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CKS 040| How To Break Down (Butcher) A Whole Salmon

This video will teach you one of many techniques for butchering a whole salmon, or any "symmetrical fish," as opposed to a flat fish like halibut or sole.

In this video I state that I like to brine the fish briefly in a "5% brine." The brining process will keep the salmon moist during cooking. To calculate a 5% brine, weigh out enough filtered water to cover the finished salmon fillets. Multiply the weight of the water by .05 which will give you the amount of salt needed to achieve a 5% brine. For example, if you need 1,000g of water to cover your salmon fillets, simply multiply 1,000g X .05 = 50g of salt. Disperse 50g of salt into your water, which will result in a 5% brine.

Brine salmon for 20-60 minutes, rinse under a gentle stream of cold, running water and allow to drain.

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There are 6 Comments

jacob burton's picture

Hey skFlyFish,

Great feed back. I've seen people use the tail as a handle as well as the head. One of the hardest things about shooting instructional videos is finding the technique that will be a good starting point for someone who's never done it before but also yield something that would be acceptable in a professional kitchen. I would love to eventually be able to travel around and shoot other chef's versions of the techniques taught on this site. The more techniques you have to choose from, the better in my opinion.

I'm with you on the lateral line. It seems like a lot of non-professionals have a huge aversion to even an ounce of waste, but in a restaurant you just calculate your yield cost and charge accordingly. If I'm paying $30+ for a salmon entree I want the fillet to be trimmed properly.

Mastayoou's picture

so after brining the fish... when you actually cook the fish, do you season again???

maybe you do, but not as much???

jacob burton's picture

Great question. I actually do not season my fish before cooking since it has been brined. The brine itself adds plenty of seasoning. You can always use a little bit of finishing salt during the final plate up if you like, but I find it usually isn't necessary, especially if you've seasoned the other accompaniments that you're serving with the fish.

jacob burton's picture

Yep, there's more than one way to skin a ca... err-ah ... salmon. Although breaking the rib cage sounds like it could be a little rough on the flesh.

But if the yield comes out good and the flesh isn't damaged then I'm all for it.

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