Without fail, every time I try to remove the skin from salmon, disaster ensues. I really like salmon, and I try to cook fish at least every week or two, because I am of course paranoid that my family doesn't get enough Omega-3s (perhaps because my husband single-handedly keeps the cookie bakers at our local Giant store employed).
Today I had some lovely black sesame seeds from Penzeys, and I thought I would coat the salmon with them before pan frying. I used to ask the nice seafood man behind the counter to remove the skin for me... but now, there is no counter! In our fabulous nearly brand-new state-of-the-art supermarket, the seafood choices are frozen or shrink-wrapped. I suppose I could buy fish at the health food store, which has a gorgeous seafood counter, but who can pay $15.99 a pound for wild-caught organic fish? (OK, so there is probably no such thing... but I just can't bring myself to pay twice as much even if I know it is better...).
Anyway, I marinated the fish (with skin on, as I was contemplating just coating one side with sesame seeds) in soy sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice and grated ginger. Then, I decided that I should probably remove the skin, so it wouldn't stick. Not everything doesn't stick to non-stick pans, and I was afraid of ruining my favorite non-stick skillet with permanent fish-scale imprints... especially since I just threw out my back-up (alas, it had lost its mojo in a long-forgotten catastrophe...). Then after it had been marinating (yes, bad idea... can you say slippery?) I tried to remove the skin by cutting with a recently sharpened-but-still-inexplicably dull santuko knife. Although the fish eventually gave up its skin, I had about 1/3 less fish when I was through (now can you see why I can't stomach paying extra?).
I added a little more marinade, coated in black sesame seeds and pan-seared in olive oil. I am happy to report no lasting impact on my non-stick pan, and a nice flavorful fish... albeit smaller than intended. Luckily hubby had gotten his twice-yearly urge to cook something and made Rice Krispy treats today. (This might be directly correlated to my cooking healthy, now that I think about it...)
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