A whole salmon, needing gutted, what do I do...?!
Am I doing ok here? So...it's frozen just now, got it for a song in the supermarket but want to make a good job of it. Can I cook it and re-freeze it or will I just try and get us all to eat it all up with a couple of days (salmon coming out of our ears). Could I use some of it to make a fish stock. Don't fancy the Bechamel sauce thing - just plainish cooking perhaps. So.. in some foil and in the old oven? For how long and what to serve it with - I once tried in a wee Fife restaurant, salmon with "cucumber sauce" - how on earth does one cook that one up, or something similar?
Answers: I reckon, a sharp knife, cut off the head, tail then perhaps take the knife all the way round the fish - polythene gloves on eh!:-(
Am I doing ok here? So...it's frozen just now, got it for a song in the supermarket but want to make a good job of it. Can I cook it and re-freeze it or will I just try and get us all to eat it all up with a couple of days (salmon coming out of our ears). Could I use some of it to make a fish stock. Don't fancy the Bechamel sauce thing - just plainish cooking perhaps. So.. in some foil and in the old oven? For how long and what to serve it with - I once tried in a wee Fife restaurant, salmon with "cucumber sauce" - how on earth does one cook that one up, or something similar?
start by cutting the head , place the knife next to the gill and cut under the head ( 45 degree angle to the front of the fish) until the middle ( the spine)
Turn it over and do the same on the other side
Tear the head off.
Slice the belly open from the head to the anus.. you can see theres 2 little fins there , stay close to the skin
Then remove the entrails with your knife or a piece of paper..
then take a hard brush and some cold water and brush against the spine , rinse and you're done
what song did you sing to get it?
you should save the head. haha. actually, i'm being serious (the head is great for soups!). to gut it just make an incision in the stomach, lengthwise, like you're about to fillet it. what i do with the salmon steaks is i rub olive oil on them, pat them with some salt, pepper them VERY VERY generously (and here i mean ALOT) then i put some pats of butter. i broil it (it's better under a toaster oven, but if your oven has a broiling thingy at the top, then go for it). you could also make salmon cakes, and those can be done like crab cakes.
You cannnot re freeze it once it is cooked.
You could poach it in wine with lemon and spices. After the first meal you might consider making fresh salmon salad with it -- chopped celery, onion, lemon and mayo.
Salmon is good for you, so enjoy it.
1 fresh whole salmon, cleaned and head and tail removed
brown sugar
soya sauce
garlic salt
pepper
Rinse salmon and pat dry. Open salmon so you have two halves. Lay in a greased pan. Sprinkle salmon liberally with brown sugar, drizzle on soya sauce, sprinkle on garlic salt and pepper. Bake in 350 degree oven till done, approximately 10 minutes per inch or till bone leaves salmon easily.
OR
1 whole salmon, 3-4kg/6.5-10lb in weight, gutted and cleaned
4 sprigs fresh parsley
? lemon, sliced
2 bay leaves
150ml/5fl oz dry white wine
2 tbsp vegetable oil
. Heat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
2. Take 2 large sheets of foil and place on top of each other in a roasting tin. Spread the oil on the foil and place the salmon on top.
3. Put the parsley, lemon slices and bay leaves into the body cavity. Fold the edges of the foil together but just before sealing, pour in the wine.
4. Bake the fish for 50-60 minutes.
5. Serve hot or cold. If you want to serve it cold, allow the fish to cool in the parcel and then gently peel off the skin and garnish with thinly sliced cucumber and watercress.
salmon left over recipes:
Salmon Salad in a Pita Pocket
You will need:
1 c. salmon chopped fine (smoked works great as well)
2 tablespoons onion chopped fine
2 teaspoons pickle relish(more to taste)
1 tablespoon celery diced
1 teaspoon dijon mustard(more to taste)
2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons dried dill
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 slice pita pocket bread
Method:
In a small bowl combine salmon, onion, pickle relish, celery, Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, and dill. Using a metal spoon, mix the ingredients well. Mixture may need more mayonnaise and/or Dijon mustard depending on taste. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Next, take one slice of pita pocket bread and carefully cut in half. Take the salmon mixture and fill each half carefully. The pita bread may need to be split open with a knife before opening. Add your favorite fillings, example: sliced tomatoes, onion, shredded lettuce or what ever you might add to a sandwich.
Salmon Omlette....
breakfast for dinner
You will need:
4 grade a large eggs whipped with a touch of milk added.
1/4 cup feta cheese
4 tablespoons fresh tomato, diced fine
4 tablespoons onion, diced fine
4 teaspoons green bell pepper, diced fine
1/2 cup of cooked salmon diced fine
2 teaspoons fresh dill, chopped fine
butter(used to coat bottom of egg pan)
Method:
Take a medium sized non-stick egg pan and add to moderate heat. Add enough butter to the pan to coat the bottom and melt.
Add 1/2 of the following ingredients: onion, green bell pepper, and tomato to egg pan and cook until onion and green pepper are soft. Add 1/2 of the egg mixture to the egg pan and cook until half of the way done. Add 1/2 of the feta cheese, 1/2 of the cooked salmon and 1/2 of the dill. Using a pan safe spatula, fold omlette in half and finish cooking. Remove from heat and place on a dinner plate.
Repeat method using remaining ingredients.
You can pack cooked salmon peces in seran wrap and then in aluminum foil and freeze it. Than use it for the left over recipes.
.
take a sharp knife then place it up the bottom and slice all the way along the underside till you reach the gills. pull it open and remove all the insides. Scrape a knife along the spine on the inside to remove any bits still lodged there wrap it in tin foil with your selection of herps and cook till you think it is done.
sorry i cant give the temp or time but i done it on a camp fire .
If you place the fish on the foil then wrap the foil over and crumple at the top you wont have to onroll it to check its cooked just pull it open and look.
If its already frozen I don't recommend refreezing it, it will effect the texture.
Try cutting some steaks from it....take the rest of it (sans Guts) and make a rich stock.
Simple is best...bake or grill basting with butter,dill and lemon....
You don't need to cut off the head right now, though you might want to later. The head will add flavour to the juice. So will the tail.
Take the fish in your polythene gloved hands and slit it down the belly from the chin to the tail. All those gloopy red guts have to come out - you can rinse it under the tap to get the last of it out. Don't worry about getting every single last tiny scrap of blood out - nobody will recognise it as fish blood after it's cooked.
My advice is, stuff the cavity with butter, sliced fennel and chopped thyme leaves, and maybe some sliced cleaned leeks too. These will help keep it moist. Wrap it in buttered foil, add a glug of white wine or, better yet, DRY vermouth, and bake in the oven. Bake it in a moderate oven (350F/175C) for 10 minutes per pound.
When it's ready, it should be easy to cut off the head (which will look pretty grisly by this stage, eyes reduced to scary white nubs etc) and discard it. I wouldn't use salmon parts to make fish stock, only white fish bones. Probably a good idea to throw away whatever you stuffed it with.
Cut into steaks and serve with fried potatoes and salad. The juice from the salmon could be collected, strained and simmered with a spoonful or two of creme fraiche, and there's an instant buttery, aromatic sauce.
For those who aren't scared of fish heads, some of the best eating on any fish is to be found on the head - the flesh behind the skull and on the fish's cheeks is especially succulent.
Get your fish cut off the head and tail and fins if its frozen let it threw out naturally from where you cut its head and cut all the way passed its chest ,belly etc until you reach where the tail used to be pull all its insides away in which we call the cavity the wash it just in case there is any blood etc then buy or you might have one a fish kettle put it in Bacon foil with sliced lemons on top add fresh parsley and cook it until it looks like pale pink (the meat) and its tender there you have it baked salmon,if you like horseradish buy the jar of it and let people help themselves, i can take it but if you put to much sauce on the plate you will know the sauce is mighty hot.if you can take it good luck to you.