Salmon are HUGE!!!
Today (September 19th) we learned how to not only cook round fish (any kind of fish that swims horizontal, eye on each side) but filet them. Holy goodness this isn't easy!!!
From top to bottom, left to right, how to fillet a salmon.
We learned that round fish have 2 fillets, depending on the size of the fish they can be huge (like this salmon) or small (like our trout). No matter the size, the way in which you prepare the fillets is the same. You start right behind the first fin, slicing right along the ribs as you go, carefully avoiding cutting through the spine. Once you remove the fillet, you trim off the fat, debone it, and cut off the skin (if you need it removed for your dish).
Again, Chef Marcus did it on this big fish in a few minutes. I would say, without having done a big fish yet, that it seems a bit easier than it was for us on the tiny trout. Trying to remove those tiny bones was so frustrating, I almost gave up a few times!
Meghan tries her hand at filleting. Her's were WAY better than mine!
Next time will be better! This was the first time I cut the meat off a fish before cooking. The only other times I've cooked trout was out camping, only really gut it and scale it before eating out in the wild.
Seasoning the fillets.
Preparing the trout en papillote.
Mmm, that looks like it will be good!
As far as dishes, we cooked the salmon fillets two ways, grilled and poached. We also prepared the trout en papillote, which is a French preparation of wrapping in paper to steam the meat. It was really good, I liked it a lot!
Mitch and Jakob prepare the squash.
We also prepared some squash and a rice pilaf as our sides. The pilaf was definitely WORLDS better than the first time we made it! All of them were cooked and soft, no one undercooked them this time.
Heart Pilaf!
Look at that!!!
My favourite as well.
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