Seeking advice with fresh caught salmon

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CakeM1x

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Buddy of mine caught some wild salmon today and is bringing it tomorrow for me to cook. Wife and I only like salmon raw or sous at 120ish. With it freshly caught and not being flash frozen to kill any parasites I'm asking for anyone's favorite preparations for salmon as I don't think our usual dishes are safe? Or is this like it used to be with cooking pork to 165 and making everyone hate it? Any feedback would be great!
 
Fresh is perfect. It'll be fine even if you do it raw. Make a ceviche if you like.

And if you throw it on the grill, don't overcook it. No more than medium rare.
 
Dust it up with so m e blackened seasonings, get a cast iron pan nice and hot on the grill. Give it a good crust on both sides.
 
Skin side down on the grill with Montreal steak seasoning

Cook until pink and still moist - Don't flip

Skin may stick to the grates but that is fine.

Learned this at a fishing lodge in Nootka Sound BC
 
If you don't like it traditionally cooked, and don't trust it raw from the Great Lakes (I personally don't), Google "candied smoked salmon nuggets". You can also add some bourbon to the glaze. It's different enough from traditional smoked salmon that you'd likely enjoy it.
 
Take a whole Salmon side and rub it with a light coat of Olive Oil and your favorite seasonings. Get your grill really hot and lay it flesh side down on the front of your grill with the belly towards you on the grill for 90 seconds or so depending on how hot a fire.

You will need two large spatulas (one in each hand) which you will gently insert under the belly meat and roll the salmon fillet over to the skin side and let it cook for another minute or so. You can use a fork to pull back a section of meat to see how rare it is inside and pull to your liking keeping in mind that it will continue to cook after removing from the grill.

Use the same two spatulas to insert under the skin side and gently remove the entire fillet and place on a sheet tray. You can slice off sections or pull with a fork. I LOVE Salmon Fish Tacos made this way.

Good luck!
 
With fresh salmon I am in the skin side down, no flip camp, grill to just a bit past medium rare. Been there for 30 years. There are a million ways to season it. One I like is coat it with a very thin bit of mayo or olive oil, S&P, a little garlic, maybe some chili powder or cumin, and the zest of one orange on it.
 
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Well, I guess by now you have figured out there are many ways to cook salmon, and all of them are good. I agree with cooking skin side down over a medium to medium low fire (or a raised grate if you can pull that off), and I'm fine with simpler seasonings. I never turn my fillets. Just watch the internal temperature, it will start to week albumen around 130° and be done when the thicker areas reach 140°. If you wait until the thicker section is flaky, it is overdone. The tail will be a bit more done, which some people prefer, and the belly strip will be slightly fattier, which some like also.

Let us know how it turned out.
 
Dry brine in a healthy amount of brown sugar and salt for a couple hours. Lay some dill and lemon slices on it. Smoke on a cedar plank.
 
teriyaki and pineapple juice, as soon as one layer sets, glaze again (and again)
 
if you like sousvide then go for it !
 
Ended up telling him to freeze it for a week to take the worry out cause I think 140 on salmon is way to high for my liking. I ended up doing a paella instead on the weber to take the heat outside. It turned out great (sorry no socarrat pic but it was there). My wife and her sister that went to Spain 8 months ago said it was so much better than what they had there so I'd call it a success. Chicken, chorizo, shrimp, and mussels with some grilled lemons.
WH01YwU.png
 
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CakeM1x said:
Ended up telling him to freeze it for a week to take the worry out cause I think 140 on salmon is way to high for my liking. I ended up doing a paella instead on the weber to take the heat outside. It turned out great (sorry no socarrat pic but it was there). My wife and her sister that went to Spain 8 months ago said it was so much better than what they had there so I'd call it a success.
WH01YwU.png
Click to expand...

Plan B with the paella looks pretty good. Let us know how the upcoming salmon cook comes out. BTW, tell your buddy to pick up a freezer thermometer. 7 days at -4 is required to kill the parasites. 10 days gives you a little insurance. Most home freezers struggle to get 0°, so it's a good idea to check.
 
thirdeye said:
Plan B with the paella looks pretty good. Let us know how the upcoming salmon cook comes out. BTW, tell your buddy to pick up a freezer thermometer. 7 days at -4 is required to kill the parasites. 10 days gives you a little insurance. Most home freezers struggle to get 0°, so it's a good idea to check.
Click to expand...

Yup I know, he has the same freezer as I do so it is below -4 but thanks for the reassurance! My mom loves your smoked salmon recipe btw :D
 
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