cooktime Timer running

How long to cook fish

Fish times by thickness for pan and oven, with the internal temperature each kind of fish is done at.

Which foodTap to open
Fish
Set 190 °C. Done inside at 63 °C.
1 to 5 min
Salmon
Set 200 °C. Done inside at 63 °C.
9 to 25 min
Fish internal temperatures
Set 50 °C. Done inside at 63 °C.
46 to 74 °C

Thickness drives fish timing far more than weight or species does. A 2 cm cod fillet and a 2 cm salmon fillet cook in close to the same time; the same salmon cut twice as thick takes roughly twice as long.

What changes by species is the temperature you stop at, not the clock. That is the one table worth learning.

Three things that matter more than the timer

Measure the thickness, not the weight

A 200 g fillet cut thin and a 200 g fillet cut thick need very different times. Heat travels from the surface inwards, so the distance to the centre is what counts. Measure the thickest point and time from that.

Fish carries over less than meat

A fillet is thin and holds less heat than a steak, so the centre climbs perhaps 1 to 2 °C after it leaves the pan rather than 3. Pull it just under, not well under.

The flake test works without a probe

Press the thickest part with a fork and twist gently. Done fish separates into flakes and looks opaque nearly through, with a slightly translucent line at the very centre if you like it medium. If it resists, it needs longer.

Common questions

Is salmon safe below 63 °C?

Food safety guidance is 63 °C / 145 °F for cooked fish. Plenty of cooks and restaurants serve salmon at 50 to 55 °C because it is noticeably moister, and that is a personal risk decision rather than a recommendation. Anyone pregnant, elderly, very young or immunocompromised should cook it to 63 °C.

Does frozen fish need different timing?

Cooked from frozen it takes roughly twice as long, and the outside overcooks while the centre catches up. Thawing overnight in the fridge gives a better result than any timing adjustment.

Egg times come from the thermal-diffusion equation for a spherical egg published by Charles D. H. Williams (University of Exeter), calibrated so a large fridge-cold egg at sea level matches the times cooks actually use. Size, starting temperature and altitude then follow from the physics. Treat the result as a very good starting point, not a guarantee, because pans, hobs and eggs all vary.