# Why is my salmon fillet not absorbing the salt?



## nothingIsMere (May 27, 2020)

The first time I ever oven-roasted salmon using the recipe at this link, it came out perfectly. (Not making the salad this time, just the salmon.) However, the last couple of times I've tried it, I've had two problems:

A. The salt does not absorb into the salmon. It just lays there on the surface area like wet sand, resulting in super-salty gross bites with unseasoned flesh on the inside.

I'm using Morton kosher salt, btw.

B. The salmon overcooks. It reaches 150F by 25 mins.

I want to say that I did everything the same these last two times as I did the first time, so it's super frustrating that I'm getting such crappy results. But I am now squaring to the fact that it simply can't be true. I must be doing something differently. But I'm using the same amount of salmon (1 lb), the same salt (Morton kosher), the same oven at the same temp (300F) for the same amount of time (30 min).

Anyway, the second problem is easy: just watch it more closely and re-calibrate my cooking time. But the first problem has me stumped. I can't for the life of me figure out why a salmon fillet would not absorb kosher salt as it cooks! My partner suggested that maybe the flakes are too big, but that doesn't seem plausible to me, because I've never heard anyone warn against using kosher salt when seasoning salmon. Also, whenever I've pan-roasted salmon, I've used the same salt with beautiful results. But I can't think of any other plausible explanation.

There's also the question of whether these two problems are independent of each other. Hmmm.

Does anyone have any ideas as to why my salmon won't absorb the salt when it cooks?


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (May 28, 2020)

Dry salmon completely with paper towels.  Sprinkle all over with salt.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in fridge for 20 minutes.  Preheat oven to 320 ' F'.  Rinse salmon under cold running water to remove excess salt.  Pat dry with paper towels.    Brush with unsalted butter, or toasted sesame oil.  Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes.  Test with fork to see if the flesh is firm and flakes in the thickest part of the fillet.  Remember, the thinner parts of the fish will cook faster.  You may want to place a tent of foil over the fillet to keep the thinner parts fro drying out. 

 That fillet is also great pan fried in hot oil, with no flour coating.  When the fish is done, simply drain on paper towels.

Hope this solves your issues.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## dcSaute (May 28, 2020)

watching that video, they oil the pan, then salt the skin side - and that does not look like kosher size grains....

salt does not dissolve in oil - so I'd use a finer grind, salt 15-20 minutes prior to plopping skin side down on the oil.....  salting generally brings moisture to the surface, which dissolves the crystals, which go liquid, then with the salt imbalance get re-adsorbed into the meat/fish/whatever.

another issue may be the salmon.  do you skin it yourself?  is the fillet dried out to the point there's not enough moisture left to dissolve/resorb the salt solution?

I've seen some really miserable stuff on display at supermarket fish counters . . .


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## jennyema (May 29, 2020)

Salt it 5 minutes before you cook it.  Salmon needs a lot of salt, IMO


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