If you’ve purchased a whole salmon for the first time, you know what panic looks like. There’s a sleek, intimidating piece of fish staring up at you from the kitchen counter. It resembles less a meal than a kind of biological puzzle you have no idea how to solve. Most home cooks stare dumbly at their purchase because they don’t know what to call each part of the fish so they give in and either order takeout or send it back to the store.
What a pity, though: learning to work with the trim chart makes that fish seem not so much like a mystery but like pure advantage. It turns you into someone who no longer has to spend big bucks on pricey fillets, but who gets most out of every pound of raw material. The diagram above will show you exactly how the thing falls apart: where the good stuff lives, and how to make use of all the rest.
How to Cut a Whole Salmon
When working with salmon, remember that it’s no single cut ready to be sliced into parts. It’s a collection of various components: each with its own texture, fat content, and best use. Clearly, the most prized cut is the star: the center loin. Why? Because it’s easy to serve and clean; because it’s consistent throughout; because people will pay more at a restaurant for it.
But don’t let all those leftovers distract from the fact that if you stop here, you’re throwing away flavor, and also money… On the cutting board. The belly flap has the greatest percentage of omega-3s. That’s where the really good stuff is, so amateur cooks tend to trim it off and toss it aside. It’s rich and fatty and delicious seared or cured, yet many cooks ignore it and waste the great source that is right in front of them. Look at the graph up top; that’s where the spots are. Remember that what we think of as waste is actually a special cut that just looks different if you know how to prepare it.
Trimming is not about how strong you are but how you do it. A sharp fillet knife, not a heavy cleaver, is what you want. Remember: Slice along the backbone’s contour, not through it (wasting good flesh). It helps a lot if the fish is kept cold since warm flesh tears, slipping off the blade. Use your finger to trace the lateral line and locate any pin bones (those tiny muscle-piercing needles that will ruin a perfectly good dinner). Remove them carefully with a pair of tweezers, instead of cutting them out, unless in a rush. Efficiency isn’t about speed; careful bone extraction retains both texture and yield.
Now that you’ve got your fillets, it’s time to portion. For restaurants, six ounces (cut from the dense part of the loin) is the standard serving size. But when home cooks cook their own salmon, they tend to underserve themselves because they fail to account for shrinkage. Cut on a bias. This means cutting diagonally through the grain. This creates a portion that looks more elegant and larger but doesn’t actualy add any weight.
Because the tail end is thinner with less marbling, it also cooks up quicker. Don’t serve it as if it were the center cut. Smoke or make fish cakes with this part; its lack of fat content will work for you rather than against you. The last factor of success comes down to storage. Even the most beautiful-looking trimmed salmon won’t stay fresh indefinitely. Keep the flesh tight with some crushed ice and make sure you drain the water into a container before storing the fish. You can also vacuum seal them, which will add a day or two, but alters the texture.
Thaw everything in the fridge, not on your kitchen counter (whenever possible). This isn’t a rush job: doing so hastens bacterial growth and results in a mushier fillet. When cooking time comes, plan on an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit if you are being strict. Most chefs simply take theirs out at 130 or thereabouts, which makes for a still-juicy yet medium-finished fish. It’s a big difference in mouthfeel.
Once you learn to cut up your own salmon, it alters your perspective on grocery shopping for fresh seafood. From a consumer view, what once was a passive transaction has now become an active one. What used to be seen as a basic product can now be viewed as a resource. It is a fish with certain characteristics that will dictate how best to treat it. Collar and head make excellent stock; bones add to the broth. There’s nothing wasted here.
The work is methodical, quiet and satisfying. In the end, you get a more delicious meal than you would of had if you purchased pre-cut pieces. You’ve also acquired a skill that’s nearly mechanical and very precise. That whole fish on the counter isn’t a puzzle anymore. It’s dinner.