How to Prepare Salmon

If you're unfamiliar with salmon, preparing it can seem like an incredibly daunting task. It's true that this does require a certain amount of intricacy and skill, but it's nothing you can't learn. With our detailed, step-by-step guide on how to prepare salmon, you'll be off to a good start! Get ready to enjoy this fish and everything it has to offer.

How to Pick Fresh Salmon

1. Salmon filets

Fresh raw salmon has a shiny surface with a bright pink-coral color and a significant amount of marbling patterns. It should be solid, moist, slightly spongy to the touch as opposed to watery, and should not show any signs of breaking or disintegrating.

Salmon must be purchased from reputable fish markets and handled appropriately by the fishmongers if it is to be consumed raw. The following are some typical indicators that the salmon in the market is at its freshest and highest quality:

The fish filets are displayed in aluminum trays filled with crushed ice. Whole salmon, on the other hand, should be submerged completely in a pool of crushed ice.
The filets aren't touching each other, even if they're placed on the same tray.
The fishmonger is ready to filet a salmon in front of your eyes, on a pristine and sanitized cutting board.

We advise only using farmed salmon if you need raw fish for sushi because they are intentionally fed parasite-free. The same cannot be guaranteed for wild-caught salmon. Ask the store owner for confirmation if you have any doubts about their origins.

2. Whole salmon:

If you’re buying whole salmon, you can examine its freshness by checking some of the visible features of the fish:

Eyes: clear and bulging.
Flesh: clear and bright orange color; firm, tight muscles and spongy feel to the touch; and marbling pattern on the surface.
Gills: bright red.

At the same time, avoid buying a salmon that:

Has cloudy eyes.
Has a dull gray, brownish, or yellowish color.
Is soft and watery to the touch.

How to Tell If Salmon Is Bad

Since fresh salmon has a well-known pleasant smell, a fishy odor can immediately indicate that a filet has already gone bad. Also, if it feels slimy and squishy to the touch or has bruised areas on the outside, then it's very likely that the salmon has gone bad and needs to be thrown out.

Best Ways to Prepare Salmon

How to Prepare Whole Salmon at Home

Step 1: Sanitization

First, prepare a mix of a bleach solution with clean water to sanitize your tools and work area.
Use a clean towel dampened with the bleach and water mixture to wipe down the counter, the cutting board, and the fileting knife to remove germs and bacteria on their surfaces.
Wait for a minute, then use hot water and dish soap to wash off the bleach and wipe them dry with another clean towel.
Finally, wash your hands with antibacterial soap as the last step of preparation. To keep your hands clean, wear disposable gloves before starting to work with the salmon.

Step 2: Remove the salmon filets from the spine

Place the salmon on a sanitized cutting board with its back facing towards you.
Insert a butcher knife into the back of the head, and run the knife along the spine in a saw-like motion, all the way to the end until the filet has been completely removed. Remember to slightly tilt the knife downward and as close to the spine as possible for more precise cuts, so you can get the most of the flesh out.
Set the first filet aside on a clean plate. Flip the salmon over to the belly side and repeat the process to get the second filet.

As a result, you should have 2 salmon filets and a carcass with the fish spine, head, fins, and tails. You can discard the carcass or keep it to make fish stock if preferred.

Step 3: Remove the ribs from the salmon filets

Use a filet knife to remove the ribs from the filets. Gently slice it into the part that connects the rib bones and the flesh on the filet; try to keep the knife close to the ribs to keep the meat from breaking apart.
You can easily check if there are any rib bones left in the meat by running your fingers along the length of the filet or scraping the knife on the fish.

Step 4: Trim off the fat

After all the ribs have been removed, trim off the fat (usually, fat is found mostly around the belly part and the fin areas). Use a sharp salmon knife to trim the fat away carefully.
Removing salmon fat is a must if you're about to eat salmon raw for sushi. If you’re planning on well-cooked meals, such as grilled, baked, or soups, you can skip this step and save the fat to add more flavor to your dishes.

Step 5: Remove the pin bones

There are small pin bones that lie along the filets. To remove, use pliers or tweezers to pluck/pull them out.

Step 6: Pat the salmon filet dry

Use a clean kitchen towel to pat the salmon dry. Try to avoid washing the fish under running water to avoid spreading germs on the surrounding surface.
Transfer the clean salmon filets to a clean cutting board. Now your salmon filets are ready and you can start processing your meals according to your favorite recipes.

hand holds a kitchen towel to pat the salmon fillet dry

How to Prepare Salmon for Sushi

Descaling and gutting salmon can still be quite a troublesome task to do, especially with inexperienced cooks. To save time and effort, it would be much simpler to buy ready-to-use sushi-grade salmon. Request the fishmonger to have the salmon already fileted, trimmed, and cleaned beforehand, so all that's left for you is to just slice them up and start processing your meals.

Here’s how to slice the salmon filets into sushi-sized pieces:

Step 1: Prepare your nori sheets.

Step 2: Slice the big salmon filets horizontally into smaller filets, making each filet about 1 inch thick (a whole salmon filet can be cut into 4-5 smaller filets).

Step 3: Slice the filets into smaller slices for sushi (about ⅛-inch thick), making it about half the length of the nori sheet you’re about to use. Remove a thin layer on the darker part of the filets.

Note: It’s important to slice up the salmon in just one smooth motion (rather than sawing it back and forth) so the edges will look nice and firm.

With the preparation of salmon out of the way, you can now move on to cooking up delicious, mouthwatering dishes with this versatile fish. Not sure what to do? Our guides on how to cook salmon in the air fryer, how to grill salmon, and how to bake salmon in foil have got your back!