Stinky Salmon

[Heidi]

I love salmon! I don't love the way it smells when I cook it, however. Grilling it outside keeps it from stinking up the house too bad, but then if I throw it in the microwave to reheat the leftovers, it stinks up the house again. Is there any way at all to prevent this (or at least tone it down), or is that just the way it goes when you cook fish?

I'm the only one in my house who likes to eat salmon, and I've been banned from it by popular vote, since when I eat it, everyone else has to suffer the consequences! Am I resigned to eating salmon only in restaurants where it stinks up somebody elses kitchen?

[Kerri]

There is always oven roasted salmon! I find that by baking, it doesn't stink things up too much. If a recipe calls for frying or broiling, you can just adjust your recipe by baking at 400 for 12-15 minutes. I usually don't have leftovers, so I can't help your microwave question, but you could always reheat those in the oven as well.

[Gail]

Probably a minor point here, but are you cooking it with any skin on? Salmon skin has a particularly strong aroma, and if you aren't removing it first, it's also going to add to the smell.

Other than that, I must be used to the stuff. More often than not, I either grill it indoors or sauté, and I honestly never noticed it smelled worse than any other fish...

[MelissaAS]

Speaking of salmon skin- any chefs out there have advice about the best way to skin salmon?

[clairea]

Someone recently gave me one of the kitchen candles from Williams-Sonoma, which are supposed to cut down on cooking odors. I was skeptical, but it really seems to work -- DH says he can no longer tell what we are having for dinner as soon as he walks in the door. Mine is the lemon scent, but it isn't like a regular scented candle and I don't really notice the scent of the candle at all.

Sorry I can't tell you how to cook it without the smell (I have the same problem) but at least maybe this way your family won't mind.

I usually just ask the person at the fish counter to skin the salmon for me. Sometimes they look at me like I am a bit of a princess for asking, but they always do it (and never charge for it).

[This message has been edited by clairea (edited 05-30-2001).]

[Gail]

How I skin the salmon depends how I'm cooking it. If I'm grilling a filet, I slap the thing on the grill skin-side-down and cook it for a few minutes. When you go to turn it, you can lift it right out of the skin. With broiling, I do the reverse, letting the top bubble a bit, then I can scrape it right off. Note however, that if you or your family is grossed by the smell of salmon or its skin, the above are stinky methods.

The alternative is simply to pull it off. Being a fairly firm-but-fatty fish, it usually isn't too hard. If I hit a stubborn one, I'll help it along with a sharp fileting knife, but that's pretty much the way I do it!

[laughsandlaughs]

This really isn't an answer to how to cook it without smelling up the place, but when you have leftovers how about eating it cold on a salad instead of reheating??

[Vanessa]

Vinegar is a natural odor absorber.

An open bowl in your kitchen while cooking will soak up your smells and smoke.

[SQ]

Originally posted by Vanessa:

Vinegar is a natural odor absorber.

An open bowl in your kitchen while cooking will soak up your smells and smoke.


Thanks for the info, Vanessa. I never knew that. I'll have to cook some fish (or onions) soon so I can check that out!

[CAROL ANN]

I just made the Barbecue roasted salmon for dinner tonight. I tried Gail's suggestion to remove the skin before baking. It worked. No fishy smell. I just used a sharp knife to cut the skin off. Thank you Gail.

[Tina_B]

One way to reduce the fishy smell of any seafood is to soak it in milk prior to cooking. I hope this helps.