I love salmon. I love the mild, distinct, but not ‘fishy’ taste, the firm, yet tender texture, the pretty pink appearance, the overall versatility and importantly, the fact that it’s a healthy food choice. I guess you can tell my preference since this is the second time I’m writing about it in 4 months. However, it is a real menu ‘go-to’ shining in presentations, both cold and hot from elegant to casual I wrote about it earlier, suggesting several Lenten dinners. Now I’m suggesting easy, make-ahead recipes for cold summer meals. Whether you stay home or are on vacation, there are several reasons to count on salmon for dinner. Here I’m going to quote from my first post;

“It’s 1) Available, all year, fresh and frozen, 2) Accessible, from individual frozen fillets in Dollar Stores, to frozen multi-packs and fresh in supermarkets to freshly cut in fish markets 3) Affordable, with such a range of outlets there is something to fit every wallet and 4) Sustainable, still plentiful in the wild and very successfully farmed.

Salmon is a bit complicated to understand simply because it’s often sold listing species. Salmon is native to the northern regions of both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, but there are some non-migratory species living in lakes in Europe, North America and Siberia. Unfortunately, the Western Atlantic Coast has been over-fished and the only commercial hauls from that region are in Nova Scotia, where most of the catch is smoked before sale.

Native to the Eastern Pacific coast are 1) the Chinook, also called King or Blackmouth salmon, the largest Pacific species reaching 30 lb. 2)The Coho, or silver salmon which ranges as far as Southern California, 3)The Sockeye, a lake-rearing species and plankton eater, often used for canning; 4)The Chum, also called the dog or calico which has the widest range of the Pacific salmon covering both coasts; 5) The Pink also has a wide, but more northern range and is the smallest species, 6) The Masu is exclusive to the western Pacific coast. There are other salmonoid species in several countries but their marketing is strictly local.

Salmon is prepared in many ways, though I don’t recall ever seeing it deep fried or in batter. As for the actual cooking I quote The Canadian Department of Fisheries, recommended by top chefs from James Beard to Steven Raichlen and Bobby Flay. “Regardless of method, the cooking time should be 10 min. per inch of thickness of the fish at its thickest point”. If you have a whole fish 4 inches thick, you will cook it 40 min.; a steak 1 ½ inches would take 15 min. or 7 ½ min. per side and a thin fillet ½ inch thick would be 5 min. or 2 ½ per side.” (I tend to be more cautious here and allow 3 min. per side.) Tongs are great to turn fish steaks but spatulas are better for fillets and, if I’m doing thin fillets on an outdoor grill, I use a ‘fish holder’; a grill accessory with a long handle, which holds the fish between two rectangular pieces of metal mesh, making flipping them during cooking without breaking them easy.

Salmon, especially fresh, may have skin. Personally, I don’t like the skin on a fish fillet nor do I like messing the presentation, by having to flip the fish to remove it, or enjoy having to scrape the meat off the skin as I eat.  I empathize with parents who are trying to teach their children healthy eating. Fish is a hard sell to begin with and serving it with that ‘ickey’ skin is no help.

Actually, removing the skin is an easy, if a bit delicate, task.  Lay the fillet, flesh down, on a flat surface, thick end front. A cutting board or waxed paper covered counter top is ideal. Place the fish at a slight diagonal to you, and gently lift one corner by the skin. It should start to separate from the meat, allowing you to slip a sharp knife between the two and carefully slice them apart. I usually use a 5 inch knife for this job, but knife size depends on the fillet and whatever you’re comfortable with. The important thing is that the knife is sharp.

Leaving the skin on may cause fish to curl when cooking because the skin contracts. The best way to prevent this is to slit the skin across several times and start the cooking skin side down.  Even with the skin removed, some types of fish, like Monkfish, may still have a tendency to curl. I have found that the only way to prevent this is by snipping the darker line of flesh that can be seen when the skin is removed. It runs lengthwise down the center of the fillet and several shallow cuts crosswise with a scissors seems to relax it enough to stay flatter during cooking.”

RECIPES:

Top of Form

Poached Salmon with Sauce:

Serves 4
1 ½ lbs. of salmon fillets or steaks
1 Tbs. lemon juice
Bring water to cover and lemon juice to a boil and reduce to an even simmer. Slide fish in gently and cook about 8-10 min. per pound until the flesh turns pale pink and flakes easily. Remove from heat, run fish under cold water to stop cooking and remove skin, and spine bone, if still there in steaks. Serve warm or chill on a covered plate at least 1 hour.
Sauce: Can be made the night before-keep covered and chilled
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup sour cream
1 ½ tsp. dill weed or to taste*
Mix all ingredients well and allow flavors to meld several hours in the refrigerator. Add more dill to taste if needed. Serve dolloped over chilled fish.
*Note: Optionally substitute 1 peeled, seeded, finely chopped cucumber for the dill OR add it to the dill sauce.

Grilled Balsamic Salmon:

Serves 4
4 salmon fillets
1 tsp. dried dill weed
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste
Preheat grill or broiler, place rack about 4 inches from heat and lightly oil or place fish on a lightly oiled pan or piece of foil. Cook fish about 5-8 min. until lightly browned and it flakes easily. Brush liberally on both sides with vinegar; add salt and pepper to taste, plate and sprinkle with dill. Serve hot or room temperature.

Smoked Salmon and Spinach Terrine;

Serves 8-Adapted from Recipes 1-2-3 by Rozanne Gold
(1) 10 oz. box frozen chopped spinach-thawed and drained of excess water
1 lb. thinly sliced smoked salmon
½ lb. unsalted butter –softened-1 Tbs.in reserve
Freshly ground black pepper
Use the 1 Tbs. of butter to grease the bottom of a 1 ½ qt. loaf pan and line pan with plastic wrap. Blend the remainder of the butter and spinach to a paste. Place a layer salmon in the bottom of the pan, cover
with ¼ inch of spinach mix. Repeat layering twice, ending with fish, there should be 3 layers of spinach and 4 of salmon. Refrigerate at least3 hrs. Unmold by dipping the pan in hot water, if necessary and serve in 1inch slices. Garnish with slices of hard-boiled egg, or present with any style of eggs.

Home–Cured Gravlax:

Serves 8- From Recipes 1-2-3 by Rozanne Gold
2 ½ lb. side or thick piece from a side of salmon-skin on
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup kosher salt
1 ½ cups fresh dill
1 Tbs. freshly ground black pepper
Remove the small pin bones from salmon and pat dry. Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Combine the other ingredients and cover the flesh of the fish, rubbing the mix in. Cover with plastic wrap, put another baking sheet on top and weigh down with several cans. Refrigerate 72 hrs., pouring off water daily and rewrapping. To serve scrape off seasonings and slice on the bias at a 30 deg. angle, lifting slices off the skin. Serve with any form of eggs, on a bagel with cream cheese, or on buttered toast points with capers or onions and chopped hard-boiled eggs. Can also be used in pastas, casseroles and quiches.

Whole Grilled Salmon with Lemon and Dill:

Men are buy tadalafil online required to have a good life with no worries. You can stop your viagra brand 100mg hair from falling out by helping your body restore the essential nutrients to your organs and boost the functioning to keep you in good mood; maintain bone strength and healthy muscle mass. You can buy Kamagra online easily. / Kamagra has an active ingredient Sildenafil citrate viagra in india that prevents the decomposition of cGMP made in penile tissues for erection. If they lack self-assurance then the patients must http://deeprootsmag.org/2014/04/04/circling-back/ purchase cheap viagra stop the consumption of such medicinal products are considered to be subtle over the health of the person it happens to be that the two of them are not firm. Serves 15-20-From 500 3-Ingredient Recipes by Robert Hildebrand and Carol Hildebrand
1 whole salmon, cleaned and scaled-about 8-10 lbs.
2 bunches dill-a few sprigs reserved for garnish
6 lemons-2 quartered in reserve
1 cup olive oil
Rinse the salmon and pat dry, check all scales are removed. Thinly slice the remaining lemons. Lay out a large piece of heavy foil and spread one bunch of dill on a space the size of the salmon, cover with 1/3^rd of the lemons, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the fish on top, salt and pepper the cavity and fill with another 1/3^rd of the lemon slices. Cover the fish with the other bunch of dill, the remaining lemon slices, salt and pepper. Pour the oil over all and fold foil up and over the fish to seal, leaving some airspace. You might want to use a second piece of foil to make a secure package. Place the package on a medium heat grill and cook for 20 min.Turn package and grill another 20 min. Douse any flare-ups with water. Carefully lift the salmon from the opened package with 2 spatulas. Garnish with reserved dill and lemon quarters. Can be served at room temperature for a buffet.

Pickled Salmon:

Serves 4-6- From Recipes 1-2-3 by Rozanne Gold
4 large salmon steaks
6 Tbs. white vinegar
4 tsp. pickling spice
Place the salmon steaks in a skillet(or two)large enough to hold them easily and pour in 1cup water for each 2 steaks. Add the rest of the ingredients, cover the pan(s) with waxed paper, bring to a boil and lower heat to medium. Cook 4-5 min. turn over and cook 4-5 min. more. Remove fish, with liquid to a shallow dish, cool, then chill well. Drain to serve, keeps 4-5 days in the refrigerator. Excellent for picnics, goes with most summer sides.

Creamy Salmon Mold:

serves 8-10
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin –divided
1 ½ cups small curd cottage cheese
1 green bell pepper in small dice-divided
2 Tbs. grated onion or in tiny dice
8 oz. cooked salmon-or canned- flaked
½ cup celery in small dice
2 Tbs. lemon juice
¾ cup mayonnaise
½ cup cold water-divided
2/3 cups hot to boiling water-divided
½ Tbs. dried dill weed
Part 1-Place ¾ envelope gelatin in ¼ cup cold water allowing 5 min. to soften. Combine cheese, onion and ¼ cup pepper. Dissolve gelatin in 1/3 cup boiling water, add to cheese mix, stir well and place in the bottom of a rinsed, but not dried mold. Chill until almost set.
Part 2-Soften the remainder of the gelatin in ¼ cup cold water, and combine all the remaining ingredients, except the water, stirring well to get a uniform texture. Dissolve the gelatin in 1/3 cup hot water and add to the fish mix. Place on top of the cheese in the mold and chill well. Unmold to serve and slice.

NOTE: Salmon Salad:

Simply omit the cheese, gelatin and water from the above recipe. This is excellent as a sandwich filling, a tomato stuffing or simply mounded on lettuce.

Salmon Cheesecake:

Serves 10-From Recipes for Romance by Gail Greco
1/3 cup fine, unseasoned breadcrumbs
½ cup +3 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
(3 ½ ) 8oz. packages of cream cheese
4 eggs
1/3 cup heavy cream
3 Tbs. butter
½ cup EACH finely diced onion and red bell pepper
5 oz. smoked salmon
½ cup blue cheese
2 Tbs. chopped fresh tarragon
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Mix the Parmesan and breadcrumbs and sprinkle in a 10 inch springform pan. Rotate until the bottom and sides of the pan are evenly coated. Saute the onions and pepper in the butter until softened. Beat the cheese, eggs, and cream until smooth. Gently fold in 3 Tbs. Parmesan, blue cheese, fish and vegetables. Stir carefully until well combined, pour into the prepared pan, and shake gently to level. Wrap foil under to bottom of the pan and fold up along the sides, place in a larger pan with 2 inches of water bake in a preheated 300 deg. oven for 1 hr. 40 min. until golden. Turn off heat and leave in oven for 1 hr. then cool on a rack for 2 hr. before removing from the pan. Serve sliced at room temperature or chilled.

Smoked Salmon with Dill Mousse:

Serves 4- From Recipes 1-2-3 by Rozanne Gold
1 lb. smoked salmon, cut in 1/4 -1/2 inch pieces
2 bunches fresh dill—some fronds reserved for garnish
4 Tbs. olive oil
Cut heavy stems from dill to get 1 cup packed leaves, then chop finely. Puree while slowly adding oil, 2 Tbs. cold water and salt to taste. Press salmon into mounds about 2 ½ inches in diameter and 1 inch high in the center of 4 plates. Top with sauce and garnish with reserved dill.

NOTE: This can also be served with the sauces from Poached Salmon above.