[0 - 1] - Hi everyone, I'm Amiel Stanek,
[1 - 3] editor at large of Bon Appetit,
[3 - 5] and this is almost every way to cook salmon.
[5 - 8] There's a whole lot of fish in the sea, people.
[8 - 10] There is big fish and little fish,
[10 - 11] red fish and blue fish.
[11 - 13] But today, we're gonna be taking a closer look
[13 - 17] at one very special fish in particular, salmon.
[17 - 19] Specifically, we're gonna be working with
[19 - 21] Ora King salmon, a sustainably-farmed variety,
[21 - 23] that's firm-fleshed, super rich,
[23 - 25] and really, really versatile.
[25 - 30] And we're gonna cook it every way we can think of. Sashimi.
[30 - 31] All right, this raw preparation is
[31 - 33] about as simple as they come.
[33 - 34] We've got our salmon filet,
[34 - 35] and we're gonna remove the skin,
[35 - 36] and then we're gonna cut our fish
[36 - 39] into nice, clean, bite-size pieces.
[39 - 41] Voila! Salmon sashimi. [bell dings]
[41 - 44] So this is just salmon, nothing else.
[44 - 47] Mm, that salmon is so rich.
[47 - 49] You're really tasting all that fat.
[49 - 51] It's really meaty and clean-tasting,
[51 - 53] and extremely tender.
[53 - 54] It's hard to imagine cooking it
[54 - 57] when it's so delicious this way. Ceviche.
[57 - 59] Okay, we're gonna remove the skin again,
[59 - 61] because the skin will be tough if it's not cooked.
[61 - 63] We're gonna cut our salmon into a quarter inch dice.
[63 - 65] Hit it with some salt, and then
[65 - 67] squeeze the juice of this lemon over top.
[67 - 68] We'll let that sit for a few minutes
[68 - 69] before tasting to let the acid
[70 - 72] from the citrus kind of cook the salmon.
[72 - 72] [bell dings] Wow, you can see that
[72 - 74] the color has changed somewhat.
[74 - 77] That's the acid interacting with the protein.
[77 - 80] Mm, the texture is definitely firmer than the sashimi.
[80 - 82] It's not the best fish for the job.
[82 - 84] Ceviche is typically made with a leaner, flakier fish.
[84 - 87] But this is still very tasty. Cured salmon.
[87 - 91] We've got brown sugar, we've got salt, we've got some dill,
[91 - 93] and we're gonna mix that all together.
[93 - 94] Then we're gonna pack it around the salmon
[94 - 96] and wrap it up really tightly
[96 - 98] and then weigh it down with this pan,
[98 - 99] and pop it in the fridge to cure.
[99 - 102] Now that it's been sitting for a couple of days,
[102 - 103] we're gonna unpack our salmon.
[103 - 105] It's kind of a sticky mess.
[105 - 107] We're gonna cut a few thin slices.
[107 - 109] Homemade gravlax! [bell dings]
[109 - 111] It's darkened lightly, and gone kind of matte,
[111 - 114] thanks to the salt and the sugar cure.
[114 - 116] Mm, it's delicious.
[116 - 120] Huge, sweet, salty flavor with an incredibly silky texture.
[120 - 123] Like smoked salmon without the smoke. Pan-seared salmon.
[123 - 126] Doesn't get much more straightforward than this, folks.
[126 - 128] We're gonna season our fish on both sides with salt.
[128 - 130] Add a little oil to our super-hot pan,
[130 - 134] and then gently place our fish in here skin side down.
[134 - 135] We're gonna use a fish spatula
[135 - 136] to apply a bit of light pressure
[136 - 138] to keep the skin from curling up.
[138 - 142] Then let it cook on the skin side about 90% of the way.
[142 - 145] Then flip it just to kiss the other side.
[145 - 148] Ta da! Pan-seared salmon. [bell dings]
[148 - 150] Damn, that skin looks crispy.
[150 - 152] You can actually hear it crackle when you cut it.
[152 - 155] And the inside is beautiful, just barely cooked through.
[155 - 159] Mm, it's moist, and juicy.
[159 - 162] Nothing fancy, just simple, delicious, perfectly-cooked salmon.
[162 - 164] Cold pan salmon.
[164 - 166] Okay, similar but totally different.
[166 - 168] We're gonna season our fish on both sides.
[168 - 170] Get a bit of oil into this room temperature pan.
[170 - 173] Place our fish skin side down, and crank the heat.
[173 - 175] This way, the fish will cook a bit more slowly
[175 - 177] as the pan heats up, and the fat and the skin
[177 - 179] will render and crisp up gradually.
[179 - 184] Flip it over for just a second, and it's good to go.
[184 - 184] [bell dings] The skin looks
[184 - 185] nice and crispy,
[185 - 188] but not quite as crispy as our hot pan method.
[188 - 190] The inside looks perfect.
[190 - 194] Mm, it's almost as good as our hot pan salmon.
[194 - 197] The skin is my only complaint. Pan-fried salmon.
[197 - 199] This time we're gonna season our salmon,
[199 - 202] dredge it in some flour, oil our hot pan,
[202 - 205] and layer our fish skin side down in it.
[205 - 207] We're gonna slip a few tablespoons of butter in here.
[207 - 209] Flip our fish, and then baste it a bit
[209 - 212] with the foaming butter while it finishes.
[212 - 213] Mm, that's smells great. [bell dings]
[213 - 215] The filet took on color a lot more quickly
[215 - 216] than our other pan methods,
[216 - 219] and that's because of the flour and the brown butter.
[219 - 222] And yeah, the inside is a bit rare,
[222 - 226] but if we had left it in the pan it would have burned. Mm, yum.
[226 - 228] It's still tasty even though it's so rare,
[228 - 229] but at the end of the day, I don't think
[229 - 233] that the flour helped our cause. Salmon burger.
[233 - 235] We're gonna take the skin off and cut it into chunks.
[235 - 238] We're gonna take a third of it and process it to a paste,
[238 - 240] which is gonna act as a binder.
[240 - 241] Then we're gonna pulse the rest of the fish
[241 - 243] so it's still kind of chunky.
[243 - 246] Scrape it into a bowl, add a bit of mayo and some salt,
[246 - 249] and then form it into patties and let them chill to firm up.
[249 - 250] Now that its been a few hours,
[250 - 252] we're gonna lightly flour the patty,
[252 - 253] get some oil into the pan,
[253 - 255] and carefully sear it on both sides.
[255 - 259] Here comes the flip. Beautiful. [bell dings]
[259 - 261] The outside looks nicely browned and crisp,
[261 - 262] thanks to the flour,
[262 - 264] and the inside looks tender.
[266 - 268] Mm, it's pretty tasty, but the texture
[268 - 269] leaves something to be desired.
[269 - 271] This would maybe be a great way
[271 - 273] to gussy up some cheap or even canned salmon,
[273 - 276] but this feels like a bit of a missed opportunity.
[276 - 280] You know, let's go outside and get a little fresh air. Grill time!
[280 - 282] All these have been salted and oiled already.
[282 - 283] We've got a whole filet that we're gonna lay
[283 - 285] skin side down right here.
[285 - 287] Some cubes of salmon that we've threaded
[287 - 289] on to skewers here.
[289 - 292] And here we have a soaked and pre-heated cedar plank,
[292 - 294] that we're gonna lay another filet onto here.
[294 - 297] We're just gonna take these off as they're ready. Grilled salmon.
[297 - 300] So, grilling salmon can be a bit tricky.
[300 - 302] It's fatty, which causes flare ups,
[302 - 303] but it's also delicate,
[303 - 305] so it's hard to move around a lot.
[305 - 306] This filet definitely got more char
[306 - 309] than we wanted and that skin is burnt.
[309 - 314] Inside, yeah, it's almost raw. Mm, yeah.
[314 - 315] This is not ideal.
[315 - 316] The burnt bits taste sooty and bitter,
[316 - 319] and the inside is kind of just warmed through.
[319 - 321] Grilling can be a great way to cook salmon,
[321 - 323] but we didn't nail this one,
[323 - 325] Cedar plank salmon.
[325 - 327] So this cedar plank kind of acted like a barrier
[327 - 330] between the intense heat of the grill and the fish.
[330 - 331] And we're hoping that the wood
[331 - 333] lent some kind of flavor here.
[333 - 335] The skin is still totally soft.
[335 - 336] There's no browning.
[336 - 339] We've got a nice medium to medium rare interior.
[339 - 344] Mm, not bad, but I'm not getting much wood flavor at all.
[344 - 346] Definitely prevented flare ups,
[346 - 348] but it also didn't add all that much.
[348 - 352] Seems more like a gimmick than anything else. Salmon kebabs.
[352 - 354] Okay, we've got some nice grill marks going,
[354 - 357] but not a ton of exterior caramelization,
[357 - 359] The inside definitely on the more well done side.
[359 - 362] Mm, pretty tasty.
[362 - 364] Not as juicy as I'd like.
[364 - 366] These smaller pieces are way easier to overcook
[366 - 368] than a whole filet.
[368 - 369] We weren't able to cook them long enough
[369 - 371] to get a ton of color.
[371 - 372] These would be better with some kind of glaze
[372 - 375] to speed up the browning process.
[375 - 376] Grill basket salmon.
[376 - 378] We got our grill basket,
[378 - 380] we got our oiled and salted salmon.
[380 - 381] We're gonna put it right in here.
[381 - 382] We're gonna lock it,
[382 - 384] and then we're gonna put it on our hot grill.
[384 - 386] The nice thing about this apparatus
[386 - 389] is that it makes it easier to move the salmon around.
[389 - 391] Flip it after a couple minutes,
[391 - 392] and she's done. [bell dings]
[392 - 394] You know, I'm pretty disappointed
[394 - 395] by the color we got here.
[395 - 399] The basket protected the skin, but maybe a bit too much.
[399 - 401] The flesh is nicely cooked.
[401 - 405] Mm, good, but not a whole lot going on.
[405 - 407] This would probably be better with a larger piece of fish.
[407 - 410] Let's head back inside and make some pickled salmon.
[410 - 412] We've got our skinless filet right here,
[412 - 414] and we're gonna cut it into a few bit-sized chunks,
[414 - 415] and get them into this jar.
[415 - 417] Then we're gonna pour a hot mixture
[417 - 420] of vinegar, salt and sugar over top,
[420 - 421] before screwing the lid on
[421 - 423] and letting it hang out for a few hours
[423 - 424] in the fridge. [bell dings]
[424 - 426] So the color has changed significantly.
[426 - 429] It's very flaky, but it doesn't feel dried out,
[429 - 431] and it smells really vinegary.
[431 - 434] Mm, yum, very tangy and sweet.
[434 - 436] It's definitely a stronger flavor,
[436 - 438] so if fishy things aren't your bag,
[438 - 442] it's not for you, but I love it. Canned salmon.
[442 - 443] Urban homesteading time.
[443 - 445] We're gonna cut our filet into six pieces.
[445 - 447] Layer them into this jar
[447 - 449] with a bit of salt and a splash of vinegar
[449 - 450] and screw the lid on tight.
[450 - 453] Then, we're gonna load it into this pressure canner,
[453 - 455] set it for high pressure, and crank the heat.
[455 - 457] Okay, time to depressurize it.
[457 - 460] All right, now that it's cooked, depressurized,
[460 - 462] and cooled, we can open it up
[462 - 464] and that's canned salmon. [bell dings]
[464 - 467] As you can see, the fish is fully submerged in liquid.
[467 - 468] We didn't add any of that.
[468 - 470] It's just salmon juice.
[470 - 473] It's definitely sealed, which means we did it right.
[473 - 476] Yeah, these salmon pieces are fully, fully cooked.
[476 - 479] Mm, you know, it's not bad.
[479 - 480] It's just a little dry.
[480 - 482] It has the texture of canned tuna.
[482 - 483] I miss the moisture.
[483 - 485] But if I had a ton of salmon I didn't know what to do with,
[485 - 487] this would be a pretty efficient way
[487 - 489] to make it shelf-stable. Poached salmon.
[489 - 491] We're gonna season it on both sides,
[491 - 493] open our fish poacher, which is full of
[493 - 494] gently simmering fish stock,
[494 - 497] lay our filet down, and cover it.
[497 - 500] Now that it's done, we're gonna lift this base out,
[500 - 502] and voila, poached salmon. [bell dings]
[502 - 504] It's worth noting that this apparatus
[504 - 506] is really meant for a whole fish.
[506 - 507] It makes it easier for the whole thing
[507 - 510] to be cooked gently and then lifted out fully intact.
[510 - 512] But our filet feels really nice,
[512 - 514] even without any browning to speak of.
[514 - 519] Ooh, it flakes really easily and it's super juicy-looking. Mm, yum.
[519 - 521] Coffee pot salmon.
[521 - 522] Say you're in a hotel room and you wanna
[522 - 523] cook a piece of salmon
[523 - 525] but you've got nothing to cook it with.
[525 - 527] Wrong! You've got a coffee maker.
[527 - 529] We're gonna plop our filet into this carafe
[529 - 530] with a pinch of salt.
[530 - 532] We're gonna fill the basin with water
[532 - 533] and turn this bad boy on.
[533 - 535] Well, that's a coffee pot full of salmon
[535 - 536] and water all right. [bell dings]
[536 - 541] Let's give this liquid a taste first. Yuck.
[541 - 541] I don't think I'm gonna wanna
[541 - 543] make coffee in here ever again.
[543 - 546] The salmon is actually flaking nicely.
[546 - 548] Mm, you know?
[548 - 550] It's not terrible.
[550 - 551] And even though it lost some flavor
[551 - 555] to the water, it's still pretty tasty. Salmon rillette.
[555 - 557] We're starting with poached and chilled salmon
[557 - 559] and we're gonna flake it into this food processor,
[559 - 562] add a bit of mayo, some lemon juice, a pinch of salt,
[562 - 564] and then we're gonna pulse it just enough
[564 - 566] to break the salmon up.
[566 - 568] Yeah, I know what you're thinking.
[568 - 569] It looks like cat food.
[569 - 571] Salmon rillette, everybody. [bell dings]
[571 - 572] So this would obviously be cuter
[572 - 574] if we'd put it in a little mason jar
[574 - 576] and garnished it with some chives or something.
[576 - 578] On it's own, it looks pretty gnarly.
[578 - 581] Mm, it's actually really delicious.
[581 - 584] The lemon adds some nice balance to all that richness.
[584 - 586] Salmon ice cream?
[586 - 587] Hold on to your butts people,
[587 - 589] we're making salmon ice cream.
[589 - 591] First, we need to make our ice cream base.
[591 - 594] We're gonna add cream and milk and butter to this sauce pan,
[594 - 596] and bring that to a simmer over medium heat.
[596 - 598] While that's working, we've got
[598 - 600] some egg yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt
[600 - 601] and we're gonna whisk them together
[601 - 602] until they're light and fluffy.
[602 - 604] Now that our dairy is hot,
[604 - 605] we're gonna add a bit at a time
[605 - 606] to our eggs to temper them.
[606 - 609] Now we're gonna dump it into this blender,
[609 - 611] add about a third of our poached salmon filet,
[611 - 613] and set aside the rest for later.
[614 - 617] Mm, that's appetizing.
[617 - 619] We're gonna transfer this back to our sauce pan,
[619 - 621] cook it until it's thick,
[621 - 623] and then transfer it back into this bowl,
[623 - 624] cover it with plastic wrap,
[624 - 627] and chill it until it's nice and cold.
[627 - 628] We're gonna pour it into this ice cream machine
[628 - 630] and let 'er rip.
[630 - 632] Now that it's almost finished,
[632 - 634] we're gonna add our flaked salmon
[634 - 637] for texture, I guess.
[637 - 638] And now that's it done, we're gonna
[638 - 640] scrape it into a loaf pan and let it freeze
[640 - 642] fully until it's nice and hard.
[642 - 645] So now our ice cream is completely frozen.
[645 - 647] Oh my god, the chunks.
[648 - 649] Ta da! [bell dings]
[649 - 653] Here we have the fishiest sundae that ever was.
[653 - 654] I mean, it looks good.
[654 - 656] Like, it could be something delicious,
[656 - 659] like strawberry and not salmon.
[659 - 661] Some chunks in there.
[661 - 665] Mm, you know, up front it just tastes
[665 - 666] like really good ice cream
[666 - 669] with a distinctly fishy aftertaste.
[669 - 673] It's like eating ice cream while feeding your cat. Steamed salmon.
[673 - 675] We're gonna season our filet,
[675 - 676] open this bad boy up,
[676 - 678] and place our salmon on a little piece
[678 - 680] of parchment, just to keep it from sticking.
[680 - 681] All right, it's been about four minutes.
[681 - 684] Lid off, scoop out our beautiful piece
[684 - 686] of steamed salmon. [bell dings]
[686 - 689] So no browning here, which is to be expected.
[689 - 691] The skin looks just like it did when it was raw.
[691 - 693] Cutting into it, we've got a nice, silky
[693 - 695] medium rare in there.
[695 - 699] Mm, very simple, not a whole lot going on.
[699 - 701] But this would be delicious on a rice bowl
[701 - 705] or something with an assertive dipping sauce. Boiled salmon.
[705 - 707] We've got our pot of hot water here.
[707 - 708] We're gonna crank the heat,
[708 - 709] hit it with a few good pinches of salt,
[709 - 713] and slide our filet in there and close the lid.
[713 - 715] And that, my friends, is boiled salmon.
[715 - 716] [bell dings] Compared with our
[716 - 718] other wet cooking methods,
[718 - 720] this is definitely the least delicate.
[720 - 722] Actually looks fairly nicely cooked inside,
[722 - 724] it's not over.
[724 - 725] Mm, I don't hate it, but it would be
[725 - 728] really easy to overcook it this way.
[728 - 729] If I'm cooking salmon in water,
[729 - 731] I'm gonna poach or steam it for sure.
[731 - 733] You know, it's getting a little fishy in here.
[733 - 734] Let's head back outside.
[734 - 736] Campfire salmon three ways.
[736 - 738] We've got a campfire.
[738 - 740] We've got two filets of salmon
[740 - 742] that we've wrapped tightly in clay.
[742 - 743] We've got a filet of salmon
[743 - 744] that we've wrapped in a banana leaf
[744 - 747] that we're gonna place on top of this hot rock.
[747 - 748] And last but not least, we've got two
[748 - 750] filets of salmon that we've wrapped up
[750 - 753] in some damp moss, for some reason.
[753 - 754] We're gonna wedge it right in here.
[754 - 756] Damn, this fire's hot!
[756 - 758] And we're gonna take these out as they're ready.
[758 - 760] Okay, banana leaf is ready.
[760 - 763] Moss is ready?
[764 - 768] Clay is hard, so I guess this one's done too. Clay-cooked salmon.
[768 - 770] So the idea here was that the clay
[770 - 772] would kind of harden to create a protective layer
[772 - 775] and it definitely hardened.
[775 - 776] Let's break this open.
[776 - 778] God, I hope this clay isn't poisonous.
[778 - 780] Wow, it didn't stick to the salmon as much as I thought.
[780 - 781] Just the skin.
[781 - 783] That's actually why we used two filets,
[783 - 785] so we could have skin on both sides.
[785 - 789] The inside of the salmon is really pretty actually.
[789 - 793] Mm, honestly, it just tastes like nicely cooked salmon.
[793 - 795] But nothing special.
[795 - 797] This seems like more of a party trick than anything else.
[797 - 798] Banana leaf salmon.
[798 - 800] It's not bad-looking.
[800 - 802] Even thought it was right on that hot rock,
[802 - 804] there's no crisping of the skin.
[804 - 806] It just kind of steamed in there, which is cool.
[806 - 809] It's definitely more on the rare side.
[809 - 812] Mm, tastes like steamed salmon, with a bit of
[812 - 815] a vegetable flavor going on from the leaf.
[815 - 817] Just the tiniest hint of smoke.
[817 - 818] I'd try this again.
[818 - 820] Moss covered salmon.
[820 - 823] This looks pretty scary, to be honest.
[823 - 825] I'm not sure if the moss was supposed to burn,
[827 - 829] It's hard to figure out the best way to open it.
[829 - 832] Okay, all right, a lot of freaky-looking parts here.
[832 - 835] Shockingly, it's not as awful inside as I thought.
[835 - 837] Just really uneven.
[837 - 839] Mm, it tastes a little burny,
[839 - 841] even though it didn't take on any color at all.
[841 - 843] This wasn't nearly as bad as I thought,
[843 - 846] but it's a pretty terrifying way to cook salmon.
[846 - 848] Things are getting a little weird out here.
[848 - 851] Let's head back to the kitchen. Deep-fried salmon.
[852 - 854] We're gonna season this filet
[854 - 856] and drop it into 360 degree oil
[856 - 858] and let it do its thing.
[858 - 860] Pop it out to drain, a little extra salt,
[860 - 862] deep-fried salmon. [bell dings]
[862 - 864] The skin is nice and crispy,
[864 - 866] and a crust kind of formed all the way around
[866 - 867] which is cool.
[867 - 869] Mm, the inside is on the more cooked side,
[869 - 871] but it's still flaking nicely.
[871 - 874] Mm, it's like the juice got locked in there.
[874 - 875] Mm, it's a little greasy,
[875 - 877] and deep frying is pretty annoying,
[877 - 881] but it's definitely not a bad way to cook salmon. Beer-battered salmon,
[881 - 882] We're gonna make a quick beer batter.
[882 - 884] We've got some all purpose flour.
[884 - 886] We're seasoning it with salt.
[886 - 887] We're gonna open this beer.
[887 - 890] Mm, we're gonna add our beer and whisk it
[891 - 893] until it's the consistency of pancake batter.
[893 - 894] We're gonna season our fish,
[894 - 898] pop it into the batter, and then right into the hot oil.
[898 - 899] Ooh, crispy. [bell dings]
[899 - 901] This crust is beautiful.
[901 - 904] Crispy and light, it just kind of shatters.
[904 - 907] And the fish inside looks so nice.
[907 - 909] Mm, I love this!
[909 - 913] The batter is crispy and flaky and perfect. Fish sticks.
[913 - 915] Okay, we're gonna cut this filet into four pieces.
[915 - 917] We're gonna beat these egg whites
[917 - 919] until they're nice and foamy.
[919 - 920] Then we're gonna season our fish,
[920 - 922] dredge them in a bit of flour,
[922 - 924] then into the egg whites,
[924 - 925] and then into some bread crumbs.
[925 - 927] We're gonna repeat with the rest of the pieces
[927 - 929] and then drop the basket.
[930 - 932] Look at those salmon fish sticks!
[932 - 933] [bell dings] So this bread crumb layer
[933 - 936] is denser than the batter, for sure.
[936 - 939] It's a bit lower profile, but still very crisp.
[939 - 942] Mm, a totally different eating experience
[942 - 943] from the battered fish,
[943 - 945] but still juicy and delicious.
[945 - 947] All that fatty goodness got trapped inside.
[947 - 950] A real step up from your freezer aisle fish sticks.
[950 - 952] Air fryer salmon.
[952 - 954] We've got an air fryer.
[954 - 956] Pop it in here skin side up.
[956 - 958] Supposedly this is just as good as frying,
[958 - 961] but I'm suspicious. [bell dings]
[961 - 963] So that skin is disappointingly flabby.
[963 - 967] It does seem like a little bit of the fat rendered.
[967 - 972] And there's a smidge of browning around the edges. Mm, yeah.
[972 - 974] It's totally fine, but the air frying
[974 - 976] isn't adding anything to this equation.
[976 - 979] Why break out R2D2 when you can just cook it in a pan?
[979 - 981] Salmon skin chips.
[981 - 983] Okay, so we've taken the skin off
[983 - 984] of a bunch of these salmon filets,
[984 - 986] but that doesn't mean we have to throw it all out.
[986 - 988] We're gonna take these pieces of skin
[988 - 991] and get them into the hot oil to crisp up.
[991 - 994] A little salt, and we've got salmon skin chips.
[994 - 996] [bell dings] These are cool!
[996 - 997] They kind of have the texture of
[997 - 999] a pork rind or something like that.
[999 - 1003] Mm, super crunchy, mild fishy flavor.
[1003 - 1007] It's like isolating the best part of a crispy salmon filet.
[1007 - 1008] Sous vide salmon.
[1008 - 1009] We're gonna use our vacuum sealer
[1009 - 1012] to suck all the air out and seal it. There.
[1012 - 1013] This is gonna keep the water
[1013 - 1017] at a consistent 115 degrees for about 40 minutes.
[1017 - 1019] We're gonna pop it out of this bag,
[1019 - 1020] very delicate now,
[1020 - 1022] get it nice and dry,
[1022 - 1024] and then crisp it up in a very hot pan
[1024 - 1026] for about a minute on each side.
[1026 - 1029] [bell dings] That crust is fairly crispy,
[1029 - 1030] but not as crispy as our straight up
[1030 - 1032] pan-seared salmon, honestly.
[1032 - 1034] The inside is gorgeous though.
[1034 - 1036] Mm, so nice.
[1036 - 1038] The skin is nicely browned,
[1038 - 1040] the inside is almost custardy.
[1040 - 1042] I'm really happy with this result,
[1042 - 1043] but honestly it's pretty fussy,
[1043 - 1045] and definitely not better than pan-seared
[1045 - 1047] in my opinion. Salmon jerky.
[1047 - 1050] We're gonna slice our salmon into quarter inch thick slices.
[1050 - 1053] Lots of salt, and slide it into this dehydrator
[1053 - 1056] for about 18 hours at 158 degrees.
[1056 - 1058] Whoo, smells like salmon in here.
[1058 - 1059] That looks like jerky all right.
[1059 - 1061] [bell dings] Well, it's pretty flexible
[1061 - 1064] and it flakes apart easily.
[1064 - 1066] Definitely not as tough as beef jerky
[1066 - 1068] because it's so much fattier.
[1068 - 1070] Mm, it's really tasty.
[1070 - 1074] Very salty, definitely a smidge dried out.
[1074 - 1076] Again, this would be a great way to preserve salmon
[1076 - 1078] if you caught way too much of it to eat in a week.
[1078 - 1080] But otherwise, it's not as delicious
[1080 - 1082] as some of our other methods.
[1082 - 1083] Hair dryer salmon.
[1083 - 1085] We're gonna season this fish a little bit on all sides.
[1086 - 1088] We've got our hair dryer set to high.
[1088 - 1090] I'm really more nervous about this working
[1090 - 1091] than not working.
[1091 - 1092] I really don't like the idea of people
[1092 - 1094] putting something so close to their head
[1094 - 1096] that could actually cook their scalp.
[1096 - 1099] Okay, it's done, I guess. [bell dings]
[1099 - 1102] So the skin is not crisp,
[1102 - 1104] and the inside is pretty much raw.
[1104 - 1108] Mm, well, you know, it's warmed all the way to the core,
[1108 - 1111] and it doesn't taste awful.
[1111 - 1114] It kind of smells like burnt hair in here.
[1114 - 1117] Let's go back outside. Smoked salmon.
[1117 - 1119] This salmon has been cured with salt and sugar
[1119 - 1121] for around 24 hours.
[1121 - 1122] We're gonna open up our smoker,
[1122 - 1124] slide our fish in skin side down,
[1124 - 1127] and let it smoke for about an hour and a half.
[1127 - 1128] Whoo, that's smoky.
[1128 - 1129] She's done! [bell dings]
[1129 - 1131] So the outside is darkened somewhat,
[1131 - 1134] and it smells amazing.
[1134 - 1135] There's definitely a lot of contrast
[1135 - 1137] between the slightly leathery exterior,
[1137 - 1140] and this really juicy interior.
[1140 - 1141] Mm, so moist.
[1141 - 1143] That flavor is outstanding.
[1143 - 1147] Salty and strong, yum! Searzall salmon.
[1147 - 1148] We've got our searzall,
[1148 - 1151] which is basically just a modified blow torch.
[1151 - 1153] We're gonna cook this salmon a bit all over
[1153 - 1154] so that it's cooked on the outside
[1154 - 1156] and completely raw inside.
[1156 - 1158] Very similar to the way that you would
[1158 - 1160] for Japanese-style tataki.
[1160 - 1163] Done and done, that was fast! [bell dings]
[1163 - 1164] So the skin has been crisped,
[1164 - 1167] and it's just barely opaque all the way around.
[1167 - 1169] Cutting in, it's totally raw inside.
[1169 - 1171] It's still cold, actually, which is intentional.
[1171 - 1175] Mm, yep, it's tasty and would be even better
[1175 - 1178] cut into slivers and served with a sauce of some sort.
[1178 - 1181] Honestly, I'd prefer straight up sashimi,
[1181 - 1183] but if you're squeamish about completely raw fish,
[1183 - 1184] this is a good way to go.
[1184 - 1186] Salmon on a stick.
[1186 - 1188] So our campfire here is nice and hot.
[1188 - 1189] We've got a piece of salmon
[1189 - 1191] that we've wedged into this split stick,
[1191 - 1193] and we're just gonna hold this here,
[1193 - 1194] turning it every once in a while
[1194 - 1195] so that the smoke and the heat
[1195 - 1197] can just gradually cook our fish.
[1198 - 1199] This is gonna take a while.
[1199 - 1201] Well, that looks done to me. [bell dings]
[1201 - 1203] Hm, definitely smells smoky.
[1203 - 1205] Yeah, it's pretty unevenly cooked
[1205 - 1207] because of the way that certain parts
[1207 - 1209] were insulated by the wood.
[1209 - 1211] Mm, outside's a bit dried out.
[1211 - 1213] Inside's pretty undercooked,
[1213 - 1217] but the flavor is really nice. Buried salmon?
[1217 - 1218] I dug a pit here earlier,
[1218 - 1219] and then I lined it with rocks,
[1219 - 1221] and built a fire in here that's been
[1221 - 1223] burning for the last few hours.
[1223 - 1224] Now that it's nice and hot,
[1224 - 1225] we're gonna put this foil-wrapped
[1225 - 1227] salmon filet in there,
[1227 - 1228] bury the whole thing,
[1228 - 1230] and dig it up again in a few hours.
[1230 - 1235] All right, should be ready by now, [grunts]
[1235 - 1238] Buried treasure, maybe. [bell dings]
[1238 - 1239] Ooh, oh, yeah.
[1239 - 1242] Okay, I'm trying to not get the dirt in there.
[1242 - 1243] All right, so we got some dirt.
[1243 - 1247] Uh, cutting in, it's actually cooked through.
[1247 - 1251] Mm, it's actually pretty tasty,
[1251 - 1253] but also this method isn't adding
[1253 - 1255] any unique flavor or texture,
[1255 - 1256] so it's kind of a whole lot of work
[1256 - 1258] for not that much payoff.
[1258 - 1261] I'm gonna pass on this one Mailbox salmon.
[1261 - 1263] This mailbox has been pre-heating in the sun
[1263 - 1265] all day, and it's pretty hot.
[1265 - 1267] We're gonna pop our foil-wrapped salmon
[1267 - 1268] into this envelope,
[1268 - 1270] put it into our mailbox,
[1270 - 1272] and check back in in a few hours.
[1273 - 1275] [bell dings] Let's unwrap this thing.
[1275 - 1277] Yeah, that is not cooked.
[1277 - 1281] It's warm in kind of a clammy handshake sort of way.
[1281 - 1283] The inside is totally raw.
[1283 - 1285] Maybe if this were August in Texas,
[1285 - 1287] but this didn't do anything.
[1287 - 1288] I'm not going to eat this.
[1288 - 1289] It's basically been sitting
[1289 - 1292] in the danger zone all afternoon. Hard pass.
[1292 - 1311] Hot tub salmon. [muffled speaking] Yeah. [bell dings]
[1311 - 1313] This salmon doesn't feel that hot.
[1313 - 1317] Our janky hot tub was supposed to get up to 104 degrees,
[1317 - 1320] but I'm not sure it got there.
[1320 - 1321] It probably have to come up to a temperature
[1321 - 1323] that would actually injure me
[1323 - 1324] in order to cook the salmon,
[1324 - 1326] and that didn't happen.
[1326 - 1328] Yep, that is raw.
[1328 - 1330] Yep, raw salmon.
[1330 - 1332] But it was nice to take a bath at least.
[1332 - 1334] I don't smell like fish anymore.
[1334 - 1337] You know, I'm ready to head back inside. Slow-baked salmon.
[1337 - 1339] All right, we've got our salmon.
[1339 - 1341] There's a little bit of salt and oil on it,
[1341 - 1342] and we're gonna pop it into this
[1342 - 1347] 275 degree oven for about 16 to 18 minutes.
[1347 - 1348] Done and done. [bell dings]
[1348 - 1350] The thing that I love about salmon cooked this way,
[1350 - 1353] is the way that it just kind of flakes like that.
[1353 - 1355] It's so soft and silky.
[1355 - 1359] Mm, so clean, so easy,
[1359 - 1361] This is one of my favorite ways to cook salmon.
[1361 - 1362] It's not a whole lot to look at it,
[1362 - 1365] but it's impossible to mess up. Roasted salmon.
[1365 - 1369] This time, we've increased the temperature to 400 degrees,
[1369 - 1372] and we're decreasing the time to five to six minutes.
[1372 - 1374] All right, in it goes.
[1374 - 1376] And there's your roasted salmon.
[1376 - 1377] [bell dings] So even with that
[1377 - 1378] temperature increase, it still looks
[1378 - 1381] very similar to our slow baked fish.
[1381 - 1381] The skin is flabby.
[1382 - 1383] We can kind of just scrape that off.
[1383 - 1385] You know, it's nicely cooked
[1385 - 1387] but more uneven than our slow baked.
[1387 - 1388] More cooked on the outside,
[1388 - 1390] more rare on the inside.
[1390 - 1393] Mm, it's very tasty, but not quite
[1393 - 1398] as silky as our lower temperature fish. Broiled salmon.
[1398 - 1399] We're gonna increase our oven temperature
[1399 - 1400] one more time.
[1400 - 1403] We're got our salted and oiled salmon, skin side up,
[1403 - 1406] and we're gonna pop it under the broiler for a few minutes,
[1406 - 1407] and see what comes out on the other side.
[1407 - 1409] All right, that looks done to me.
[1409 - 1410] [bell dings] With the broiler,
[1410 - 1412] we had really direct heat from up top,
[1412 - 1415] but it wasn't enough to really crisp that skin.
[1415 - 1418] It's more tough than crispy The inside?
[1418 - 1421] It's pretty uneven.
[1421 - 1425] It's fine, but really not offering all that much.
[1425 - 1427] It's not better than our slow baked,
[1427 - 1429] nor is it as crispy as our pan-seared.
[1429 - 1430] Not a great one.
[1430 - 1433] Salmon en papillote.
[1433 - 1435] So we wrapped this filet in parchment paper.
[1435 - 1437] We're gonna slide this into a 450 degree oven
[1437 - 1439] for about seven to eight minutes
[1439 - 1441] so it can steam in that little package.
[1441 - 1442] And it's puffed up,
[1442 - 1443] I think it should be done. [bell dings]
[1443 - 1446] You know, it looks a lot like our steamed salmon.
[1446 - 1449] The flesh is flaky and coming apart nicely.
[1450 - 1452] Mm, I mean it's not not good,
[1452 - 1454] but this method would be way better
[1454 - 1455] if we had some aromatics in there,
[1455 - 1458] some lemon slices, maybe a little white wine, some herbs.
[1458 - 1463] That would have really upped the ante. Salt-crusted salmon.
[1463 - 1465] So we've coated this salmon in a mixture
[1465 - 1467] of whipped egg white and kosher salt
[1467 - 1469] and we're gonna back this at 450 degrees
[1469 - 1472] until that crust hardens and the inside cooks.
[1472 - 1474] All right, that looks like it should be done.
[1474 - 1475] [bell dings] So breaking through
[1475 - 1478] this crust here, finding the...
[1478 - 1480] Yeah, it looks like cooked salmon,
[1480 - 1482] kind of steamed in its own juices.
[1482 - 1483] Nothing to write home about.
[1483 - 1487] The inside is tender, a hair overcooked.
[1487 - 1491] Mm, yeah, I mean it's salty and a little bit dry.
[1491 - 1494] The salt crust has a theatrical element to it,
[1494 - 1497] but it's all show and no go.
[1497 - 1499] All right, today we cooked a whole lot of salmon,
[1499 - 1501] a whole lot of different ways.
[1501 - 1501] What did we learn?
[1501 - 1503] Well, for one, when you're working with
[1503 - 1505] high quality fish, you don't need to
[1505 - 1506] mess with it too much,
[1506 - 1508] or even at all, to make it delicious.
[1508 - 1511] Salmon is a really forgiving and versatile fish.
[1511 - 1513] Most of our favorite ways to cook it
[1513 - 1515] were as simple and straightforward as they come.
[1515 - 1516] Have a favorite way to cook salmon
[1516 - 1518] that you didn't see today?
[1518 - 1522] Drop it in the comments. [jazz music]