Zero Waste Kitchen - Salmon Edition
Get in the Zero Waste Kitchen with Top Chef Finalist, Adrienne Cheatham, as she shares a full step-by-step guide to breaking down a whole salmon and the creative ways you can use the scales, skin and scraps!
1. Whole Salmon. Before cutting into your fish rinse it well with cold water, be sure to not only rinse the outside but also the cavity as well. Using the back of a knife, a spoon, or fish scaler if you have one, remove the scales by scraping from the tail to the head. Cut out the gills and discard.
Use the Scales!
Rinse the scales in a fine colander to clean them, lay out on towels to dry, and save for frying! Fried salmon scales are light and crispy and great sprinkled on top of any salmon dish!
2. Use a towel or paper towels to dry the fish a bit, it’s much easier to handle if it’s not as slippery! Also, make sure your knife is sharp for the next part.
3. Make your first cuts across the tail and on an angle behind the head/collar, cut straight down until you feel the bone, but don’t cut through it. Think of these as your guide, your next cut will be along the spine connecting these two cuts. Hold the tail with your left hand, and get the blade of your knife flat against the spine – cutting under the filet where you’ve made at the tail cut. Your knife should be parallel to your work surface.
4. Holding the tail firmly, push your blade toward the head in one smooth motion, removing the top filet of salmon. Remove any pin bones from the front half of the filet.
5. Flip your fish over and repeat, removing the second filet.
Use the Bones!
Salmon bones make great stock for soup. Soak the head and bones in cold water for 5 - 10 minutes, change the water twice, soaking 5 -10 minutes each time. Then place in a pot and add cold water to cover by 3 inches.
Heat the pot over medium - low heat, you want the water to steam and just barely reach a simmer. Skim the foam that accumulates on top of the water and cook until the stock is clear, adjusting the heat as necessary to avoid too much motion in the water. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and freeze or use to make Scandinavian salmon soup with potatoes and dill.
6. You can portion your filets with skin or without, totally up to you. If you want portions with no skin make sure to remove the skin from the whole filet before portioning (less tedious to do one big piece than skinning multiple pieces). Similar to filleting the fish, have your side of salmon flat on your work surface, cut into the fillet just above the tail end until you just touch the skin, then turn your knife parallel to the work surface (make sure your knife is flush against the skin and not angled up or down). Hold the tail firmly and gently wiggle the skin back and forth while gently moving your knife forward toward the head end of the filet. The most important thing is to keep your knife flat and steady against the skin, while the other hand does the moving, this will help prevent the blade from cutting through the skin. Once removed, scrape the skin with a knife to remove any flesh or fat, and rinse in cold water.
Use the Skin!
Salmon skin makes excellent chicharrones! Place the skin completely flat on a baking tray lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and cover with another mat or piece of parchment. Bake at 300F until skin is completely dry and crisp, about 25 - 30 minutes, let cool completely before breaking into pieces to fry (this can be done up to 5 days before frying, keep the baked skin pieces in the refrigerator until ready to fry). In a small sauté pan, heat ½ - inch of Canola or any high temperature neutral oil until it is just smoking, carefully place pieces, one at a time, into hot oil until puffed and immediately place on paper towels to drain, sprinkle with salt and enjoy!
7. With the skin removed, clean the fillet by carefully slicing out the grey muscle on the back side. Use your knife to get just under the grey part, being careful to not cut into the beautiful flesh, and slice it off as best you can.
Use the Scraps!
These salmon “scraps” contain a lot of fat, when you’re finished place them all in a small pot on low heat and let the fat slowly render out. Stir once or twice when the fat starts rise, to prevent sticking/burning, and continue cooking for 20 - 25 minutes. Strain the fat through a fine mesh sieve, and place in the refrigerator to chill before whipping with softened butter (1 cup whipped butter with 1/2 cup salmon fat).
