One of the many reasons we love salmon is because it's so versatile, and we can enjoy eating it in a myriad of ways. You can broil it and sprinkle it with various herbs and spices, bake it with lemon and dill, grill it on a cedar plank, or enjoy it with sushi. Even though salmon can be steamed, seared, baked, smoked, grilled, or eaten raw, that doesn't mean that you are guaranteed to get the most out of it. There are actually ways that you can ruin a salmon dish, and we are here to prevent that. Here are some mistakes everyone makes when cooking salmon.
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00:00When you take innocent ingredients and mess around with them to make a meal, it can be
00:04easy to screw it up, and this is especially true for salmon.
00:08Here are a few common mistakes people make when they cook this delicate — and delicious
00:12— fish.
00:13Any meal that features salmon has to start with actually sourcing your salmon.
00:18What are you doing?
00:19Only selling the finest farm-raised salmon in the county, that's all.
00:22Yeah, they're all free-range.
00:23No nets, no cages.
00:24They can go wherever they want.
00:26Plus we have smoked salmon.
00:29Eat fresh or frozen Checking out the appearance is a good way
00:31to assess fish quality.
00:33Different varieties of salmon will have variations in color and flavor, but in general, brighter
00:38colors are better than pale ones.
00:40As Epicurious notes, avoid any fish that looks dried out or has a brown color instead of
00:45uniform reds and pinks.
00:47Great, can I use y'all's microwave right quick?
00:50When you're in a rush to eat, it can be tempting to lean on the microwave to unfreeze your
00:54food, but this doesn't work at all for salmon.
00:57Most microwaves pretty much never thaw things evenly, and considering fish is more sensitive
01:02to heat than many other foods, this uneven heating will result in rubbery, dry fillets
01:07that even your cat's not gonna eat.
01:10No thanks, I'm full.
01:12As a general rule, avoid thawing fish using any heat at all.
01:15Opt instead for thawing overnight in the fridge or in a sealed bag under cold running water.
01:20Can I change my answer?
01:23Removing fish bones is a tedious task, but no matter how well you prepare that expensive
01:27fillet, all will be forgotten when your guests are choking on bones.
01:31Even if you buy a piece of salmon from the fishmonger and the larger bones have already
01:35been removed, there still could be tiny pin bones remaining.
01:38If you run a knife against the grain, you'll feel the ends of the bones poking out of the
01:42flesh.
01:43With a clean pair of needle-nose pliers and a bit of patience, you can carefully pull
01:47out all the remaining bones one by one.
01:51Definitely season your salmon, but only just before you start to cook it, since salt can
01:55be used for preserving meat and fish.
01:57Sprinkling it on your fish too early might actually start to cure your meal before you
02:01cook it, and seasoning the cooking water is especially important if you're poaching your
02:06fish.
02:07The seasoning should not only be rubbed on the salmon, but added to the water as well.
02:10That way it doesn't wash off during the cooking process.
02:14Try poaching salmon with white wine, shallots, and dill.
02:17Then finish with freshly ground pepper and a squeeze of lemon.
02:20You are beautiful, Susie Salmon.
02:22If Salmon were an opera singer, it would be the prima donna, talented and deserving
02:26of praise, but also super sensitive and egotistical.
02:30Your public needs you.
02:33We need you too.
02:34Would you not rather have your precious little ingenue?
02:40Treat a piece of salmon right by giving it its space and a little me-time, and it will
02:44totally melt in your mouth.
02:46But smother it with way too much attention, and it falls apart under the pressure.
02:50I'm melting!
02:51Melting!
02:53In the case of salmon, this means that once you've put it on the heat, leave it alone.
02:58Salmon cooks best when it's placed over a fairly high heat for just long enough to turn
03:02the flesh opaque.
03:03If you cover the fish while it cooks, you may not need to turn it at all.
03:07But if it's cooking on the grill, turn it over just once, about halfway through.
03:11Any dish that requires perfect timing can tempt nervous cooks to check in a little too
03:15many times.
03:16But if you don't leave it alone, you'll worry your salmon all the way into the trash.
03:21It turns out, overcooking your salmon may be the biggest mistake of them all.
03:25No one likes tough, rubbery fish, but the line between sushi and fish leather is not
03:30very wide.
03:31Some cooking methods, like poaching or wrapping in foil, are safer than others.
03:35But no matter how you apply the heat, there's only one result if you do it for too long.
03:39There's just no way that salmon can survive in those sort of environments.
03:44The ideal time to remove salmon from the heat is just before it's done, so you can allow
03:48it to sit for a few minutes.
03:50The residual heat will finish the cooking process, and if you're still unsure, you can
03:54use a meat thermometer, aiming for about 145 degrees.
03:58The more often you cook, and as you get to know your own preferences, you might decide
04:02to lower that final temperature just a little bit.
04:04But be warned, if you typically make too many of these mistakes, your family and friends
04:09might not let you make dinner ever again.