Soak Salmon In Brine Cooking fresh salmon typically produces a white 'skin'. You can easily prevent or at least significantly reduce this. Simply soak the salmon in a basic salt solution (one soup spoon of salt per cup of cold water) for 10 minutes – it's that easy!
Soaking salmon in a simple, quick brine for as little as 10 minutes (up to overnight, if you like planning ahead) is all it takes. To make it happen you need two very basic ingredients: water and salt. Combine 1 tablespoon of salt for every cup of water.
Almost all seafood contains a compound called trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) that begins to turn into trimethylamine (TMA) after they die. To get rid of the fishy smell, give your seafood a quick, 20-minute soak in some milk. The milk's proteins will bind to the TMA and remove the fishy odor.
As it does with meat, brining fish serves two purposes: One, it helps season the flesh, which improves flavor, and two, by partially dissolving muscle fibers to form a water-retaining gel, it helps prevent the protein from drying out.
Allow the salmon to soak for 10 to 20 minutes. Some readers have reported that 20 minutes causes the fish to be too salty. You can always rinse off the salmon once you remove it from the brine. After brining the fish, remove the fillets from the water and pat them dry with paper towels.
It's not unsafe, but it will decrease the quality of the salmon. The flesh will most likely disintegrate before reaching cooking temperature. Once it is cooked, it'll just crumble, the extra water will turn it into mush, and be quite unpleasant to eat.
You rinse the salmon.
The USDA cautions: “do not rinse raw fish, seafood, meat, and poultry. Bacteria in these raw juices can splash and spread to other foods and surfaces. Cooking foods thoroughly will kill harmful bacteria.”
However, if the salmon has been sitting for a while or was caught in salt water, it's best to give it a more thorough cleaning. To do this, fill a sink or large bowl with cold water and add a tablespoon of vinegar for each gallon of water. Submerge the salmon in the mixture and let it soak for about 15 minutes.
By giving a fillet a vinegar rinse (or even a full-on soak while you prepare the rest of your meal's components), you can bring out all of the fish's best qualities and textures, neutralizing any fishy scents while seasoning it.
Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, add butter or oil and the salmon fillets skin-side down. Heat to medium-high and cook for about 5 or 6 minutes. Gently use a wide spatula to flip the fish and cook skin-side up for 3 to 5 minutes or until done.
Baked salmon is best when cooked at 425°F in the oven.
Even thicker fillets don't take long. We recommend baking the salmon uncovered. Simply rub the fillets with a little oil, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, then place them in the roasting pan skin-side down before popping them in the oven.
It isn't necessary to marinate salmon before grilling it, but doing so can impart extra flavor and moisture to your finished fish. And you don't have to let your salmon marinate for long – just 10 minutes will do.
You don't need to rinse fish, chicken, pork, or any other meat before cooking. Not only does it not get rid of bacteria, it spreads bacteria (if water splashes from the sink in the process of rinsing). What kills bacteria much more effectively is cooking.
So how do you avoid drying out your salmon? Squeeze fresh lemon juice directly onto the fish, then season it as you normally would. Sprinkle olive oil or melted butter in the dish. You might think it will make it greasy but it won't.
Soak fish in 1/4 cup vinegar, lemon juice or wine and water before cooking it for a sweet tender taste. Remove the fishy smell from your hands by washing with vinegar and water or salt and water. When baking whole fish, wrap it in well-oiled cheesecloth.
But there are a couple tricks if you want to avoid it. One option is to brine the fish. America's Test Kitchen recommends soaking the salmon in a standard brine—one tablespoon of salt per cup of water—for just 10 minutes before cooking. That should minimize the amount of albumin forming on the surface of the fish.
You do not have to flip salmon when grilling. If you prefer grill marks on both sides of your fish, place salmon on oiled, heated grill. Once the salmon releases itself from the grates, flip gently using a wide spatula.
When hot, add the salmon that has already been seasoned. Place the fish flesh side down, and skin side up. You do not need to flip the salmon over because the skin will crisp while baking. Do not crowd the pan and do not move the fish.
Is this really necessary? Lisa Featherby, Gourmet Traveller food editor, writes: Soaking fish in brine or water before cooking to remove any muddy taste is not necessary.
Citrus fruits are often used in cooking to “brighten” flavors and work well to counter many of the briny flavors present in seafood. This is why lemon and fish can go so well together. The salt and the acid balance each other while doing a little flavor dance on the palate.
If you soak fish in water and vinegar for about half an hour before cooking, the flesh will stay white; more importantly, if you add a little vinegar to a court bouillon, the fish will stay whole and firm.