Like so many other seafoods, salmon is incredibly versatile.It can be used insalads, stews and fish cakes. You can make salmon burgers or whippedit up ina dip. For many people, there is no better way to enjoy salmon than onits own asa hearty fish steak. Full of flavor, salmon doesn’t need to bedressed up with aheavy seasoning rub or marinade. A light dusting of salt andpepper, along witha few other fresh herbs, is all it needs to be the maincourse.
If it is your first time making salmon, there are a fewthings that you should know.It is important to learn how to pick fresh salmonand how long of a shelf life it hasalong with cooking tips.
How to Choose FreshSalmon
Fresh, healthy salmon has bright red meat and shiny, silveryscales. When youtouch the meat, it should bounce back. You can pick up somefresh salmonsteaks at our retail counter to ensure you are getting fresh,delicious salmonsteaks.
How Long Does Salmon Lastin the Fridge
When you bring home fresh salmon from the store, it is agood idea to cook it thesame day. If you cannot cook it in the first 48 hoursafter bringing it home, youshould freeze it. Double wrapping it, when you putit in the freeze, should preventfreezer burn. Salmon can be frozen for up to 3months without losing its flavor ortexture.
The 6 Rules for CookingPerfect Salmon
If you want to prepare salmon to perfection, there are a fewrules we’ve learn tofollow from our chefs.
#1. Salt it JustBefore Cooking
Never sprinkle salmon with salt more than 15 minutes aheadof cooking. If yousalt salmon too early, it will dry out when you cook it.Wait until you are ready tothrow it on the pan or onto the grill to lightlydust it with salt.
#2. Keep the SeasoningSimple
Don’t dress up salmon too much with thick marinades or aheavy coating of arub. Salmon is a fish that you want to enjoy the flavor of.Stick with a light coatingof seasoning, just a splash of citrus juice or alight glaze.
#3. Let it Reach RoomTemperature Before Cooking
When you add cold fish to a hot pan, it will cook unevenly.It is a good idea to letsalmon sit out for 15 to 20 minutes before cooking sothat it can warm to roomtemperature. Do not let it sit out for too long. Youwant it to reach roomtemperature right before cooking. If it is at roomtemperature for too long it can bea food safety risk.
#4. Always Preheatthe Pan, Grill or Oven
No matter how you plan to cook it, it’s important to makesure that the pan, ovenor grill are hot before you lay down your salmonfillets. When you grill salmon,you want the grill rack to be oiled and hot sothat the salmon won’t stick. Whenyou are pan-frying salmon, the pan needs tobe preheated so that you can get anice sear on your salmon. When you cooksalmon in the oven, it needs to bepreheated so that it cooks evenly andquickly.
#5. Use an Oil with aHigh Heat Tolerance
This is especially important if you are pan frying salmon.Butter and olive oil bothhave a low heat tolerance which means they will smokeif the heat is too hot. Anoil, like coconut oil or vegetable oil, with a highheat tolerance won’t smoke whenyou’re cooking with a high heat.
#6. Let It Cook inPeace
When you make salmon, you should cook it for around 12 to 15minutes(depending on how thin or thick it is and what cooking method youchoose). Youdo not need to flip salmon like you would a steak. Instead, let itcook with the skinside facing down.
Following these 6 steps will help you to makedelicious, flaky salmonsteaks. If you want to dress your salmon up with aglaze or rub, checkout our Pinterest for ideas! Swing by City Fish Market to pickup freshsalmon from our seafood counter.
