Fish for dinner is the best option for those who seek to maintain a healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition. Fish fillet, of course, you can buy ready-made in the store, but experts advise you to buy whole fish and cut it at home yourself. Thus, knowing how to cut pink salmon, you can save a lot. Fillet in the store is quite expensive, and sometimes you have to doubt the quality. Home-made fillet of pink salmon is economical and safe for health.
Defrost
Most likely, the pink salmon that you buy will be frozen. There are shops selling fresh fish, but there are few, and it is quite expensive. So, before you learn how to cut pink salmon into fillets, you should remember how to properly defrost it. There are two options. If you have time left, it is best to get the fish out of the freezer in the evening. Place it in the refrigerator and in the morning, take it out, carve.
If time is short, then upon arrival home, immediately lay the fish on the table. At room temperature, the fish will unfreeze in a couple of hours. In a natural way! If the entrails are slightly frostbitten - this is good, the cleaning process will be easier and faster. Remember! Experts do not recommend using a microwave or hot water to defrost pink salmon.
We clean from scales
Top scales are a completely unnecessary thing. They should be disposed of, this is done with a special knife. How to cut pink salmon if there is no such knife in the house? An ordinary kitchen knife for peeling vegetables is also quite suitable , it is short and it will be easier to control it. Fish is cleared from tail to head. This fish is quite malleable in terms of cleaning, so the scales are cleaned quickly and effortlessly. Remember to rinse the fish under running water after removing the scales.
Get rid of the insides
Of course, the ideal option is to buy pink salmon already gutted. But if you bought a whole fish, then you have to spend another couple of minutes to extract unnecessary entrails. How to quickly cut pink salmon? First, make an incision near the head. Secondly, we draw a cut line throughout the body, starting from the head and ending with the abdomen.
Then we carefully place the knife in the cross section that was made the very first, and carefully draw the knife along the whole body, cutting off the fillet. Many are afraid that they do not know how to cut pink salmon from bones. This is nothing complicated, the main thing is that the movements are accurate. During this procedure, it is recommended to hold the fish head. So it will not slip, and the filet will separate faster. After you cut the two parts of the fillet, you should have a bone of the spine and the inside. All this is thrown away.
There is a second option, how to cut pink salmon into fillets and get rid of entrails. An incision is made along the abdomen of the fish. The insides are taken out: caviar, intestines, bladder, milk. Then the fish is washed under a strong stream of cool water. And then manipulations are already carried out (described above) with the release of the loin from the vertebral bone. Which option is more convenient and faster, it's up to you.
Gills
Gills - part of the fish carcass, which negatively affects the taste sensations, so they should be removed before cooking. This is done very simply: using special "fish" scissors or directly with your hands. The gills of pink salmon break out quickly and easily. Also, experts recommend removing the eyes. But here everything is individual. How to cut pink salmon, remove eyes or not - the decision is made depending on the type of dish that you are going to cook.
After you remove the gills and eyes, rinse the fish again under water. The next step is the removal of the fins. They can be cut with scissors or a knife.
Fillet
So, how to carve pink salmon, you already know. Now it remains to separate the fillet from the obtained fish parts, having previously removed the skin. Here, again, again, it will depend on the selected recipe. If separate boneless fish pieces are needed for a salad or first course, then cut the majority into several small ones and pull out the oblong vertebral bones. If the fillet is, for example, baked in the oven as a whole, then small bones can not be removed. Under the influence of high temperature they will become softer and will then be easily separated from the fillet.
This is important: do not discard the skin cut off from the fillet. It will be an excellent ingredient for cooking fish stock. Thanks to the skin, the broth will be lighter, golden and rich. After cooking, simply strain the broth and dispose of unnecessary ingredients. If you also did not need a fish head to prepare the main dish, then it is perfect for the subsequent preparation of fish soup or fish broth.
Pink salmon is a surprisingly tasty and healthy fish. How to cut pink salmon, we told. What to cook from it is up to you. This is a versatile fish, perfect for baking, frying, salting, smoking, stewing.