If you like to cook your salmon indoors, here's the pan-grill method favored by chef Mary Jo McMillin, owner of Mary Jo's Cuisine in Oxford.

• Select large salmon fillets, an inch or more thick, with skin still attached (the skin helps hold in moisture) to one side. Salt skinless side to taste. Preheat a cast-iron or nonstick skillet over high heat and film the pan with olive oil or peanut oil. Place fillets in the pan skin side up. Make sure the ventilation fan is on high.

• Cook fish about 3 minutes, uncovered, peeking to see when the bottom side turns golden brown. Turn fillets skin side down, cover pan, reduce heat to medium and cook another 3 minutes or less.

• Near the end of the cooking time, use tongs to pull off the fish skin (it peels off easily). Salt this side to taste, then turn fillets back over.

The fish should now be cooked to about the medium stage, with some pink in the middle. If you prefer salmon cooked further, McMillin suggests cooking the fillets about another minute, covered, over medium heat.

Chuck Martin