salmon

[isaac]

i was wondering if there was any way to utalize the skin and carcus of the salmon. i hate wasting them.

[coolJ]

Why not use them for fish stock ?

[isaac]

i was taught not to use the carcus for fish stock becasue the salmon is a firm, fatty fish and makes a realllllly bad stock.

[kuan]

Scrape the excess meat off the bones with a spoon. Use this for mousse or salmon cakes. Some cultures value the salmon head for its succulence. Turned into fish head curry, this can be a delectable treat for the right person .

Check out the salmon skin roll next time you're at a sushi bar. To me, that's the best ever use of salmon skin.

Making a stock out of salmon remains requires roasting the carcass first. It tastes fine to me. Try it on your customers, if they don't like it, you can always feed the house with it!

Kuan

[cape chef]

Hi Issac....

I would not recommend using salmon Bones for stock,To oily.. When making any fish fumet use the frames from white fish and besure to remove the gills and blood line and rinse well in cold water and only simmer for 25 minutes and start only with cold water.After you fillet your salmon the meat that is on the frame can be scraped with a spoon and used for terrines;quenells,raviolis etc.The skin is great if you make sure it is well scaled,brush with vegetable oil,season with kosher salt and pepper and slow roast it until it is nice and crisp. You can cut into triangles etc and place as a garnish with your salmon entree,maybe as a top layer of a grilled salmon nepolian,or standing up in a dollop of leek/potao purre with your salmon. do a seared salmon caeser with diced crisp skin instead of croutons. Use your imagination
cc

[isaac]

wow, that is a great idea for the skins!

[logose]

Perhaps in European cooking using the carcass for soup is not desirable, but in Japanese cooking this is not so. I use the bones and sometimes even the head and tail to make a wonderful stock that you can serve as a bouillon after adding rice wine, little soy sauce and a touch of salt and with perhaps a shiitake mushroom floating in it or perhaps a leaf or two of steamed spinach or just by it self. The bones especially if it has some meat left on it can be cooked with soy sauce, sugar and a little rice wine. Pull it off the bone when cooked and it makes a wonderful accompaniment to hot Japanese rice and serve it with some of the salmon soup.
You can also take the skin of the salmon and grill it and serve with ponzu sauce or use it for the hand rolled sushi(temaki) you make with a half a sheet of nori and sushi rice. This is just some of the things that can be done with salmon.

[kuan]

Now if you gave the carcass to one of the iron chefs, they would break down the carcass and make salmon liver mousse, tempura salmon cheekmeat, salmon fin gratin, salmon eyeball soup, salmon haggis, and salmon tail ravioli garnished with pickled salmon lip.

Kuan

[Jim]

I have cut the skin into 4" sections and tucked a chiffonade of bok choy, napa cabbage and julienne of carrot sauteed with sliced ginger onto the skin. Then I rolled them like a spring roll. The only difference is that you can not 'glue' them like a traditional roll. I skewered them and pan fried them. Hoisin dipping sauce and there you go.

[chefjohnpaul]

Isaac, actually there is a fish sauce from classical Escoffier cooking that utilizes salmon bones and heads. It is sauce Genevoise and is a sauce made of salmon fumet, red wine and finished with anchovy essence and mounted with butter.

[shroomgirl]

Jim that is such a novel way to play with salmon skin....can't wait to try it.