Choosing Your Salmon
When selecting your fish, there are a few items that you must look for, and if any of them is missing or questionable, look elsewhere. Few things will make you quite as miserable as food poisoning from fish. Fish naturally begin to break down from the moment they are pulled from their water habitat, so proper handling and care is essential. The following are a few tips that you should keep in mind:
Pick your cut: whole, steak or filet. A whole fish can't be beat when serving a large group, especially when it comes to economics. It offers the flexibility of being able to be served stuffed or decorated for presentation, or divided into individual servings such as filets or steaks. Taking a whole salmon and converting it into filets or steaks requires a bit of effort, but is quite simple, and usually far more cost effective than the prepared cuts from the store. The filet is then deboned, and sometimes unskinned, sides of the salmon. The steak is a vertical cut made through the salmon, usually around an inch in thickness.
You are spending good money on this fish, so before you buy it, take the time to really examine it. A fish that isn't fresh or has been poorly handled simply cannot offer the same satisfying meal that a fresh fish would. Any monger worth his salt with nothing to hide will gladly let you take a sniff and look. Whether you are buying a filet, steak, or whole fish, ask your fishmonger to let you smell and hold it. Take a deep whiff and look for the smell of the ocean - salty sweet. If it smells like a fish, it indicates the fish is old and hasn't been kept at appropriate temperatures.
The flesh should be in good shape, intact (not look feathered) and firm. It should bounce back when pressed gently, not leaving an indentation. The skin should be clean and not slimy, with a nice shine and scales that do not readily fall off.
If you are looking at a whole fish, the color of the gills should be bright pink to a deep red, and the cavity clean and free from blood and fluids. Next, look the fish in the eyes. This is the easiest indicator of freshness and how well the fish has been handled. The eyes should be clear and well rounded. If they are cloudy, or have sunk into the eye socket, the fish is out of date or took a beating. Take a pass and move on to the next specimen.
Refrigerating Your Salmon Purchase
The natural decomposition of the fish, and subsequent spoilage, is slowed by keeping the fish in cold environments, so follow these refrigeration tips to make sure your fish isn't, and doesn't, become unsafe:
1. Take a close look at the stores display case. Most local food codes require that the fish in the display case must be consistently refrigerated at 29°F., so confirm this by looking for a thermometer somewhere around the case. The ice must be clean and fresh, with the fish not sitting in puddles of water or blood. Temperatures can vary as much as 25°F. between the top fish and bottom pieces when stacked because of the lighting, air current, etc., so make sure to obtain a piece that is close to the ice, preferably directly on top of the ice.
2. Do not purchase salmon, or any fish or seafood for that matter, if you plan on making a number of additional stops before you get home. We can't emphasize enough that fish must be kept cold to prevent rapid spoilage. It doesn't do well even for short times in warm conditions, especially the temperatures your car will reach on a sunny day.
3. As soon as you get home, remove the fish from the wrapping from the store, rinse it with cold running water, and re-wrap in plastic wrap, followed by a layer of foil. Store it in your refrigerator in the coldest part, usually the bottom shelf towards the back. Food is unsafe at temperatures between 40°F and 140°F, and most people are unaware that their refrigerators operate in this unsafe region. Because most refrigerators don't provide an easy way of knowing the internal temperature of the cooling box (whose idea was that goofy knob anyway?), it is a good idea to hang a thermometer somewhere inside so you can ensure it is operating safely.
4. It is not advisable to keep fish unfrozen for longer than a day or so, and if possible, it is best not to purchase fish until the day you plan to use it. Should you come across a great deal on salmon, you can freeze it safely by wrapping tightly in a combination of plastic wrap, foil, and zip-seal bags. It will store well in the freezer for about 6 months and manage to maintain most of its texture and taste.
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