Crispy Lemon Parmesan Salmon- with a super easy HACK!

Updated: Mar 17, 2022

Can you just taste the CRUNCH of this salmon?! This salmon is wildly crispy, quick, and easy and includes a great hack that will make you think "this is weird but it makes sense." This crispy crunchy salmon dinner recipe utilizes panko breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese and takes 20 minutes to prepare! Perfect for an easy weeknight dinner!

Normally salmon is mush and does not have a ton of texture. Unless you make my crispy skin salmon with a garlic lemon aioli. Since eating is always better with a mixture of different textures in your food you won't want to miss out on this recipe!

MAYO?! ARE YOU NUTS?!

I told you that you'd say "this is weird but makes sense"... Hear me out. First, let's break down the ingredients in mayonnaise: eggs, oil, lemon juice, and mustard.

Eggs are usually the main binding agent used when making something that is breaded.
Oil is typically used to help crisp things up.
Lemon and fish are like two peas in a pod.
Mustard adds a subtle zing to any recipe and an added layer of flavor.

Periodt. Why have we been using plain, flavorless eggs this whole time?! Once this hack occurred to me I don't know how I ever lived without it! Just look at how crispy this is! You'll thank me later.

Tips for Recipe Success:

Do not cook on high heat! Salmon is better prepared on medium heat. If it is cooked too high, too fast, the protein in salmon starts to dehydrate and starts oozing out a congealed white substance (if you've cooked salmon before you likely know what I am talking about!) This is protein, not fat like many believe, and often leads to drier salmon!
Zest is best! - Lemon zest is KEY! Zesting any sort of citrus involves lightly grating the rind of a lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit- whatever! It brings in SO much lemon flavor in a solid form rather than the liquid from juicing- you'll be shocked! It may seem fancy, and I used to avoid it like the plague but it makes a HUGE difference. Zesting a lemon can be achieved with a box grater if that is all you have- but ideally, a Microplane is best (click here for the one I use).
- Rinse the lemon
- Lightly grate the rind against the box grater or Microplane
- Make sure to only make one pass of the grater on each section of the lemon. You want to avoid grating too deep and getting the white pithy part of the lemon (it's super bitter).
- Add to any recipe that could use an extra punch of citrus!
Remove salmon from the fridge 15 minutes before cooking! This allows it to come to room temperature so it will cook evenly! Nobody wants a warm outside and cold inside! Unless you're into that sort of thing...
TAKE IT OFF! The skin that is. Make sure you purchase skinless salmon or remove the skin yourself. To remove simply grab a corner of the skin and pull! It should come off with ease. If not, take a knife and run it between the skin and the salmon.