Grey fatty layer between meat and skin(salmon)

[kid coulson]

Grey fatty layer between meat and skin(salmon)

O.K. guys,..not that you didn't already know, but that grey material between the skin and meat on salmon and LT is NASTY!  No matter how I prepare the fish it just turns out pretty nasty/fishy if I leave the skin on. I just tried a nice piece of Coho (skin on) and It was horrible. I wanted to try and get the skin crispy as I see vids and hear people say how good it is. Well,..things were going o.k. but when I flipped the fish the skin kinda got mangled up. O well,..I pulled it off and continued to grill. Looked good. smelled so-so. Tried a couple bites and YUCK! I have had this same result when smoking salmon with the skin on. So I guess I will be taking the skin and grey layer off from now on no matter how I prepare the fish!

Butt,... I want some feedback from ya!  What are your thoughts on this "grey" layer. Does anybody have a way to make it edible/good? Am I doing something wrong?  Is it just a Great Lakes thing? Any feedback is much appreciated!!

[coralee]

I always get of it either when cleaning it or I put it in a tinfoil boat on the grill skin down with some butter and when its ready I slide a long spatula between the skin/fat and the meat. It usually glides right off. The rest of the grey flakes off easily. I've heard of the crispy skin also but I don't want the grey fat layer.

[EdB]

Was the salmon fresh or frozen? While I skin and trim mine, freezing salmon much over a month can make it taste nasty too, especially if not vacuum sealed.

[Line Dancin]

I skin all my salmon trout and steelhead. trim the lateral line out and it tastes great everytime. It grills just fine with no skin you just cant flip it a half dozen times. Cook till done on one side flip cook till done remove.

[westwind]

The biggest reason for bad tasting salmon isn't the grey fat line, its you left blood in the meat.   If there is still blood in the meat and you freeze it, then you have a problem. 

I rinse, rinse and rinse the salmon.  I then usually place in gallon bags with water in the frig over night and then rinse again the next day.  You would be surprised on how much more blood comes out. 

I then freeze in quart size bags without skin, but with gray fat line and add about 1/4 cup on Italian dressing. 

After cooking I just scrape off the gray fat line and it taste great.

The secret to grilling salmon is to cook it as hot as possible on the grill or deep fryer.

I place on foil with grill very hot, close the lid and let it cook until done.  I don't flip it at all.

 

 

[kid coulson]

Good info thank you all!   The fish was cleaned and rinsed what I would call good. Vacuum sealed and then frozen. The fish was caught this spring (don't remember the official date) but I do write it on every bag I freeze.

 

[Creekerman]

I keep Salmon, Steelhead, and Lake trout frozen all Winter with considerable success. 

I skin all these fish with fillet knife, trim out the lateral line fatty layer, and soak at least 8 hours in kosher salt and water (not brine), rinse good, then partially freeze in vacuum seal bags with a capful of lemon juice added.  Then vacuum seal them and freeze completely.  Never have "fishy" problems when I use this method with fish frozen into the early Spring. 

I cook all my fish on charcoal throughout the Winter directly on the grill and on one side only.  I like to baste my fillets in either; a) maple syrup and melted butter, b) melted butter and a lot of dill seed, or c) honey and lemon mix.  No measurements...just mix ingredients to a thickened basting consistency.  Usually cook a thicker piece of King Salmon for 10 mins. or thinner Coho fillet for 7-8 mins. 

 

 

[picman]

When we grill, we punch holes in the skin with a knife. It helps to release some of the fat.

Be sure the grill grate is hot-don't oil it. Drop the fillet skin side down and leave it until done. Take a spatula and run it between the skin and fillet as mentioned above. You can scrap off what ever grey is left easily enough. the skin will come right off the grate when cool.

 

If you like skinless fillets, trim the "red" from the fillet then freeze or cook as usual.

[stcroixx09]

i bled all my fish at time of catching them this year, i.e. sliced their gills. it made a world of difference in how much better they tasted and much less messy to fillet 

 

[kid coulson]

*Update*  A buddy of mine just smoked some King and used some tips/advise that I got from various people. 4 out of the 5 people said it was the best smoked fish they ever had! Now I don't know how much smoked fish these people have ever eatin',...but hey that's some good results!!  Skin and grey layer OFF, lateral line cut out. 4 to 1 brown sugar/kosher salt dry brine. Smoked with apple chips, glazed with melted apricot jelly last 1/2 hour of the smoke. Oh and he had some apple juice in a pan for some extra moisture/flavor. Pretty basic really, but great results!  Thanks for everybody's help and tips!!  **Shout out to Cappy Willis at Fish On for his help also!!  Fish On!!!!

[Mega Byte]

I've never had an issue with the fat, but I bleed them out and remove the skin every time.

Buy some of this, remove all skin, coat each side and edges generously, fry uncovered in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil just a bit over medium heat until the internal temp is 135 degrees.  (Flip half way through.)  

[kid coulson]

*UPDATE*

I had a nice piece of King from August. No skin, no grey, was vac sealed. I cut the lateral line out, rinsed it with cold water, pat dry. I put some brown sugar on it, a few shakes of soy sauce and rubbed it in(kinda turns into a paste). I only did one side because the other side was going to get most of the grill time and I didn't want the sugar to burn(I think I will try the paste on both sides next time however). I let it sit for about 45min, then onto the HOT grill. About 5 min on the one side, then about 3 min on the "paste" side. Had it with some seasoned grilled onions and BINGO!! This piece of fish was awesome! Yes, I am pretty geeked over the results. Hey we all spend a lot of time,effort and money chasing these critters and although it is a blast, I have lacked some results as far as cooking the stuff. The worm may have turned!  Thanks again everybody!!

[Copilottruman]

X2 on bleeding out your fish. Cut both of the gills right down the V after bonking them on the head. Looks like a horror movie but works like a champ.


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[lil' fibber]

I keep a heavy stringer tied to the side (forward, out of the way) to bleed them out. If possible I keep them awake (no bonking on the head) slit one gill and they bleed out completely. Much less messy to filet. Skin, remove lateral line, grill, broil, bake, I don't care! If you don't enjoy this fish... Eat venison! Anything that turns brown while cooking scrape off, it's not good for you! Remember mercury?? Those grill mats on those infomercials actually work pretty well.

[Moby Chromer]

The number one issue with fish is to keep them cold. This is why ice fishing fish are so dam good,.  The brown crap is the chemicals you don't want to eat. Although a small fish is not a problem. 

I grill or smoke fish skinless . The trick is to move the fish on the grill 5 minutes after you put them on so they won't stick. Flip them before they start to fall apart or don't flip. I have about 30 ways to cook fish. 

Bleeding fish is cool but if you rinse the fish the second you make the first cut the blood will not soak into the fish. If it sets on the cleaning table for 1 minute without rinse, the flesh sucks the blood back into the fish. I don't understand why buy you will notice it won't rinse off near as easy. 

Captain Mike 

Classactcharter.com

[Creekerman]

@Moby Chromer

Checked out your site...nice.

How about a cookbook?  Even an on-line/on-site version could work

[kid coulson]

Thanks guys!  I am going to cook/grill some more fish this weekend.