Rant: There is no such thing as "well done" Salmon

[El Presidente]

It has been a challenging dietary journey over the past month with freinds and family getting together for the 10 day wedding festivities. I took the opportunity last week to do something I rarely do when out at a restaurant and that was to order the crsipy skin salmon.  Now I love salmon and I cook it regularly but I avoid it like the plague when I go out as most restauranters overcook the crap out of it because of their fear that patrons will send it back as undercooked with the slightest sight of pink in the flesh. 

And so it happened again albeit it in a different way. 

"I will order the salmon thank you"

" Excellent sir.....and how would you like it cooked, rare, medium rare or well done? 

....I would like it cooked properly! 

Rare?  That is called SASHIMI!  

Medium? Overcooked for me but I can live with it. 

Well Done?  Barbarians  

Am I the only one? 

Does anyone prefer their salmon well done? 

[NSXCIGAR]

I don't recall ever being asked how I want my fish cooked.

[TwoK]

Depends is the salmon farmed or wild? Personally sockeye is the best including raw imho!! We almost never buy or order salmon that has been farmed. 

[Islandboy]

I’m a salmon feind...I salivate whenever I see a grizzly bear tearing into a writhing salmon it just plucked out of the river it’s standing in (on the TV in the safety of my living room, of course )

My first choice is broke da mouth nigiri sushi (sake). Then I have this Mediterranean rub sold by a local pizza place here that can’t be beat on lightly grilled salmon. But most importantly, it’s gotta be wild to get the full effect. 

On a side note, I’ve been eating so much fish recently, I decided to have my mercury level checked out just for the hell of it. It was elevated, but to what extent is apparently open to interpretation. And it can drop rather quickly. My doctor just recommended I cut back on my raw Ahi intake, which is difficult when you live in place where Poke is a staple.

[LordAnubis]

Is it really the barbarians who are eating the overcooked meat when they barely had fire? I propose you sir, are the barbarian eating raw fish. All us in the 21st century use our heat to well cook our meats. 

[El Presidente]

4 minutes ago, LordAnubis said:

Is it really the barbarians who are eating the overcooked meat when they barely had fire? I propose you sir, are the barbarian eating raw fish. All us in the 21st century use our heat to well cook our meats. 

...I knew it..clueless 

[Ryan]

I was in a restaurant in Havana, Yarini, in February with an American friend who ordered pork and wanted it rare. I was going to order the pork too but couldn't after that order as I knew I would mistakenly have received his, that's happened me too many times before. I warned him that Cuba isn't America and Trichinosis etc. could still be a thing in pork in Cuba. Nonetheless he insisted. I had the ceviche and a salad which were both very good. He had his rare pork.

The next night in another restaurant, Costa Vino, my current Number 1 in Havana (the risotto and the service), I had to apologise to the waitress for the amount of toilet paper my friend must have been using. He was in and out of there at least 10 times. Luckily that place had toilet paper that night. She was fine, laughing about it, I was back there the following night, for the risotto again, and she was asking for him.

Three nights later, at a party at a distributor's house, this guy had to go home early, after getting stomach medication from the host. Still not right.

Salmon, if I know a little bit about where it's from and what it's been through before hitting my plate, I'd have it raw, or smoked. I don't care, I'm not to picky about salmon as I'm not its biggest fan. Otherwise flaky and only if there's nothing more interesting on the menu. 

 

[benfica_77]

Love fish...I am Portuguese after all but Salmon is meh there are much better fish to eat. That being said I enjoy some having some pink in my mouth loll

[MickVanWinkle]

I am rarely ambitious enough to go toe-to-toe with my wife.  Her family’s propensity for “well done” salmon be fightin’ words

[GaryK 54]

I'm right there with Island Boy. For me, proper Salmon is served Nigiri Sushi or Maki Sushi. I rarely eat cooked salmon for the reasons @El Presidente has already stated... almost always overdone and dry. 

[foursite12]

120 F on the ThermoPen; let it rest for 5 mins. Usually ends up between the two photos above. Flaky is awful; gelatinous is not any better. There's a sweet spot in the middle.

[Capn_Jackson]

4 hours ago, Islandboy said:

I’m a salmon feind...I salivate whenever I see a grizzly bear tearing into a writhing salmon it just plucked out of the river it’s standing in (on the TV in the safety of my living room, of course )

 

I have this exact same reaction. Watching a bear eat salmon, everytime, results in my going to the market for a large piece of salmon, and firing up the grill. Without fail.

I usually cook it just under medium, the right texture for me. There is one local restaurant here where I’ll order salmon, and nowhere else.

[Ken Gargett]

11 hours ago, El Presidente said:

It has been a challenging dietary journey over the past month with freinds and family getting together for the 10 day wedding festivities. I took the opportunity last week to do something I rarely do when out at a restaurant and that was to order the crsipy skin salmon.  Now I love salmon and I cook it regularly but I avoid it like the plague when I go out as most restauranters overcook the crap out of it because of their fear that patrons will send it back as undercooked with the slightest sight of pink in the flesh. 

And so it happened again albeit it in a different way. 

"I will order the salmon thank you"

" Excellent sir.....and how would you like it cooked, rare, medium rare or well done? 

....I would like it cooked properly! 

Rare?  That is called SASHIMI!  

Medium? Overcooked for me but I can live with it. 

Well Done?  Barbarians  

Am I the only one? 

Does anyone prefer their salmon well done?

rare is not raw. raw is raw (absolutely nothing wrong with sashimi by the way). love it. there is a difference. it might be slight, and i might be happy either way, but it is different. 

had a Japanese girlfriend many years ago. she loved lobster. but she'd always send it back to have the crap cooked out of it. you could have hammered nails with what she'd have done to it.i saw one chef with tears in his eyes. 

[El Presidente]

5 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

rare is not raw. raw is raw (absolutely nothing wrong with sashimi by the way). love it. there is a difference. it might be slight, and i might be happy either way, but it is different.

No one is arguing? 

I was simply surpirsed that it was asked how I wanted the salmon to be cooked. Rare/medium/well done. There is only one way to cook salmon in my mind ....properly...pink  and juicy in the middle. ;

Still I would rather be asked than to have the chef go ahead and cook the crap out of it. 

[Ken Gargett]

32 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

No one is arguing? 

I was simply surpirsed that it was asked how I wanted the salmon to be cooked. Rare/medium/well done. There is only one way to cook salmon in my mind ....properly...pink  and juicy in the middle. ;

Still I would rather be asked than to have the chef go ahead and cook the crap out of it. 

what is important is that the end result for you was salmon enchanted evening. 

[El Presidente]

55 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

what is important is that the end result for you was salmon enchanted evening. 

[Chibearsv]

4 hours ago, El Presidente said:

There is only one way to cook salmon

Salmon or any other fish.  If it's cooked, it's got to be cooked properly.  I hardly ever order fish at a restaurant (except sushi or sashimi) for fear that they will overcook it.  I love halibut if it's cooked properly, but it hardly ever is, and if the menu says "crusted" with nuts or whatever, hard pass from me.  Just season and cook the fish properly is all that is required.

[BrightonCorgi]

The one on the left is hardly over cooked.

[HarveyBoulevard]

The only meat I generally eat had feet at some point.  Not much, if anything, out the ocean I want to eat.  I will occasionally have some sushi, tuna, octopus but just no taste for oysters, lobster, crab, mussels, most fish.

I like my meat red...

[BoliDan]

Can't stand salmon, it's too fishy for my tastes. No matter how high quality it has been, I've always hated it. My wife likes it, and I cook hers rare, but I cook mine until all the oils are burnt and I have a nice dry piece of cardboard fish.

 

I know I just upset a bunch of people with this. I'll see myself out. 

[Chas.Alpha]

A little off topic, but this is a perfectly prepared rib eye. 😀

[Ford2112]

3 hours ago, BoliDan said:

Can't stand salmon, it's too fishy for my tastes. No matter how high quality it has been I've always hated it. My wife likes it, and I cook hers rare, but I burn mine until all the oils are burnt and I have a nice dry piece of cardboard fish.

 

I know I just upset a bunch of people with this. I'll see myself out. 

Not upsetting. It's been my experience fishy tasting salmon wasn't bled and iced properly.  Also unless it's a springer from the Columbia, Ocean salmon FOB is the best. Our fishing season in California was nixed due to lack of escapement. No salmon this year. I grew up on it. I'm spoiled ,picky,and overcooked fishy tasting fish is done by hacks.

[99call]

any fish should complete its cooking in a resting cycle. whether is be sat in a warm pan with butter, or cooling down in a steamer. 

Having been a chef, I think a lot of domestic hobbiest cooks get stressed out by  pork, chicken and especially fish. 

ultimately the 'salt principle' is always your friend.  you can always slightly undercook something and give it last minute blast under a salamander, or warm dip in a bit of sauce,  but you can never undue as ruined bit of butchered fish. 

lots of people go on and on about 'resting meat' but 'resting fish' is a much greater skill.   Letting residual heat finish the cooking of fish is within the 30th of seconds.   Getting it to the table in this window is a great skill. 

serving over cooked fish is pointless..........just put it in the bin

serving hot undercooked fish is pointless........just put it in the bin

just get it right!

[KCCubano]

3 hours ago, BoliDan said:

Can't stand salmon, it's too fishy for my tastes. No matter how high quality it has been, I've always hated it. My wife likes it, and I cook hers rare, but I cook mine until all the oils are burnt and I have a nice dry piece of cardboard fish.

 

I know I just upset a bunch of people with this. I'll see myself out. 

Im not a huge fan of Salmon either. I prefer to catch Walleye or Crappie filet em and cook them on the spot. I rarely order fish in a restaurant except in one of my favorites in northern WI. Fish fry every weekend. 

[Ford2112]

For restaurant fish on thr west coast I'm a sucker for a good sand dab.