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How to choose good salmon, how to prepare and preserve fresh salmon for a long time, properly
14
Jul
Jul
Salmon is one of the foods that contain many nutrients that are very good for health. Let’s learn how to choose to buy, how to process and how to preserve this nutritious food with thucphamkho.vn!
1. How to choose fresh salmon
For whole fresh salmon
To choose a fresh salmon, first you need to look at the eye part of the salmon. Observe that the fish eyes are clear, not opaque and turn yellow, then it is fresh fish. In addition, fresh fish is fish with slightly swollen ankles, if the eyes are sunken, the fish is not tasty.
The fish body ensures brightness and gloss. Fish skin close to the body, not peeling, bumping, scratching.
As for gills, you can easily see them with the naked eye. If the gills are bright red and not torn, the fish is fresh. Do not buy fish whose gills have turned dark red or pale. In addition, the gills also did not have the phenomenon of accumulation of bruises.
Fresh fish has a characteristic fishy odor and no foul or chemical odor. Besides, fish with fresh color, not dull or turn lighter, fish with good elasticity is fresh fish.
Hold the fish by the tail and shake it vigorously to check the firmness of the fish’s backbone. If the hand feels firm, not loose, the fish is delicious. The curved tail does not show wrinkles, the fish is fresh.
For fish that has been filleted
To choose quality salmon fillets, you need to pay attention to the following characteristics:
Fresh salmon flesh is usually bright orange or pink-orange. If the meat turns darker, it means the fish meat has spoiled or is about to go to the stage of decomposition.
Besides, delicious meat will have extremely good elasticity. When you press on the fish meat with your hand, you will see a dent but quickly return to its original state
Observe that the surface of the meat is dry, free of moisture or foreign pus. The fat veins on the body of the fish are even and bright, without dullness or brown spots.
In addition, fresh salmon fillets will have a characteristic aroma, without strange odors or blackening.
How to distinguish fresh salmon from frozen salmon?
Fresh salmon is salmon that is stored at the ideal temperature within the first 15 days after being caught. After being caught, salmon will have to go through many stages such as transportation, preliminary processing, … until it reaches the consumer. Therefore, using salmon in the first 7 days is safe and the meat is the best
Frozen salmon is fish that has been preserved by freezing and storing in the freezer compartment for long-term use. In this way, the salmon after catching can be used for about 2-3 months.
2. How to prepare salmon clean, not smelly
How to cook whole salmon
First, you use a knife to cut the fish belly, cut off all the intestines inside
Then you use a very sharp knife to cut from the head to the tail of the fish. You should control the knife to follow the fish’s spine to get all the meat, avoiding waste. You should also cut evenly and gently so that the cut is smooth so that the salmon meat is even and not broken.
Then, brush off the scales on the outside of the fish. Place the fish on a large cutting board or a clean, dry surface. This will keep the fish from slipping. The fish does not move and has a large space for you to manipulate easily.
After cutting off one side of the fish, you use one hand to stretch the fish skin, the other hand use a sharp knife to cut off the fish skin. You cut from the tail of the fish to the belly of the fish, the operation will be easier.
Finally, use tweezers to pick up all the bones that are still stuck in the meat. Now you can cut salmon into small pieces depending on the dish you are about to prepare
In fact, if you’re cooking at home, you should buy pre-made salmon. They are sold a lot in markets, supermarkets and other e-commerce sites… to be safer and save more time. Prepared whole salmon is more suitable for restaurants or parties with large servings.
Pro tip: The skin and fins of the fish should not be thrown away but can be cleaned and processed into other dishes such as: salted roasted fish skin or fried salmon fins with very attractive fish sauce.
How to get rid of the fishy smell of salmon
Salmon has a distinctive flavor. However, to enjoy the standard flavor, you need to know how to remove the fishy smell of salmon. You can refer to the ways below
Method 1: Remove the fishy smell of salmon with lemon
This method is very simple but highly effective. You just need to prepare a cup / bowl of filtered water and add 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of salt.
Stir gently and leave for about 30 seconds to 1 minute and then rinse with clean water. You can use a slice of lemon to rub, gently massage the fish meat to clean the fish.
Finally, wash it off with clean water. Then use a paper towel or clean towel to dry the surface of the fish. The acids in lemon will effectively remove the fishy smell of fish.
Note: You should not soak salmon for too long in lemon juice because it will change the taste and make it difficult to prepare dishes.
Method 2: Remove the fishy smell of salmon with fresh milk
Fresh milk has a very effective deodorizing effect. You just need to put the fish meat in a bowl and then pour in fresh milk so that all the fish meat is covered.
Soak fish in milk for about 10 minutes. Then rinse with clean water and let dry.
Compounds in milk can help food in general and salmon in particular lose its fishy smell quickly. Not only that, fresh milk also helps to enhance the taste of salmon.
Method 3: Remove the fishy smell of salmon with wine and ginger
This method is also extremely simple and effective as the two methods above.
All you need is to find some ginger in your house and mince or smash it. Then put it in a bowl and pour in the white wine. If you don’t have alcohol, you can also use vinegar instead.
Next, put the salmon in the bowl. You can mix wine (or vinegar) with a little clean water to submerge the fish.
Soak the fish in the mixture for about 7-10 minutes, then take it out and wash it with cold water to be able to process attractive dishes.
See also: Summary of delicious and nutritious seaweed in Vietnam and Japan
3. How to defrost frozen salmon
You can refer to the following 3 ways to choose a suitable and safe defrosting method for yourself
Method 1: Defrost salmon in the refrigerator
For this method, you need to take the salmon from the freezer to the outside environment about 12 hours before processing. The time may be longer if the volume of salmon is larger. For example, fish weighing 450 – 700g should be taken out 24 hours before.
Remove the bag or packaging containing the fish, wrap the fish with foil or cling film to prevent bacteria from contacting the surface of the fish and multiplying, causing rancidity.
Put the fish in a bowl, put it in the refrigerator at a temperature of 2 – 5 degrees Celsius. Remember to keep the fish away from other foods in the refrigerator so that they smell.
You watch until the fish is soft, you can take it out for processing
Method 2: Defrost salmon with cold water
With this method, you need to take the fish out of the freezer about 30 minutes before processing. The larger the volume, the more time it takes.
As with the method above, you need to remove the bag containing the salmon. Cover the fish with paper or plastic wrap to prevent bacteria from growing.
Then soak the fish in a bowl, pot or directly inside the pot. About 30 minutes, you proceed to change the soaking water once.
Finally, wait until you feel the fish become softer than it can be.
Method 3: Defrost salmon in the microwave
The first thing you need to do is to take the salmon out of the freezer and remove all the packaging, bags or containers of fish.
Wrap the fish in tissue paper, then place the fish in a glass dish. The plate must be large enough so that the fish does not spill out
Put the fish in the microwave and turn on the defrost mode on the microwave for 4-5 minutes. For fish weight of about 450 – 500g, the capacity used is about 30%. You can adjust accordingly based on the weight of the fish.
After about 2 minutes, turn off the oven, carefully flipping the fish. Gloves can be used to avoid burns. Then continue to bake until the remaining time is up.
Finally, you take the fish out and leave it until the fish is soft, then proceed to process it right away!
Tips for defrosting salmon
- To defrost whole salmon, at the end of the process, you should check to see if there are any ice cubes inside the fish’s belly. If there is still, you can bring the fish back and rinse it with clean water so that the ice falls off and you can go to the kitchen to process it right away.
- Salmon after defrosting needs to be processed immediately to avoid affecting the taste of the fish. And create an environment for bacteria to grow.
- You should not defrost fish in warm or hot water. Prevent bacteria from multiplying
- Never refreeze defrosted fish. Because home conditions cannot be up to the standards of frozen facilities. So this is one of the reasons why fish meat is rotten and soft even when you freeze it.
- Therefore, you need to consider the amount of salmon that needs to be defrosted to be just enough. Avoid waste and safe for health.
- To be on the safe side, it’s a good idea to record or mark the packing date before storing in the freezer. And you should only use fish that has been frozen for no more than 8 weeks by the time you defrost and use it.
See more: Tips or distinguishing poisonous mushrooms and healthy mushrooms?
How to properly preserve salmon, keep it for a long time?
If you’re buying fish (fresh or fillet) to use during the day, simply freeze – for whole fish and refrigerate – for fillets. Storing salmon in this way should only be used within 24 hours.
If you decide not to use it all within the day, you should put the fish in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator (also known as the freezer). Frozen fish can be preserved for 2-3 months.
How to freeze salmon at home safely and quickly
First, you need to thoroughly prepare the fish to freeze. Can be washed with dilute salt water to disinfect bacteria that naturally exist on fish. This helps the fish to be preserved longer and safer.
Next, you apply a little salt on the surface of the fish to avoid bacteria and retain the inherent substance of the fish.
Put the fish in a plastic bag used to supply copper and put the fish in the refrigerator to freeze. This process needs to be ongoing. Avoid interruptions to ensure food quality and safety.
Above is information on how to choose to buy and prepare salmon safely and simply. Hope this article will bring you useful information about salmon
See more useful tips at Dung Ha Agricultural website
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