Warming the pans while your page comes together
Recipes & Techniques · 5 min read
July 19, 2026
Fish is one of the most common weeknight proteins in Icelandic kitchens, and also one of the easiest to get slightly wrong: skin that won't crisp, fillets that stick to the pan, or fish that goes from underdone to overcooked in under a minute. None of this is really about skill — it's almost always one of three things: a wet fillet, a pan that isn't hot enough, or moving the fish around too much. Fix those three, and pan-frying fish becomes one of the fastest, most reliable dinners you can make.
This is the step people skip, and it matters more than almost anything else. Pat the fillet dry with paper towels, pressing firmly, especially around the skin if it's skin-on. Any surface moisture will steam rather than sear, which is exactly why skin sometimes refuses to crisp. For best results, pat the fish dry, then let it sit uncovered on a plate for ten to fifteen minutes before cooking — the surface will dry out further and season more evenly.
Season with salt just before cooking, not too far in advance, since salt draws out moisture over time.
A cold or lukewarm pan is the second most common cause of stuck, pale fish. Use a heavy-bottomed pan — stainless steel or cast iron both work well — and heat it over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes before adding any oil. The oil should shimmer and move easily across the pan; if it's smoking heavily, it's slightly too hot and about to burn.
A neutral oil with a higher smoke point (like rapeseed or sunflower oil) works better here than butter alone, since butter burns before the pan gets hot enough.
If the fillet has skin, lay it in the pan skin-side down and press gently with a spatula for the first ten to fifteen seconds — this keeps the skin from curling and helps it make full contact with the pan for even crisping. Then leave it alone. Resist the urge to move, shake, or check underneath the fillet. Most fish releases naturally from the pan once a proper crust has formed; if it's sticking, it usually just needs another thirty seconds.
As a general guide, cook the fillet skin-side down for roughly 60–80% of the total cooking time, then flip briefly to finish.
Once you flip the fillet, this is the moment to add a knob of butter to the pan, along with a smashed garlic clove and a sprig of thyme if you have them. Tilt the pan slightly and spoon the foaming butter over the fillet repeatedly for the final 30–60 seconds of cooking. This bastes the fish in flavor, keeps it moist, and finishes the top without needing to flip again.
Timing depends heavily on fillet thickness, but as a rough guide for a fillet around 2 cm thick:
The fish is done when it flakes easily with gentle pressure and turns opaque all the way through — check the thickest part of the fillet.
Pan-fried fish is fast enough to build a proper weeknight dinner around without much planning — but it helps to know in advance which nights you'll actually have ten uninterrupted minutes at the stove, since the technique rewards attention in short bursts rather than a dish you can walk away from. Slotting a fish night into your alongside slower dishes on busier days keeps the week realistic.
If you want fillet-specific timing and seasoning combinations, Matinn's has fish recipes broken down by type, so you're not guessing at cook times from scratch each time.
Usually because the pan wasn't hot enough before the fish went in, or the fillet was moved too early. A properly heated pan and a fillet left undisturbed until it forms a crust will release on its own.
Yes, in almost all cases. It protects the more delicate flesh side from direct heat, crisps the skin, and gives you a natural flip point once the first side is mostly cooked through.
It should flake easily under gentle pressure from a fork and look opaque throughout the thickest part. For salmon and similar fish, slightly translucent at the very center is fine, since residual heat finishes the cooking.
Oil for the initial sear, since it tolerates higher heat without burning; butter added later for basting, since it burns at lower temperatures but adds more flavor.