The great Salmon debate - SV vs Seared

[ecowper]

Hugh King and Chinook are not the same thing. Coho, Sockeye, Chinook, King are all different species of salmon. Atlantic is almost guaranteed to be farm raised off of Norway and you should really avoid it at all costs.

[ecowper]

Jerod Broussard you've never had my tri-tip .... it's about as close to Santa Maria as I think you can get without the right grill and living in central california. :-)

[ecowper]

Just a PS .... grilled salmon with the skin still on, but it has been slowly cooked and the skin is crispy, is to die for ;-)

[ecowper]

So ... I'm from the Pacific Northwest, for what that is worth. I cook salmon all the time. Mostly on the grill. My two preferred approaches do not involve sous vide or searing :-)

1. Take a whole side of sockeye or king, skin/fat still on. Season with preferred rub (I have a good rub based on Moroccan flavors that my family likes) .... cook indirect, skin side down to medium'ish ... then flip to meat side over direct heat for 2-3 minutes ....long enough for grill marks and bring the meat temp to medium well. Pull and serve

2. A whole sockey or silver ... crust it heavily in a kosher salt rub .... mix the kosher salt with a bit of oil to bind it, then layer on the fish until about 1/8 inch thick. Cook on the grill on indirect heat until it probes to medium .... pull and allow it to rest for about 10 minutes. It will continue to cook in the salt and reach medium well.

Finally, you can do a wood plank approach, like the northwest Indian tribes do. Not something I've tried yet.

[Hugh]

Saw you comment after my last post. I had to google King Salmon. I think we call it Chinook Salmon up here. I never thought of looking at species and thickness. Thank you for the insight. Just checked and the local fish store has chinook as well as coho, sockeye and atlantic.

[Jerod Broussard]

Too funny!

[Jerod Broussard]

Too tender. I'm sensitive to texture and a simple sear with that stuff is perfect for me. Now if we are talking Tri-tip I refuse to NOT sous vide that stuff.

[Hugh]

Response is over whelming! No SV for salmon, stick to seared. scottranda - I never thought of that, cooked the way she likes it, me searing it isn't going to happen. I'll tell her I got the recipe from a fancy french restaurant (not my BBQ site)!

[David C]

You can actually mix & match, like with steaks. For King Salmon I really like a mustard-dill rub then sous vide to whatever internal temp you like (depends on how cooked you want it). But then you can also do a quick sear on it. Or of course you could use a more simple oil, then salt & pepper, sous vide, sear, and top with a sauce. Thinner species like Sockeye (Red) I tend to cook more traditionally (usually on my pellet cooker). Lots of options.

[Hugh]

I hear you Jerod, I like grilled as well. I'd like to find something that my wife likes too. I was thinking if I SV it, she can have it right out of the SV. I'll sear it quickly for myself and my daughter just to get a crust. Was it decent when you seared after SV or was it too moist?

[Huskee]

Salmon really needs no help being tender, which is where SV shines. But, this is my opinion.

[scottranda]

I SV'd salmon once. Cooked it perfectly. Too perfectly because it flaked when I took it out of the bag. I couldn't sear it at all. I don't SV salmon anymore.

[Jerod Broussard]

I don't like sous vide for salmon. Even if I sear it afterwards. For me unnecessary. The only fish I might sous vide is some large tough catfish fillets.

And I prefer grilled salmon over smoked and I prefer the skin on rather than off. I don't eat the skin but it helps preserve that moistness.

[Hugh]

Our Sunday nite group loved the brisket tonight but next week they have ordered salmon. I expect my new SV machine on Wednesday. My wife likes her salmon steamed in tin foil. I like it seared. I'm wondering if maybe doing it SV is a compromise that would work. Serious eats has a recipe with Holandaise sauce that looks good.

Which do you prefer? Seared or SV'd?