Salmon is a famous marine food that is sweet and delicious. But the plaguing question that many salmon eaters ask is, can you eat salmon skin? Well, yes, salmon skin is safe and edible. Salmon skins are safe and edible.
In this article, I shall be discussing salmon skins in general, covering topics on what to do with your salmon skin while in the kitchen. You will have pretty information, so you expect the value of salmon skins that you may wish to discard.
Can You Eat Salmon skin or is Salmon Skin Healthy?
Yes, you can eat salmons skin. Salmon skin has got numerous nutritional value which is not limited to;
It contains more proteins and omega 3 fatty acids than the salmons fresh. The skin acts as thermal insulation to salmon as it lives in a cold environment. The nutrients protect us from heart attacks and degeneration of brain cells.
It is also high in vitamin B and D and essential minerals like zinc and selenium, which are helpful to our bodies.
While preparing your mouth-watering delicacy of salmon, leaving the skin may end up leaving these additional nutrients.
What to do With Salmon Skins
There are many ways you can use your salmon skin, and I find it my favorite in my kitchen, using salmon skin for cooking a delicious crisp. You may also give it a try. Kindly follow the procedure below.
Thaw your salmon with skin 15 minutes earlier to bring the fish up to room temperature.
Make sure your salmon has no bones. Sometimes the salmon skin still has some scales, which you should get rid of because they make your salmon unpleasant to eat.
Use a paper towel to pat the salmons’ skin dry to get a nice crisp. Drying excess water makes the skin easy to sear.
Cut your fish and make small slits in the skin. The cuts stop the skin from curling up as it cooks.
Drizzle some olive oil on the skin as well as your favorite seasoning.
Preheat your pan with some oil; as soon as you get your salmon into the pan, hold it for 30 seconds. It makes sure that every bit of salmon skin comes into contact with the pan resulting in a nice even sear on the skin.
Use medium heat so that it caramelizes and crispens the skin. Salmon skin serves as a barrier to protect the salmon from overcooking.
The side with the skin is cooked for 5 minutes, whereas the other side for 2 minutes.
How to Clean Salmon Skin?
After arriving home from your fishmonger or market store where you buy your salmon, you should first clean it. Kindly follow the following steps to clean your salmon skin.
Clean your salmon with cold water.
Pat it dry with a clean cloth.
Start descaling the fish with a sharp knife.
Flip the salmon and repeat descaling on the side.
Remove the scale using a clean towel.
Clean the salmon with cool water again and pat it dry.
How to Cut Salmon Skin?
To cut salmon skin, kindly follow the steps below
Flat your salmon on a board.
Make a small cutting on the tail end of the fish.
Tilt the boning knife at an angle while cutting salmon along the length of the salmon towards the head.
Use long, nice and smooth strokes of your knife and let the knife’s sharpness do the work for you.
Hold and remove the skin through the end tail.
How to Deskin Salmon.
Many folks find it challenging to deskin salmon, but you will find it easy if you follow the procedure below.
First, clean your salmon with some cool water.
Pat it dry with a clean towel.
Take your boning knife or fillet knife and sanitize it.
Make your salmon lined up as close to the edge of the cutting board as possible. It creates leverage and makes your knife parallel while cutting.
You may lose a lot of meat if your knife flattens too much.
Make a handle at the back of the fish. It creates a grip on the salmon.
Turn the knife and make a couple of cuts on the other way.
Use the handle you have created to poke your finger on the skin and start deskinning.
Once the knife is underneath at about 20 degrees, zip it out to avoid crushing the meat.
Push the knife back and forth, gently keeping the knife pretty still until all the skin is removed.
A little bit of silver skin is alright after deskinning, and it is edible; now you have your nice skilled salmon fillet.
How to Remove Salmon Skin After Cooking?
It is the easiest way to peel off salmon skin; hence, there is no need to butcher your salmon in the process.
Salmon skin forms a protective barrier between the salmon and the hot pan, whether cooking, searing, baking or steaming.
To remove the skin on a cooked salmon, use a boning knife and cut the flesh between the filet and the skin.
How to Cook Salmon With Skin in a Pan?
First, get the skin dry, use kitchen paper to ensure no moisture is coming out. Drizzle some olive oil on the skin of the salmon and use your hand to rub it off. Flip the salmon and repeat on the other side too. Then season with some salt and pepper.
Take a crispy paper and put it in the pan. It allows you to use small amounts of oil, which is a healthier way to cook the fish and guarantees you can get salmon out of the pan without sticking.
Heat the pan at medium heat. Add some olive oil and put your salmon, with the skinned side on the base of the pan and cook it for 5 minutes. It leaves the skinned side beautiful and crispy.
The other side is cooked for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, the salmon is done, and that’s how you cook salmon with skin in a pan.
Salmon Skin Nutritional Facts.
Salmon is delicious and nutritious can carry many health benefits.
Omega 3 fatty acids are found on salmon’s skin. These fats have been credited with several health benefits like lowering blood pressure, reducing cancer risks and improving the brain’s functions.
They are a great source of proteins. Salmon skin is rich in high-quality proteins. Proteins are an essential nutrient and play the following roles in our bodies.
Salmon facilitates weight loss. Salmon skins are low in calories; hence your probability of gaining weight is far much reduced.
Salmon skins may reduce the risk of a heart attack. Eating salmon may help protect your heart. The omega 3 fatty acids in salmon’s skin boost the blood circulation levels in the body.
Salmon skins may protect brain health. Salmon improves your brain function, memory capacity and lowers the risk of dementia.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Is salmon skin high in calories?
Yes, eating salmon with skins will add more calories than salmon without the skin. Folks who are keen to watch their fat intake in their diet have to consider this.
Q. How many calories are in salmon skin?
Salmon skin’s calories are different according to how they are prepared. Different cooked salmon recipes have additional calories as outlined below per serving.
Raw salmon skins carry 183 calories in every 100 grams of salmon.
Grilled salmon skins carry 206 calories in every 100 grams of salmon.
A 100 gram of salmon salad contains 195 calories.
Smoked salmon carry 116 calories in every 100 grams of salmon.
Q. Is fish skin bad for you?
Salmon skin is excellent and healthy. However, salmon skin may be exposed to contamination with pollutants in the fish environment. Salmon absorbs some pollutants like polychlorinated biphenyls through their skin and the food they consume. PCBs accumulate on the fat side of the salmon’s skin.
Consuming contaminated fish skin produces adverse health effects such as liver damage, skin irritation, development and reproductive health effect, and cancer.
Q. Is salmon safe to eat?
Yes, salmon is safe and edible. Salmon may be eaten raw, grilled, cooked or smoked depending on one’s choice; the skin is also safe to eat. However, food nutritionists don’t recommend eating more than 3 servings per week.
Fish provides you with many necessary nutrients, and it is a perfect source of omega 3 fatty acids. The nutrients are absorbed in our bodies and give us good health and protect us from illnesses.
Conclusion
From the above findings, the tricky question about salmon’s skin has been answered in this article. If you are uncertain about the subject, you can now firmly decide what to do with your salmon skin.
You also know how to clean, cut and deskin salmon skin from the fish and the health benefits of eating it.
I found this interesting, so I encourage you to share it with your friends and family members.
