one right answer here! When baking salmon, using a higher temperature will cook the salmon fillets faster.

But cooking at a lower temperature will give you more of a cushion in terms of checking on the fish and making sure it hasn't overcooked. You're much more likely to overshoot your desired temperature in a blazing-hot oven.

Regardless of the temperature you use, you should never just put fish in the oven, set a timer, and walk away.

Oven temperatures can vary widely, and the thickness of the fish (plus whether it's coming straight from the fridge, or has been brought to room temperature) will all make a big difference in the cooking time. So it's always a good idea to check it regularly, with an instant-read thermometer, preferably.

But in general, when cooking fillets, at 425°F, salmon will be done in 7 to 9 minutes, and if you want to cook it a little slower, at 350°F, salmon will be done in 15 to 20 minutes.