There are several secrets to achieve great success with baked salmon recipes. If you don’t get a few things right, then you may as well forget about special marinades or the latest cooking plank your neighbor told you about.
First, you need to select the right quality of salmon. Salmon is regarded as one of the world’s great game fish, but what you see at the fish market today is usually some sort of farmed product. If you’re lucky enough to get some of the better farmed salmon from Scotland or Norway you will get a better quality. If you’re not a fish conniseur then you probably won’t notice the difference. Once in a while you might get your hands on native wild salmon from the west coast – then you’re in for a real treat!
The most important part is that the salmon must be really fresh. Not more than 1 or 2 days old, at most. Don’t worry about the color of the flesh as it can vary tremendously depending on the strain and the the type of feed where they were harvested. It has no bearing on the quality of the food.
Next, you should bake salmon at a relatively high temperature between 400 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. This is higher than you might expect, but it has been proven that baking salmon at a higher temperature for a shorter period seals in the juices and the fish stays more moist.
Remember, most salmon has a slightly higher fat content than other fish so you shouldn’t add very much, if any, butter or oil. A benefit of the higher fat content is that it’s a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids that help prevent bad cholesterol.
Finally, you MUST not overcook salmon. In fact you shouldn’t over cook any fish. Bake the salmon until it has just lost its translucency and turned opaque. Remove it immediately and be ready to sit down to eat. Do NOT wait until the flesh flakes by testing with a fork. Salmon baked to this point is overcooked.
Master these few simple points for great baked salmon and you won’t go wrong. Then feel free to dig out a special marinade and wow your guests when they sit down to eat.
Tags: baked salmon, baked salmon recipes, baked salmon steaks, how to bake fish, temperature to bake fish