How to clean pink salmon for salting

Pink salmon is one of the most affordable and popular fish from the salmon family. This is due not only to the fact that it is present on the shelves of almost all stores, but also to its low price.

Despite the fact that you can buy ready-made fillets of this fish in the store, buying and cutting pink salmon yourself will be more economically profitable. It will also add a pleasant bonus in the form of a tail head and fins, from which you can make an excellent fish soup or other fish soup. Based on this, it turns out that information on how to clean pink salmon will be very useful.

Preparation

Most often, frozen pink salmon is sold in stores.
Housewives experienced in these matters advise defrosting it before cleaning, but not completely. It will be more convenient to clean the fish in a semi-thawed state. To do this, put the fish in a bag and lower it into a bowl of cold water. After a few hours, the fish will come to the desired state and you can start cleaning it. Another phenomenon that annoyingly interferes with the process can be mucus covering the body of the fish, due to which the carcass will slip out of your hands and become difficult to clean. To get rid of it, you can thoroughly rinse the carcass, then dip your fingers in salt for better adhesion to the surface of the fish. In addition, you can simply rub the skin with salt and rinse it off after 10-15 minutes, this will completely clean the carcass of the slippery coating.

Product preparation

Now let's move on directly to the process of preparing the fish before cooking it. More often, stores sell frozen fish, but this is not a problem if you know how to defrost it correctly. To defrost fish, just put it in a bag and dip it in warm water for a few minutes.

Delicious recipe! Sergey Makarov son Polishchuk

Mucus can also interfere with further processing. To get rid of it, just rinse the fish under running water or wipe the surface of the fish with salt. This will strengthen the grip, making further processing easier.

Cleaning the scales

Cleaning fish from scales is simple.
The scaly coating does not adhere tightly to the skin and easily lags behind it. To clean, you can use a special fish peeling knife, a simple kitchen knife, or even a vegetable grater. Many housewives are of the opinion that a grater is the best solution to this issue. To remove its scales, you just need to rub the fish with the ribbed surface, and it is important that all the scales will remain inside the grater and will not scatter anywhere. To clean the scales with a knife, simply scrape the carcass with it in the direction opposite to the location of the scales. Do not be too zealous and put pressure on the skin, there is a risk of damaging it.

Advice! If the scales are difficult to clean, simply scald the fish with water and you will clean it faster.

It is important to ensure that all scales are removed from the pink salmon. You can rinse the fish under running water several times during the cleaning process to make sure that no areas of the skin are missed. Pink salmon scales are small and not hard, however, if the fish is being prepared for steaks, then the presence of coating residues on it can spoil the impression of the dish.

How to choose the right pink salmon?

Experienced chefs know how to make the right choice. But if you are a beginner, then by following these points you will also not make mistakes.

First, note that the fish should not be completely covered in ice.
Pay special attention to the condition of the pink salmon's belly. In healthy fresh fish it is smooth and not swollen. If you see some pinkishness, don't be alarmed. This is a sign that delicious caviar awaits you inside the fish. We advise you to refuse the purchase if you see a dark brown belly. This color clearly indicates that the fish was not raised under proper conditions and may be contaminated.
Also take a closer look at the scales. It should not be black and there should be no dents left when pressing on it. The scales must fit tightly to each other.
The gills of a healthy pink salmon should be light red in color. If they are gray or dark brown, then it is better to avoid such a product.
The pink salmon carcass should not emit unpleasant odors.

If you have already bought fish and brought it home, but are not sure that it is of good quality, then simply put it in a bowl of water. Fresh fish will remain at the bottom, and bad fish, in turn, will immediately float to the surface.

Let's gut the fish

It is not often that you come across ungutted pink salmon on sale, but if you come across just such a specimen, it is important to do it correctly.
It is necessary to carefully cut the abdominal cavity from the head to the tail. By spreading the edges, you should remove the insides, being careful not to damage the gallbladder, its contents can spoil the product. If trouble occurs, professionals advise immediately filling the area with salt, after which after a couple of minutes we thoroughly rinse and clean the area of the fillet. After removing the insides, the surface of the abdominal cavity must be thoroughly washed and blood clots along the spine removed. If left, they will add bitterness to the finished dish. You also need to clean and remove all internal films.

After the entrails have been removed, the head must be cut off. You need to cut about one centimeter away from the line of the gills. You should first cut from one side to the spine, then turn it over to the other side and continue the process. This is necessary so as not to move the knife and get closer to the gills. Having separated the head, you need to remove the gills from it; this is most conveniently done by cutting them off with scissors.

How to clean pink salmon

Hold the tail of the fish tightly in your left hand and begin to clean the scales, gradually moving from the tail to the head. Clean one side first, then the other. Do not make special efforts to prevent the scales from scattering in all directions, act carefully. Carefully use a knife to clean the abdomen and areas near the head fins. Rinse the fish from scales so that it is convenient to cut it further.

Take a sharp knife and carefully cut out the dorsal and caudal fins, cutting them deeply along the tip of the knife. Then cut off the head, wash it inside in cold running water, remove the gills by cutting them at the base with kitchen scissors. Cut out the pectoral and head fins, cut off the tail by 3-4 cm. Fold the head, tail and fins separately - this is the future ear.

Using a sharp knife, starting from the anus, rip open the belly of the fish. Proceed with caution - if you come across a female, there may be eggs inside the abdomen. Open the cut and remove all the insides. If you see a black film inside the abdomen, you need to remove it. This can be done by scraping the film with a knife. Rinse the carcass under running water inside and out. Helping yourself with the sharp tip of a knife, remove the skin from the fish.

The head shape of female and male pink salmon is different. In females the nose is slightly raised up, in males it is sharper and straighter

Make a deep cut along the spine bones to the spine of the fish. Start removing the fillet from the bones. Using a knife, carefully cut the meat from the ribs and then from the spine, first on one side and then on the other. The resulting fillet can be used for salting or stewed.

Salted fish in stores is quite an expensive product. It is unknown what spices it was salted with and how fresh the salting was. Pink salmon salted yourself will be much tastier than purchased, its cost will be cheaper, and it can become a real delicacy on the holiday table. Moreover, it is not at all difficult to pickle it. All you need for this is salt, sugar, spices and seasonings. Below in the article we will give general recommendations and recipes on how to pickle pink salmon at home.

Both fresh and frozen pink salmon are suitable for salting. You can salt red fish, either the whole carcass or cut into small pieces, fillets or steaks. The only thing you need to remember is that the salting process, depending on the chosen recipe, takes time: getting salted fish will take several hours to a day.

Basically, frozen pink salmon is offered in stores, as it can be stored longer at very low temperatures. There are also options for cut fish, but the price is higher. You can take uncut fish, because its preparation for salting will be simple.

Truly tasty salted fish can be obtained from fresh pink salmon. Before purchasing, fresh fish should be checked for smell and appearance: when pressed, the fish should quickly return to its previous shape and smell pleasant.

If you bought frozen fish for salting, you must first defrost it. To defrost, it is better to leave the carcass in the refrigerator overnight. During this time it will melt and it will be easier to cut it.

Defrosting is allowed in room conditions (when you forgot to take the fish out of the freezer or bought frozen fish in a store), leaving it on the table for 2-3 hours. During this time it will melt and cutting it up will not be difficult.

We cut the carcass

Pink salmon is cut depending on the requirements for serving the dish. If the product is used for cooking steaks, then simply cut it into portions.

Advice! The ideal width for steaks is considered to be 2 centimeter pieces. In this case, the roasting will be better.

If fillet is required for cooking, you need to separate it. In general, pink salmon meat comes off the bones well. You need to cut the skin along the back, make a deep incision towards the ribs along the spine. Then pass the knife along the ribs and remove the fillet from them. After this, cut off the meat from the tail. Then separate the spinal bone with ribs from the second half of the pink salmon. You just need to cut the fillet from the skin with a sharp knife, controlling the process and not allowing a lot of fillet to remain on the skin.

Cleaning scales step by step

Peeling fish from scales is quite simple, since the scales of pink salmon easily come off the skin. All you need to do is take a kitchen knife or even a vegetable grater (most professional chefs use a grater). The peeled scales remain on the inside of the grater and do not scatter throughout the kitchen.

To clean with a knife, you need to scrape it against the direction of the scales (but not too hard, as strong pressure can damage the skin of the fish). To better clean the fish from scales, we periodically wash the fish under running water.

To clean fish more effectively, scald it with hot water.

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How to pickle pink salmon in 2 hours

You already know how to properly cut pink salmon. Now it's time to start cooking. One way to get tasty pink salmon and still retain all the nutrients is to salt it.

In fact, pink salmon salts quite quickly. If you have small pieces (up to 2 cm thick), then it will be salted in 2 hours. Have to take:

prepared fillet;
a mixture of sugar and salt in a ratio of 1 tablespoon per 1 kilogram of fish;
You can add thinly sliced lemon slices.

Mix salt and sugar, grate the fish, cover with lemon slices (do not squeeze the juice). Place everything in a stainless pan, not an aluminum one. And put it in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Ready. After a couple of hours, the fish should change color slightly. This means that the pink salmon has been salted.

How to separate pink salmon from bones

The taste of a fish dish always depends to a large extent on the freshness of the fish. When buying frozen pink salmon, pay attention to the color of the abdomen and scales. The belly should be light, without yellow spots, and the scales should be silver.

Before removing bones from fish, it must be completely thawed. It is better to do this during the first 12 hours in the main compartment of the refrigerator, and then finally warm it up at room temperature.

After defrosting, pink salmon should be rinsed under cool running water and removed from scales. Clean the fish with the sharp side of the knife, using scraping movements, moving from the tail of the carcass to the head. If you plan to skin the fish in the future, you can skip cleaning the scales.

If the fish was not gutted, then you need to remove its entrails. This must also be done with a knife, cutting the abdomen. If there was caviar in the pink salmon, it must be carefully separated from the intestines. In the future, this delicacy can be salted.

Now, let's start filleting pink salmon. Place the clean fish on a large cutting board and cut off the head.

The next step is to cut out the fins and cut off the tail. When removing the fins from the abdomen, we make a cut along the bottom of the carcass to the tail.

In order to free the fish meat from the rib bones, we use a small knife. We insert the knife between several rib bones and the meat layer at the very base of the spinal bone. We move the knife to the edge of the abdomen, freeing the ribs. The tip of the knife should be directed towards the ridge so as not to damage or cut the rib bones.

How to fillet pink salmon

Before cutting the fish, the carcass must be completely defrosted (if it was previously frozen). The least damage to the taste, color and consistency of pink salmon is caused by slow defrosting at low temperatures - in the main chamber of the refrigerator. To do this, the carcass must be transferred from the freezer to the refrigerator 8-12 hours before cutting.

The second fastest way to defrost is at room temperature. After 3-4 hours, pink salmon can be cut.

The fastest option is defrosting in cold water with added salt. However, the fish flesh may become too soft and lose its shape a little.

Wash the thawed pink salmon well and dry with paper towels. If you plan to cook fillet without skin, then it is not necessary to peel the scales. To prepare pink salmon pulp with skin, it is better to remove the scales at this stage of cutting. This can be done using a special device or an ordinary kitchen knife.

Take a large, sharp knife and make a shallow cut in the center of the abdomen, starting from the tail and gradually moving towards the head. You should cut carefully so as not to pierce the gallbladder. If the bile still leaks out, quickly rinse the internal cavity of the fish with salted water.

Remove all the entrails, leave the caviar or milt, and throw away the rest. Rinse the fish again, inside and out, and dry with napkins.

Cut off the head, tail and fins. These parts of the carcass can be used to prepare fish broths and other dishes based on them.

Using a small thin knife, pry the rib bones at the head of the fish, separate them from the fillet, moving the knife inward, towards the ridge.

Gradually release the pink salmon fillet from the ribs on one side, reaching the tail section.

Open the carcass like a book. Using a large knife, cut half of the fillet along the spine. Using the above algorithm, separate the bones and backbone from the second fillet.

Remove the remaining seeds using tweezers or your fingertips.

Remove the skin by prying it off at the widest part of the fillet. If in some places the skin does not come off in one piece (like a stocking), trim it with a small knife.

The finished fillet can be cut into pieces or left whole. Pink salmon is ready for further cooking.

Filleting fish is not the fastest or most enjoyable procedure, especially if you don’t know which way to approach it. In fact, cutting up even a large pink salmon carcass will not take much time, because this fish does not have very many bones, and all of them are large.

The main thing is to arm yourself with a sharp knife and a roll of paper napkins, and after 7-10 minutes you can begin to directly prepare a perfectly cut fillet. In this master class, I describe step by step how to fillet pink salmon.

You will need:

fresh or frozen pink salmon – 1 pc.;
large sharp knife;
small thin knife;
fish tweezers (if available).

Process of cutting pink salmon

This process is quite labor-intensive, especially if it is carried out for the first time. When cutting up pink salmon, you should not throw away the head, tail and fins. You can cook delicious and very healthy fish soup from them.

What tools are needed?

The following tools are used for cutting fish:

Kitchen board.

A fairly sharp knife.

Grater.

Peeler.

Disposable bags.

How to prepare fish?

If the fish is freshly frozen, then first of all it should be thawed. In order for the product to be of high quality, this process should not be forced. It can be thawed in the refrigerator or in a bowl of cold water. After this, you need to wash it thoroughly to get rid of mucus. Finally, it is advisable to blot the carcass with a paper towel, which will remove excess moisture. A carcass prepared in this way will not slip out of your hands.

How to remove scales?

It can be cleaned immediately in the sink or on a cutting board. With one hand the fish is held by the tail, and with the other the scales are removed using a knife or grater: whichever is more convenient for you.

The scales are cleaned from the tail to the head. A similar operation is carried out on both sides. Work should be done carefully and slowly so that you don’t have to collect scales all over the kitchen.

The fish gets rid of scales from all sides, including on the belly and in the fin area. Upon completion of cleaning, pink salmon should be rinsed under running water. Then the fish's head, tail and fins are cut off. After this, the fish is gutted and the entrails are removed. The black film, if there is one, is also removed. Finally, the fish is thoroughly washed again, both inside and out.

How to cut fillet?

This is perhaps the most crucial moment. First, you will need a sharp knife. Secondly, you need to use it to pry the skin of the fish, and then make a deep cut along the ridge from head to tail. After this, with the same sharp knife, the fish meat is separated from the bones on both one side and the other.

How to fillet pink salmon

The second fastest way to defrost is at room temperature. After 3-4 hours, pink salmon can be cut.

The fastest option is defrosting in cold water with added salt. However, the fish flesh may become too soft and lose its shape a little.

Some recommendations for cutting pink salmon

In order not to wash the entire surface of the table from scales and entrails, it is better to put a piece of film or several layers of paper towels under the fish. After cutting, all this is thrown away along with the entrails and scales.
To ensure that the fish is held firmly with your fingers, you can sprinkle them with salt.
If there is a lot of mucus on the fish, it can be easily removed if you sprinkle the carcass with salt on all sides.
If you pour boiling water over the fish, the skin can be removed from the carcass much easier.
When choosing entrails, it is advisable not to touch the gall bladder, otherwise the meat will acquire a bitter taste.
Before preparing the fish soup, you should definitely get rid of the gills, otherwise the fish soup will taste bitter.

Taste and beneficial properties of pink salmon

Pink salmon is a prominent representative of the salmon family of fish species, which are distinguished by their unique taste and the presence of a whole bunch of useful substances and vitamins. Pink salmon meat has a pink-red color, but is somewhat dry compared to the meat of other representatives of this family. Pink salmon meat is not suitable for frying or baking in foil. It is better to cook it in the oven with various sauces, resulting in pink salmon meat that is tender and juicy.

Pink salmon is considered a very healthy fish and is recommended for consumption even by pregnant women. This is due to the fact that pink salmon meat contains a full range of microelements that ensure the formation of the human skeleton.

Pink salmon meat contains useful acids, such as Omega-3, which help maintain sugar levels in the human body. Pink salmon meat also contains other acids that have a positive effect on the human body. It is very important that pink salmon meat contains iodine, which contributes to the normal functioning of the thyroid gland, central nervous system and improved memory.

If you regularly consume pink salmon meat, you can protect yourself from the following:

Vitamins

Pink salmon meat is rich in the following vitamins:

Vitamin A.
Vitamin C.
Vitamin B1.
Vitamin B2.
Vitamin RR.

Microelements

Fish is in great demand due to the presence of such useful components as:

Calorie content

Pink salmon meat is considered a dietary product because it contains a small amount of calories. There are no carbohydrates in the meat, and the fat ratio is only 40%. 100 grams of pure meat contains 150-170 kcal.

What dishes can be prepared from pink salmon?

Pink salmon meat is valued in cooking due to its unique taste characteristics. Pink salmon meat is incredibly tasty and is suitable for preparing a variety of incredibly tasty dishes. Pink salmon is stuffed, stewed, baked, cooked whole or in pieces. There are more than enough recipes, for every taste, for any occasion.

If you bake pink salmon in the oven with various sauces, you get a quite tasty and healthy dish. The meat goes well with various side dishes of potatoes, rice and vegetables. Raw fish retains the maximum amount of useful components, so it is better to marinate it with spices or salt it. In this form, snacks or salads are prepared from it.

Pink salmon is marinated with lemon or orange juice, soy sauce and vegetable oil. Pink salmon meat prepared in this way simply melts in your mouth.

Baked pink salmon with tomatoes

To implement this recipe you will need:

One pink salmon carcass.
3-4 tomatoes.
100-150 grams of hard cheese.
Two onions.
One lemon.
Ketchup.
Mayonnaise.
Salt.
Spices.

Technological stages of preparation:

The fish is washed and cut, removing the head, tail, fins and entrails. The skin does not come off (optional). The carcass is cut into separate pieces, after which salt, spices, and the juice of half a lemon are added and left to marinate for 40 minutes.
Tomatoes are chopped into cubes or circles, onions into half rings, after which they are mixed with mayonnaise and ketchup.
A little vegetable oil is poured into a baking dish and pink salmon is laid out on top. Tomatoes and onions are laid out on pink salmon. During the cooking process, a lot of juice will be released, which will prevent the fish from burning.
Pink salmon is baked in the oven for about 30-40 minutes at 180 degrees.
5 minutes before complete readiness, the fish is pulled out of the oven and sprinkled with grated cheese, after which it is again put into the oven for 5 minutes.
Served on a baking sheet, sprinkled with herbs on top.

Pink salmon is a tasty and very healthy fish. If you use the tips correctly, cutting it up is not difficult. If desired, you can prepare a lot of different dishes from it. At the same time, it should be remembered that it will be most useful when it is boiled (soup is made from it) or baked in the oven. Fried pink salmon is just as tasty, but less healthy and heavy on the stomach.

Healthy recipes

Once you have processed the fish, you need to cook it. We have selected simple but delicious recipes for you.

Delicious recipe! Hochland cheese rolls

"Cheerful Pink Salmon"

For cooking you will need the following products:

pink salmon – 1 piece;
onion – 1 piece;
garlic – 2 cloves;
soy sauce – 2 tbsp. spoons;
seasoning for fish to taste;
mayonnaise – 3 tbsp. spoons;
sparkling water – 200 g;
eggs – 2 pcs;
flour – 1 tbsp. spoon;
cheese to taste.

The process of preparing this dish is very simple. To begin, we place the pink salmon cut into pieces in a bowl and sprinkle generously with thinly sliced onion. Then you should take a glass and put crushed garlic, soy sauce and spices in it. Then you need to pour the mixture with mayonnaise, sparkling water and mix. This will serve as our marinade. Pour it into the bowl with the fish.

Now you need to prepare the sauce. For it, we take a deep plate and break eggs there, add a little flour and cheese. Next, you should take a baking dish and place the marinated fish there, pouring the sauce on top. All we have to do is put the mold in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 170 degrees.

You can also bake pink salmon in foil. For this you will need:

pink salmon – 1 piece;
basil;
green onions;
garlic – 3 pcs;
table salt to taste;
ground black pepper to taste;
lemon – 1 piece;
olive oil – 4 tbsp. spoons.

To begin with, we stuff the pre-processed pink salmon with finely chopped onion, lemon and basil leaves. Then cover a baking sheet with foil and grease it with olive oil, and place pink salmon on top. We make cuts on the top of the pink salmon and put lemon rings there. Drizzle the fish with olive oil. Wrap it in foil and put it in the oven.

The cooking time for this dish is 25-30 minutes at a temperature of 190 degrees.

How to debone pink salmon video

Preparation

Product preparation

Cleaning the scales

How to choose the right pink salmon?

Let's gut the fish

How to clean pink salmon

We cut the carcass

Cleaning scales step by step

Cooking with eda offline

Categories

Tags

How to pickle pink salmon in 2 hours

How to separate pink salmon from bones

How to fillet pink salmon

Process of cutting pink salmon

What tools are needed?

How to prepare fish?

How to remove scales?

How to cut fillet?

How to fillet pink salmon

Some recommendations for cutting pink salmon

Taste and beneficial properties of pink salmon

Vitamins

Microelements

Calorie content

What dishes can be prepared from pink salmon?

Baked pink salmon with tomatoes

Healthy recipes

"Cheerful Pink Salmon"