The great Salmon debate - SV vs Seared

[Ernest]

I have tried SV salmon, not worth the time unless one likes it cooked "rare"

[grezs]

I've been cooking salmon since I moved to Seattle in 1971. I personally like King fillets, cooked indirect either on a plank or with some wood chips. No sauce or other adornements. They just cover the taste of salmon, which might be justified outside the NW. A glass or two of petite syrah. Yum.

[Hugh]

Well that ended up being ridiculously simple.

Got a nice Chinook filet. The local fishmonger said that it takes the heat better because it has more oil. Dry brined with kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder and (ahem) poultry seasoning. I put it on the indirect side of my gasser skin down at around 340 degrees (SV doesn't come till Wed). Left my thermometer in and we had a nice glass of wine in the back yard (a big syrah ). When the phone said it hit 140 degrees internal I just kissed it on the sear (back of the grillgrate) and removed the skin while searing, then plated. The wife loved it.

Sorry, no pics.

I just guessed at 140 internal for a target. USDA recommends 145 so I knew that would be past done. Meathead's guide show's 125-135 for chef temp rare (slightly translucent). At 140 there was no translucent meat, it was cooked all the way through, yet it was plenty juicy enough. I'm set for the guests on the weekend. Simple repeatable process.

I've cooked salmon for years but never could get it consistently the way I liked it. I think the number one difference is that I used a thermometer so now it is repeatable under stress of feeding guests. I also think the species made a difference. I've cooked sockeye and atlantic in the past. I'm a chinook convert.

[Jon Solberg]

Happy to hear you've had great results. WTG!

[HorseDoctor]

Chinook is great! Unfortunately it is proving to not be very sustainable as natural populations dwindle with increasing harvest pressure. Say what you will about farmed salmon bit it is sustainable. It is also fed well enough to be thick, fatty and tasty. It's harvested and quickly processed, so pretty fresh. Not really a bad choice and may someday soon be the only choice... 😢

[Hugh]

This was farmed (Vancouver Island B.C.) and it sure worked for me.

[texastweeter]

Yeah my 2nd favorite fish can no longer be bought (orange roughey) due to overfishing. Scottish salmon (usually farm raised) is a staple at my casa.

[(Blake)]

Put on foil with teriyaki and flip halfway thru while adding more teriyaki and cook to a wellish done

[fzxdoc]

I just guessed at 140 internal for a target. USDA recommends 145 so I knew that would be past done. Meathead's guide show's 125-135 for chef temp rare (slightly translucent). At 140 there was no translucent meat, it was cooked all the way through, yet it was plenty juicy enough. I'm set for the guests on the weekend. Simple repeatable process.

Glad to hear it worked out well, Hugh .

Cooks Illustrated, which takes most fish to 135, says salmon is "done" at 125 due to its fat content. So I have no probs sous vide-ing it at 122 and taking it up to 128-130 in the process of broiling or searing. But I hear you about wanting to please family members for whom "well done anything" is the only way to go. That's why sous vide is so nice (I have 2 of them), because you can cook for the "make mine well-done" folks while keeping another bath at med rare.

It's also great when doing reverse sear steaks: I sous vide the "well done, please" steaks and sear them off just before doing the reverse sear of the medium rare seaks. Only one sous vide bath needed for that since I use my WSCGC to cold-grate-reverse-sear the med rare steaks from beginning to end and to sear off the well done steaks after they've spent some time in the sous vide spa.

What sous vide unit did you decide on?

Kathryn

[Jim H]

Seared with skin on.

[Hugh]

fzxdoc Hi Kathryn. I'm supposed to get the Anovoa Precision Cooker 800 Watt bluetooth tomorrow.

Question on Sous Vide if you have the time. I'm planning to sous vide a chuck this weekend with a 3 hr smoke/finish on the gasser.

Low and slow brisket to 203 degrees worked for the whole crowd. It was well done AND juicy. No debates! I just assumed that the same would be true for sous vide. I read the chef steps link you provided for a chuck roast and I realize now that you need to decide how well done you want the meat. So am I back to choosing between juicy vs well done?

I notice their brisket recipe calls for cooking to 155 and it is still supposed to be juicy. Do you agree? Is the same true for chuck?

A number of folks here, and recipes I've looked at, suggest to cook brisket at 135. Do you end up with a pinkish looking brisket?

I'm confused!

[BriggsBBQ]

I have SV salmon but I usually do it from being frozen for about 40 min. More of a convenience thing for me. You do have to be pretty careful getting it out of the bag. I have had great success with it. My wife is always overly concerned that everything needs to be cooked to well done so it helps do that and keep it tender.

[Hugh]

Thanks BriggsBBQ

[HorseDoctor]

Both ways should be juicy done with SV. Your choices include SV at 130 for a couple days and sear off at the end for a med rare chuck steak that eats like a ribeye. Could also SV at 160 for a while and finish by adding smoke & bark and either slice like a brisket or pull like a pork butt depending on how long you cook it. Again, all methods should end up juicy be they med rare, med well bone or "fall apart" done. So many choices. 😁

[Hugh]

Outstanding horsedoctor.

[Kevin McNary]

I have quit cooking salmon sous vide because salmon cooks so quickly on a hot grill it is unnecessary and
leads to overcooking. My preferred method is a half chimney in the Smoky Joe, handful of apple chips, oiled, lemoned, and peppered 1 1/2 inch salmon steak, skin side down. 1/4 opened top vent for 4 minutes for a good smoke, then open vent and 3-4 minutes to crisp the skin. Do not flip. Serve with garlic and/or dill aeoli and lemon. I really think that with salmon, less is more regarding cooking and preparation. And a crispy salmon skin is heavenly. Much as I love my Joule, it adds nothing to salmon cooking and makes a rare center impossible if grilling.