# Salmon fillet.  How should I cook it?



## bandnerd1892 (Jun 29, 2008)

Hello everyone! I just got back from the store with a beautiful salmon fillet. I'm indecisive on how I should cook it, so, you decide. Does anybody have any good suggestions on how I should cook it? Thanks! I await your suggestions...


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## kitchenelf (Jun 29, 2008)

You can do a mixture of seeded mustard or just Dijon, soy sauce, and brown sugar.  Spread on top and grill that side first then the other.  

OR, you can even add some rye or bourbon to that mixture and do the same thing.

Or, you can make a poaching liquid with white wine and some fresh herbs/spices - garlic, peppercorns, rosemary, parsley, jalapeño or habanero peppers too if you like "heat".


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## JillyBean (Jun 29, 2008)

I just tried a salmon fillet "en papillot", and it was delicious! Salmon filet with butter, lemon, salt, pepper, fresh dill from the garden, pepper flakes, a bit of olive oil on the bottom, wrapped up in kitchen parchment paper. In the oven for 20 mins at 375 and everything's steamed and buttery.


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## Fisher's Mom (Jun 29, 2008)

JillyBean said:


> I just tried a salmon fillet "en papillot", and it was delicious! Salmon filet with butter, lemon, salt, pepper, fresh dill from the garden, pepper flakes, a bit of olive oil on the bottom, wrapped up in kitchen parchment paper. In the oven for 20 mins at 375 and everything's steamed and buttery.


Oh my gosh, Jilly, that looks wonderful!! I haven't eaten fish in years but I need to start now and salmon is really good for you. Could this be done without the butter? I can't have butter but olive oil is fine. Could I just increase the olive oil? Really, truly, that looks delicious to me and I don't like fish!


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## Fisher's Mom (Jun 29, 2008)

Wow, I feel like I got caught smoking in the bathroom (again)!!! OK, I guess I'll start eating my fish. (But I'm never eating peas or liver.)


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## jpmcgrew (Jun 29, 2008)

One of my favorites is to make a small mixture of flour a little corn meal a little bit of salt and pepper a pinch of thyme, garlic powder and some parsley flakes. Press both sides of salmon in flour mix then heat some olive oil and saute both sides. You should end up with a little crust on both sides then eat with some fresh squeezed lemon. Yummy.
If you make extra it's really good cold all by it's self or in a salad with your favorite dressing.


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## bandnerd1892 (Jun 30, 2008)

Ooh... That looks wonderful. I may end up trying that. I think I also need to try jpmcgrew's idea. That would taste splendid. Thanks for the suggestions!


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jun 30, 2008)

Oh man, so many choices.  Tpo 10.

1.Dredge in flour and pan fry in a couple inches of hot sunflower oil until lightly browned.  Sprinkle with salt and serve with baked sweet potatoes.

2. Place on a stell rack, on top of a jelly-roll sheet, and drizzle with melted butter of EVOO.  Sprinkle a bit of Itallian bread crumbs, and a bit of parmesan chees over the top and broil 3 inches under the heat until done.

3. Place on a rased rack, with rosemary sprigs and applewood shavings underneath, all in a stovetop smoker.  Drizzle a touch of lemon juice on top and place on stovetop, over medium heat for about 40 minutes.  Lightly salt and serve with fresh, rustic bread.

4. Throw that beautiful fish on the grill, over hardwood charcoal, with chunks of alder to provide smoke.  Cook until done.

5. Pan fry in just a bit of butter, slighly salt and pepper, and then cut into cubes.  Toss lightly into a red-leaf, or other leafy lettuce salad.  Drizzle with some good balsamic vinager.

6. Poach in a mixture of milk and tarrgon & garlic, with butter.  Serve with a bechemel flavored with butter and lemon.

7. Mince the raw salmon and combine with 1 large egg, 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 onioin minced, 1/2 red bell pepper, minced, 1/2 tsp. tarragon, salt and pepper, and 1/2 tsp. cayene pepper.  Form into thin patties and dredge in panko bread crumbs.  Lightly fry in hot oil until just browned.

8. Place onto a parchemnt paper lined jelly-roll pan, sprinkle with salt, garlic, and paprikka.  Bake at 400' F. for 20 minutes.  Serve with oven fried potatoes.

9. Place in a foil pouch with sliced pottatoes, coarse-chopped onion, and sliced carrot.  Seal and bake for thirty minutes, or until the veggies are soft, but with a light crunch.

10. Put it in a cast-iron pan with a bit of bacon fat and fry over a camp fire.  Serve with fried potato slices.

If you can't get inspiration from that list...  And I haven't even wandered into the soup, stew, and chowder fields yet, or the ice cream.

Seeeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## buckytom (Jun 30, 2008)

oh, don't ya be listenin' to the old blow hard. yes, those mere 10 ways are proper and fine ways of preparin salmon, but you asked a simpler question and the ol' north "wind" starts to blow!

just take a good pinch of dill, a good pinch of dried basil, and work it into 2 or 3 tbsp of butter. make smaller chunks and dot the filet with the herb butter, reserving a chunk. turn on broiler to heat, then sear the filet, skin side down (it's not really a filet if it has skin, but whatever.) in a mix of evoo and the reserved herb butter. place under broiler for 5 minutes, more or less depending on how you like yours done. i like mine mooing.

(you've nevger fished for jersey salmon, have you?)


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## lulu (Jun 30, 2008)

Well, i'm even simpler than you BT, I lightly flour the fillet, and season, pan fry in a knob of butter, till the skin is golden, crispy and the salmon is starting to show that its cooked by going opaque to about half way up the sides, then I turn the fillet, put a lid on my fying pan and turn the heat off while i go and lay the table or throw a salad or some lightly cooked vegetables together.

this method has never failed me, whether serving the salmon plain to be dressed at the table, or not, or with a sauce. it is cooked perfectly with that lovely just pinkness in the middle.

Salmon is the only fish I cook really well


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jun 30, 2008)

buckytom said:


> oh, don't ya be listenin' to the old blow hard. yes, those mere 10 ways are proper and fine ways of preparin salmon, but you asked a simpler question and the ol' north "wind" starts to blow!
> 
> just take a good pinch of dill, a good pinch of dried basil, and work it into 2 or 3 tbsp of butter. make smaller chunks and dot the filet with the herb butter, reserving a chunk. turn on broiler to heat, then sear the filet, skin side down (it's not really a filet if it has skin, but whatever.) in a mix of evoo and the reserved herb butter. place under broiler for 5 minutes, more or less depending on how you like yours done. i like mine mooing.
> 
> (you've nevger fished for jersey salmon, have you?)


 
What's nevger?  I can't seem to find it in Webster's, or any other dictionary.  Is that word specific to Joisey?  I mean, I know you drink that strange water over there, and have probably had a few too many shellfish at red-tide season.  But still...  

Maybe Bucky has a speech impediment.  He probably glued his tongue to the roof of his mouth.  And ya know, when you live in a place where the mercury drops below freezing, most boys, at some time or another, touch their tongues to something metal and get stuck there for a short while, until someone comes out to resuce them with a glass of hot water to warm the metal/tounge junction.  But when B.T. did it, his mother exclaimed; "Wow.  Our fortune has just changed to the better.  Let's leave him there for a while.  It'll be quiet in the house for the first time in seven years.  Oh happy day, oh happy day."

When I did it, I knew what could happen, so I didn't freeze my tongue to a steel or iron pole.  I did it on a mailbox.  The trick was to remove your tongue before it froze.  Sometimes, the metal was just too cold and you froze to it no matter how fast you were.  So I limited myself to mailboxes.  That way, if I got stuck, I'd just remove my mittens, open the mailbox, and warm the thin metal with my hands until my tongue release from its icy prison.

Poor Bucky has been mispronouncing words for years now, and it shows up every now and again in his spelling.

My mistakes are due to inaccurte finger placements on the keys.

His recipe is sound enough though.  It will make good salmon.  But that's it, the whole of his salmon cooking experience.  He's like that.  You have to carefully guide him to other recipes and techniques, like a small child.  After all, he has the IQ of a dachsund.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## CharlieD (Jun 30, 2008)

JillyBean said:


> I just tried a salmon fillet "en papillot", and it was delicious! Salmon filet with butter, lemon, salt, pepper, fresh dill from the garden, pepper flakes, a bit of olive oil on the bottom, wrapped up in kitchen parchment paper. In the oven for 20 mins at 375 and everything's steamed and buttery.


 

Now, wait a minute, this does look beautiful, but the only thing, the fish has not been cooked. The fish is raw! It has not been cooked. That is why it is such a bright red color.


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## kitchenelf (Jun 30, 2008)

Goodweed of the North said:


> After all, he has the IQ of a dachsund.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North



OH NOZE - you insulted ma babeee  And NO, she did not learn this pose from me!


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## Fisher's Mom (Jun 30, 2008)

Hey Elf, I'm thinkin' your babeee might need to do a couple of extra minutes on the treadmill this week.


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## JillyBean (Jun 30, 2008)

CharlieD said:


> Now, wait a minute, this does look beautiful, but the only thing, the fish has not been cooked. The fish is raw! It has not been cooked. That is why it is such a bright red color.


 
You're right!  That picture was taken before the thing was sealed and put in the oven.  I didn't take a picture of it after because...well...because we were drinking wine and I'm a cheap date and by the time 20 minutes had gone by I'd forgotten about taking a post-cooking picture.


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## jpmcgrew (Jun 30, 2008)

kitchenelf said:


> OH NOZE - you insulted ma babeee And NO, she did not learn this pose from me!


 OMG how much alcohol did you give this poor thing?


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## Jeekinz (Jun 30, 2008)

LOL - that mutt needs a belly rub.  How can you not just walk by and give that tummy a little smack?

Anyway, I like grilled salmon.  But JillyBean's dish looks awesome.  I would definately try that.


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## bandnerd1892 (Jun 30, 2008)

Thanks alot guys! You really are a great help!


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## Argamemnon (Jul 4, 2008)

Would adding some balsamic vinegar increase the flavor of salmon when frying? And do you add the balsamic vinegar generally at the beginning or at the end of the cooking process?


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## Bigjim68 (Jul 4, 2008)

One very quick trick that I use with salmon filets is to coat it with mayonaise, add pepper, and grill.  I think that mayonaise was originally a sauce used in french cooking.  Turn once, and garnish with grilled lemon


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## babetoo (Jul 4, 2008)

Bigjim68 said:


> One very quick trick that I use with salmon filets is to coat it with mayonaise, add pepper, and grill. I think that mayonnaise was originally a sauce used in french cooking. Turn once, and garnish with grilled lemon


 

sorta the same thing here, only put Worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice in the manonnaise, then coat fish. have done both in oven and on bbq. wrap in foil in either case. that is so it doesn't dry out. 

babe


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jul 6, 2008)

If it's a true balsamic vinegar, it will be too sweet for the fish.  The good stuff is aged for a very long time in oak barrels (I think it's oak) and is very syrupy and more sweet than vinagery.  It's not much used in cooking, but rather is used as a condiment.

In any case, a more acidic vinegar can tighten up the meat protien, and at least partially _*"cooking"*_ the fish.  Fish cooked with vinegar is common in Phillipino cuisine.  

There are a number of balsamic vinegars out there that are thin and that have overtones of wine or grape.  They are great to use for cooking, or making salad dressings.  

And for the record, there are a good number of people that believe salt water fish is parasite free and can be eaten raw, while fresh water fish contains parasites.  While fresh water fish can have harmful and dangerous parasites in them, including taperworm, so can saltwater fish.  Restaurants ensure the safety of their patrons by freezing the fish to about -15 degrees F. for many hours (I.C., could use your help here as I don't know the timing for this), which kills any parasites residing in the fish.

Just sharing info.

Seeeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## Russellkhan (Jul 6, 2008)

Goodweed of the North said:


> Restaurants ensure the safety of their patrons by freezing the fish to about -15 degrees F. for many hours (I.C., could use your help here as I don't know the timing for this), which kills any parasites residing in the fish.



I've put in a good number of years working in seafood restaurants (front of the house) and I've never heard of this practice. In fact the restaurants I worked in always claimed to be serving _fresh_ fish, which it seems to me they couldn't do if the fish had been frozen.

Russ


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## Bigjim68 (Jul 6, 2008)

I agree with you on this one.  I hope that any restaurant serving frozen fish would not call it fresh.  Also, I am not sure that parasites, etc, would not simply go dormant with freezing.  IMO, only heat will kill parasites.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jul 6, 2008)

Please see:www.cardiff.gov.uk/ObjView.asp?Object_ID=5910

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jul 6, 2008)

When I clicked on the link, it went into another part of DC.  So I copied the link address up in the address bar, first removing everything from www on.  The link comes up as a PDF file and states that by law, fish used for Sashimi must be frozen to -20 dgrees F. for 24 hours, and that documentation must be provided at every step of the sale process, except to the final consumer.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## linguini (Sep 3, 2008)

Have you tried Spiced Salmon Stir-Fry?


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## AllenOK (Sep 5, 2008)

I now that I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but you can blacken salmon.  Salt and pepper, then grill the salmon.  I've even hot-smoked salmon.  If you have a lot of salmon scraps, you can poach the salmon in a well-seasoned court-bouillion, let it cool, crumble it, and make it into mayo-based mixture for salmon patties (I'll post that recipe if you want).  Dust with Chinese 5-spice powder, pan-sear, and finish in the oven.

If you like Hollandaise sauce, this is perfect for it.  So is a compound butter that includes orange juice and/or lemon juice.


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