Salmon Help ...

Fish does not like me, so I generally don't prepare it ... except when I'm feeling suicidal or have my Epi-Pen nearby or am moved to do such by Cupid.

Cupid has spoken and I would like to make salmon over lentils for my very special salmon-and-lentil-loving friend. I will probably simply rub some salmon fillets with olive oil and season them with salt and pepper. These will then be tossed into a very hot pan and allowed to brown thoroughly on one side after which I will flip them and shove the whole pan into a 450ºF oven to finish them off. But that's the 64 shekel question: When are they finished?

I generally eat stuff pretty rare, but my very special salmon-and-lentil-loving friend likes things well done. No pink.

What's the general feeling about how long a 1" thick fillet should hang in the over to become (ugh, groan) well done without becoming dry as a cheap fish stick? What is a good internal temperature for this?

Thanks!

Gary, if you cook salmon to well done, it ruins it., IMHO. We always grill our fish, except for a few excellent dishes for white fish that are cooked with tomatoes and some sort of grain. Gene always cooks the salmon until the moment it flakes in the middle. He watches it very closely, uses the fork and checks several times. The fish is very moist and shows no sign of being raw. He does the same with halibut and Chilean Sea Bass.

Fish does not like me, so I generally don't prepare it ... except when I'm feeling suicidal or have my Epi-Pen nearby or am moved to do such by Cupid.

Cupid has spoken and I would like to make salmon over lentils for my very special salmon-and-lentil-loving friend. I will probably simply rub some salmon fillets with olive oil and season them with salt and pepper. These will then be tossed into a very hot pan and allowed to brown thoroughly on one side after which I will flip them and shove the whole pan into a 450ºF oven to finish them off. But that's the 64 shekel question: When are they finished?

I generally eat stuff pretty rare, but my very special salmon-and-lentil-loving friend likes things well done. No pink.

What's the general feeling about how long a 1" thick fillet should hang in the over to become (ugh, groan) well done without becoming dry as a cheap fish stick? What is a good internal temperature for this?

Thanks!

Gary, this is not going to be ANY help to you whatsoever. My way of doing salmon is to brush with butter that has been heavily infused with dill. I get Hot Mama up to about 350 degrees and then lay the dilled salmon of the grid skin side down, and cook for for 4- 6 minutes, never over 10. After taking the salmon off the cooking grid, I baste again with the dilled butter an take the skin off the fish, portion to plates and scarf! Like I said, this doesn't help you any.

HI, Gary
Salmon is ruined if you cook it until it's dry (which is too often what most people mean when they want fish well done). The rule is to cook it 7 minutes per inch. But, if you are using a grill, that is not an ideal way to test for doneness. One sure fire way is to check your fish for the change in texture of the protein strands. They will turn white just as the fish cooks. Then, let it cook an additional 5 minutes at most. Below is a recipe that will withstand a bit more temperature and a little more doneness and still render you a pretty good tasting fish. People who like their fish well done will give it mixed reviews, because it remains moist and tender and often is not the texture they are seeking. All of the measurements are approximate. Add more or less of what you prefer. The flavor of this fish is greatly improved if you cook it over charcoales and have a chunk of alder wood to add to the fire.

Fort Bragg Style Smoked Salmon

1 4-5 lb salmon, filleted
½ c butter
1 ½ tsp dried basil leaves
¼ c canola oil
1 tsp garlic granules
¼ c lemon juice
2 tsp oregano leaves
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp each salt and pepper
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar

In a two quart sauce pan, melt butter and add remaining ingredients.
Place salmon on ½ sheet pan and marinate in mixture for at least 30 minutes prior to BBQ. Prepare charcoals and have alder wood on hand to add to fire just before cooking salmon. Cook salmon in sheet pan on covered grill until cooked (protein strands will turn white), basting frequently with marinade. Cook approximately 7 minutes per inch at the thickest part of the fish.

This recipe was altered from its original version found on http://www.snowcrest.net/buzscrab/recipes.html [soy sauce was increased, Worcestershire sauce was increased, garlic granules replaced garlic powder, and brown sugar was added as a flavor enhancer].

Good Luck!

Well, salmon is pink when it's well done! You'll have to hover over the oven unless you want to run an experiment earlier. It'll be about right when it feels like a medium steak when you poke at it with the poking-thing of your choice. You can confirm by penetrating it an inch or so from the edge, in the thick part, and peeking down the slot. It shouldn't be cherry red, and it should be dark orange when you take it out of the oven. It will, of course, finish as you serve it.

John

Turn off the oven when it's still squishy and undercooked. Leave the door open a notch, and go make a salad or something. Read the sports pages, or the comics.
Come back and the fish will be perfectly cooked. Unless you're a really slow reader.

If it works the way it should, the salmon will be cooked through, but still retain its moisture. Your friend will love it. Though I hate to break it to you both, but it will still be pink.

If all else fails, you can try salmon poached in the dishwasher

[quote="John Tomasso"]Turn off the oven when it's still squishy and undercooked. Leave the door open a notch, and go make a salad or something. Read the sports pages, or the comics.
Come back and the fish will be perfectly cooked. Unless you're a really slow reader.

Wish I had this info last night. I roasted a 2 pound piece of salmon on a bed of ratatouille last night (it's a great Tyler Florence recipe that I usually make with a smaller piece). I pulled the salmon out when the little protein strands on the end turned white, but it still was way underdone for me in middle. Frustrating..

and why can't the salmon become two pieces? you can pull yours out of the oven sooner and put it on a warm platter covered with foil if you wish. the test for doneness should be the same as for anything else. push on it with your finger. do this after a minute or two in the oven and then every minute or two thereafter. you will notice a change in the way the flesh 'gives'. this change is increasing doneness. finally you can flake it in the center to make certain her piece is well enough done. your piece will have come out earlier.

i like the butter idea because you can also put that on when you serve it. the main problem with anything that is well done is that the fat has been cooked out of it and that is what makes it taste 'dry'. simply put the fat back in the form of butter/dill. dill isn't bad with lentils either in case some oozes down. or of course putting some fresh olive oil on after cooking will do the same thing. lemon is often involved with fish and you can put lemon in the dill butter too.

Let's try some more normative, less cuddly, phraseology: For normal-sized salmon fillets, with a hot sear first, try 5-8 minutes in the oven, then turn off the heat and let them coast for another 5.

Would it kill you to have a little hollandaise ready, just in case?

Thanks for all the great ideas. Keep 'em comin'!

I think in order to ensure doneness I might just marinate the salmon in some lemon juice, dill and coriander before I brown it in the pan and bake it off in the oven. In short, I imagine it will be cooked enough even before it meets the heat and the dill will make a nifty garnish. (Garnishing with dill always reminds me of a woman accessorizing with a boa.)

For those of you to whom well done salmon is anathema, well, I'm cooking to the taste of my very special salmon-and-lentil-loving friend who even has her filet mignon butterflied and grilled in two pieces lest it be undercooked. Sigh, this is why the Intelligent Designer intelligently designed vanilla, chocolate, and butter pecan.

If you use your preparation (pan, then oven at 450*) then the salmon should be very well done in 12 minutes. If you have any doubts just lift a flake and peek.

rwj

If you use your preparation (pan, then oven at 450*) then the salmon should be very well done in 12 minutes. If you have any doubts just lift a flake and peek.

rwj

Or 500 degrees for ten minutes. That is for a 1" thick fillet.

For those of you to whom well done salmon is anathema, well, I'm cooking to the taste of my very special salmon-and-lentil-loving friend who even has her filet mignon butterflied and grilled in two pieces lest it be undercooked. Sigh, this is why the Intelligent Designer intelligently designed vanilla, chocolate, and butter pecan.

Sigh. I knew a restaurant where the chef refused to take an order for filet well done. When asked, he said he refused to ruin a good piece of meat for someone who obviously lacked the taste to appreciate it. A tad harsh, maybe, but he owned the restaurant.

I admit to doing the same thing, in effect, when a guest asked me if they could have some 7UP (or Ginger Ale? I don't recall which.) in the single malt they had asked for. I responded that not only wouldn't I pour that abomination, I would not give them a single malt, but would gladly accede to their request using a blend. Umbrage was taken.

Umbrage was taken.

Did education happen, too?

Umbrage was taken.

Did education happen, too?

No, they weren't receptive. Too busy feeling hard done by because I wouldn't serve them Bowmore 12 with soda pop.

Umbrage was taken.

Did education happen, too?

No, they weren't receptive. Too busy feeling hard done by because I wouldn't serve them Bowmore 12 with soda pop.

I would seriously reconsider my friendship, Bill. Such individuals (IME) are likely to request ketchup or A1 with their steak and routinely apply lemon to their seafood before tasting. People like that are a menace to society.

Mark Lipton

In private, I'm a bit menacing.

I would seriously reconsider my friendship, Bill. Such individuals (IME) are likely to request ketchup or A1 with their steak and routinely apply lemon to their seafood before tasting. People like that are a menace to society.

The one that drives me up the wall (and I expect any chef will agree) are the people that reach for the salt shaker before bothering to taste the food.

I so dislike this that I do not put out salt on my table at home when entertaining, and if someone asks there is one of two possible results. If they are halophiles as described above, I get out an old glass shaker with salt that has turned to a solid rock in it and watch them try to make it produce something. If they taste it and indicate that they think they would prefer it with just a soupcon more salt, I get out the reserve salt used for foi gras.

And oddly enough, I never did bond with the guy that wanted pop in his single malt, so friendship wasn't an issue.

I would seriously reconsider my friendship, Bill. Such individuals (IME) are likely to request ketchup or A1 with their steak and routinely apply lemon to their seafood before tasting. People like that are a menace to society.

Mark Lipton

I used to be one of those who wanted steaks well-done, and then doused it with A-1. That changed gradually, and now medium to medium-well is perfect for me. Still can't stomach a steak that runs pink or red juice. The A-1 is much better served on french fries, when there's no habanero sauce to dip them in.

Well, tonight was salmon night. I started the meal off with some little round zucchini stuffed with Emmenthaler, bread crumbs and fresh herbs. A trip to Suzy's with Stuart got me on that trip. The lentils were absolutely delish. The Moët & Chandon and the white Bordeaux were tasty enough. And, as predicted, the salmon was as dry as a constipated spinster's fart, but she loved it and that was the point. I had marinated it in a little lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper and dill. It was seared in a hot pan for three minutes, flipped, and then finished in a 450º F oven for seven minutes. To me, ichthyophobe that I am, it tasted like, uh, fish.

Thank you all for your advice and comments!

P.S. In a pot roast kind of way, the liquid from the lentils rehydrated the fish and made it tastier than it should have been.