Cooking fish (salmon especially)

[Merrida]

The last two times I cooked fresh salmon, I got sick. The fillets were very thick, they were fresh, not frozen, and I also ended up smelling like fish for days, as did the house.

Yes, the fish was cooked thoroughly, it tasted fine, (a little too "fishy" for my taste, but fine), and the meal itself went well.

But,...I felt sick, and the odor of fish in the house, and the odor that couldn't be showered away, was nasty. Then it became a matter of reference, just thinking about cooking fresh salmon made me ill, and smelling fresh salmon triggered memories.

Then, I went and bought salmon prepared already, in the supermarket. All I had to do was heat it up. The fillets were very thin. As it happened, there was no fish odor, I didn't get sick, no smell, it tasted fine (I doctored it up to my own personal preferences),...

It only happened when I cooked/ate the FRESH salmon, from raw to cooked, and with those very thick fillets.

I don't know if part of it is psychological/pavlovian, but it was repeated twice, and I'm not so sure I'm game for a third row.

I'm eager to encorporate salmon into our diet, but this is a huge glitch.

I eat salmon when we go out, and it's fine....I've narrowed it down to something about the fresh fish. I've cooked fresh swordfish and haddock and had no problem,....just the salmon.

Any takers?

I can't wait until Cursor gets back, too, and get his take on this.

I'm curious about the Mediteranean Diet (or "way of eating") -- which is pretty common sense with regards to good fats, whole grains, nothing processed or refined, and lots of fish and veggies.

[Tuna Fish]

Hi Merrida-

Try removing the skin before cooking or storing the fish in the fridge. Some people leave the skin on for grilling or frying, figuring it will come off easily when cooked (it does)- but it is the cause of the smell/taste.

If you buy it from the fishmarket, have them remove the skin on the fillets.

Skinless fillets grill nicely if wrapped in foil and marinated prior to grilling. Try a marinade of italian dressing for an hour in the fridge B4 grilling/cooking- YUMMY!

To remove the skin from a fillet yourself, get a very sharp non-serrated knife (a fillet knife is best). Place the fillet skin side down on a cutting board and (using a smooth back and forth cutting motion) run the knife under the meat, leaving the skin (the fish's skin, not your skin!) on the cutting board. Very easy.

Hope it helps! BTW- if skinless fillets smell fishy, I would not eat them. High quality fresh fish should not smell "fishy" (the flesh, that is- the skin and scales will always smell "fishy".

Tuna

[Amkey]

Dang! LOL Tuna got to it first. I was excited thinking I could really give some good knowledge about this. I used to hate Salmon because it was too fishy for me. The skin is your problem for sure but for me trying to rid of it before cooking makes for a HUGE mess because it is much harder to remove. Try this! take your filet and place it in tinfoil skin side down and then douse in lemon juice. Sprinkle with Dill Weed and Rosemary leaves wrap up the tinfoil and bake in the oven on 375 for about an hour. time depending on your filet and preference. I do this all the time considering my boss is an avid fisherman and travels to Alaska frequently and gives us all huge amounts of salmon. I have never had a problem with the fish smell. Hope this helps
Amk

[Merrida]

Thanks you guys for the replies and suggestions. I had no idea it was the skin causing me all the problems....I never added it up, but now it makes sense since the fish I buy prepared has already had the skin removed....ahhh, gotcha.

Well, looking forward to that one! Thanks again.