Learn how to take skin off salmon with this easy post! Keep on scrolling down to learn more.
Common Concerns About Salmon
Why Do People Want To Remove The Salmon’s Skin?
Although the skin of salmon contains a large portion of nutrients, such as Omega-3, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B5 or Protein, many people hate eating it because they don’t like its taste and texture.
But this is not the only reason. According to a study published by the Environment International Journal in 2015.
The skin of Norwegian farmed salmons might comprise several contaminants, including heavy metals, Dioxins, and DDT, which are very harmful to human’s.
They explain that the water, where the fishes live, causes everything. It can be polluted from stuff that people discard, like garbage, medicines, sewage treatment plants, etc.
As these chemical substances contact with the salmon over time, they become concentrated in the skin of the fish.
Is Removing The Salmon’s Skin Always Good?
This is incorrect because not all salmons contain chemicals in their skin. If you buy them from reliable stores or supermarkets, there is nothing to worry about.
Additionally, skinless salmons are hard to cook. If you plan to poach them, just go ahead. However, if you’re going to grill, bark, broil or roast them.
You can face the overcooking issues. The fatty skin of salmons is the best natural tool which acts as a shield between the hot pan and the meat.
How To Take Skin Off Salmon Step By Step
Things To Prepare
Salmon
Of course, but hold on! You still need to know how to buy a perfect salmon.
Salmon is categorized into several groups, such as King, Chum, Coho, Sockeye or Pink. No matter which group you choose, always make sure you buy the fish that is fresh and moist from reliable stores or supermarkets.
It’s also recommended to pick a whole fish or at least a fillet well cut from its thickest part.
Sharp Knife
Since salmon is a large fish, you should use a large knife with a long and sharp blade (usually from 7 to 9 inches) to cut or fillet it.
For a particular product, I’d suggest the Dexter Wide Fillet Knife. It’s specifically designed for filleting fishes, made of high-carbon steel and very sharp as well.
Cutting Board
In most cases, you can utilize your cutting board in your kitchen. Don’t need to buy a new one or the one specially made for salmon because it’s not necessary.
Just make sure your board has the length that is longer than the length of the salmon.
Step by Step Guide:
Step 1: Place the Fillet on the Cutting Board
Before starting to remove the skin from salmon, you have to remember to prepare a stable working area. This step is essential, but most cooks ignored it because it will decide how easily that you can get salmon off or not.
Lay the fillet of salmon flatly on the cutting board. Make sure it’s lined up as close to the board’s edge, but not on the edge. This way, you’ll have the greater leverage to hold the fillet tightly enough for a perfect cut.
Step 2: Create a Grip
Grab your knife and cut directly down onto the tail of the fillet. You’ll start at this point, working up towards the head of the fish.
As you cut the tail, you’ll see a bloodline that gets quite a bit darker and is really close to the skin. If you cut into it even further, you might go through the skin. This is not good.
You don’t want to go all the way through the skin. Just keep it just above that point.
We would rather not waste salmon. We just want to create a minimal portion that we can use as a grip to cut the rest of the fish. So, I suggest that you should turn your knife at a 45-degree angle toward the tail.
Tips: You can sprinkle a bit of salt onto the tail. This will help you prevent slipping and offers you a good grip.
Step 3: Do Some First Cuts
Now you have the grip, what you’re going to do next is to hold this grip. Turn the knife toward the head of the fillet until it’s flat.
Make a couple of cuts. Then what’s going to happen is that you’ll get to work with that flat knife all the way along the length of the salmon’s fillet.
Since the skin is very smooth, you can easily lose the grip despite holding tightly. The solution here is to stick a hole into the skin so that you can pass your finger through this hold and get better leverage.
Note: Depending on the size of the fillet, you might need to change the way you create the leverage. With relatively small fillets, like my salmon one today, you just need to use your thumb and index finger.
But with larger sizes, such as a 100-lbs tuna, you might have to wrap your arm around the whole skin.
Step 4: Remove The Entire Skin
This step is the most challenging in the tutorial on how to remove skin from salmon. It also takes you more time than others.
As you cut through, always make sure your knife is in between the skin and the rest of the fillet of the salmon, and about a 15- to a 20-degree angle regarding the cutting board.
If your knife flattens or comes up too much, you’ll go too deep into the meat and waste it. On the other hand, if it goes too far, what you’ll get at the end is the meat with the skin still on it.
The best technique here is that you will not pull it up or zip it out. But instead, all you have to do is to grip the skin and move it back and forth slowly. So, you can release the meat from the skin as perfectly as you can.
Don’t forget always to pull the grip to stretch the skin, so you can work closely with your blade and never lose control of the fish.
For a very detailed and illustrative guide on how to take skin off salmon, check this video:
