Cream Cheese Is The Secret To The Best Baked Salmon Of Your Life

Salmon is one of the ocean's greatest treasures. This fish is filled with omega-3 fatty acids and protein and tastes absolutely delicious when prepared properly. However, salmon has a propensity to dry out in the oven, especially if it's cooked too long, turning its texture and taste into what can amount to cardboard; this is one of the big mistakes people make when cooking salmon. This delicate fish requires moisture, and one of the most flavorful ways to impart moisture is to pair it with cream cheese, as you would for those Sunday bagels and lox.

A brick of this white spread is like butter. When it softens, it becomes pliable and smooth. Cream cheese has a minimum of 33% fat and a maximum of 55% moisture. When dolloped over your salmon filets and spread across each bit of the pink flesh in a thick layer, its fatty nature, coupled with its moisture-rich content, will keep them nice and moist as they bake, creating the best baked salmon you've ever had. But cream cheese has another important quality and that's its flavor. It has a tangy, rich bite that bakes right into your seafood. Its acidic attitude is similar to lemon, adding a nice consistency to this fish.

You can customize your cream cheese to enhance the flavor of your fish by adding seasonings, herbs, and other flavors you enjoy eating with salmon. Add anything from a simple salt-and-pepper combo to scallions and homemade everything bagel seasoning. Think outside the box and include cream cheese to make a pesto-baked salmon to place your thumbprint on this hack. If your cream cheese is too hard, add a little seltzer water to help soften it; this will make it easier when you mix your add-ins and spread them onto your salmon. 

But before you add cream cheese to salmon, pat your fish dry so this fatty, seasoned ingredient sticks better. Sprinkle some seasoned breadcrumbs or crushed Saltines over the layer of cream cheese for a little added taste and texture. Salmon cooks rather quickly, so keep an eye on it. If you bake it at the right temperature for the appropriate amount of time, the result is a mouthwatering bite of fish that is creamy, succulent, and worthy of calling the best baked salmon of your life.