Salmon skin is usually removed and thrown away, or into a stock pot, or just used as insulation for the flesh against the pan. But with a little effort you can use it as a tasty garnish that turns the subcutaneous fat and skin into salmon bacon.
Salmon Bacon
The trick is to remove the skin with as much of the fat as possible starting with that little triangle along the dorsal edge of the fish – kinda like the loin fillet of the fish. Then you put the skin between 2 trays and bake until crispy.
Salmon is awesome but it’s almost always over cooked. In my opinion it’s best medium-rare, but it’s difficult to cook fish medium-rare.
Sous-vide
With a sous-vide it is possible to perfectly cook a meat from edge to edge to any “Cuisson”. For Medium-Rare the temp you want is 125°F (52°C) although this is under the pasteurization curve so like Sushi it’s also not safe for people who are immunocompromised such as Children, Pregnant women or the Elderly.
If you want to make sure the fish is pasteurized cook it to a Medium at 135°F (57°C).
Brine
Normally fish meat is infused with a protein called albumin that is released during cooking and ends up leaving an unsightly white discharge when you open the bag (you can just wash it off). You can prevent the albumin coming out by just brineing the fish in a 10% brine mix for 30 mins in the fridge.
Cook, Store then Serve
After cooking the fish you can dunk the fillet still in it’s bag, in ice water to quickly lower the temperature out of the Danger zone (4C-45C) and then store in the fridge till you need it.
You can store the chilled fillet in the fridge up to a week, and then to reheat put it in a pot of warm water (below the cooking temp or you might turn a perfect Medium-rare top Medium or well done).
Salmon with fried Shrimp and Fennel salad
Salmon Omelette
- 2 fillet Salmon
- 100 grams Salt
- 1 litre Water
- 1 tsp Sesame oil
- 1 tbsp White Miso
- 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 quarter Avocado
- 1 tsp Wasabi
- 1 tbsp Mayonnaise
- Run your finger along the Salmon fillet to find pin bones and remove with tweezers.
- Locate the small triangle of fat at the end of the fillet
- Place a sharp knife blade between the fat and the fillet and remove the skin.
- Turn the skin over and use a knife blade to remove any scales
- Mix up a brining mix of 10% salt (100g in 1Litre of water) and brine the fillets for 30 mins in the fridge.
- place salmon skin fat skin side up on a sheet of parchment and cover with a little oil (sesame is pretty good)
- Sandwich the skin between 2 sheets of parchment
- Place the parchment sandwich between 2 cookie trays and put a weight (like a bowl containing water) on it
- Cook for 30 mins in a 180C oven.
- Fish skin bacon will be when golden brown.
- Remove salmon from the brine and wipe it with a paper towel.
- OPTIONAL: mix up a marinade mix containing equal parts white Miso and Soy sauce and paint the fillets with the flavour.
- Place 2 fillets into a sous vide bag.
- Remove the air and seal the bag.
- Cook at 52C for 25 mins for Medium-Rare Cook at 57C for 25 mins for Medium
- Dress with a blend of Avocado, Wasabi and Mayonnaise and serve with a salad or some fried shrimp or both.
