Cooking Frozen Salmon
There's a prevalent myth about cooking frozen salmon that says you have to thaw it out first. You don't. Of course, you can choose to thaw out your frozen salmon before cooking it, but again most people do it wrong. They thaw out the salmon at room temperature, which is the lesser of the evils, or they thaw it out using warm water to speed up the process, which is really a very bad practice.
The freezing process of salmon and other fish should be done quickly to help prevent cell damage, which can adversely affect the flavour. While you may have little or no control over how the salmon has been frozen, if you buy it like that, you do have control over how it is thawed out. Assuming that it has been frozen quickly and retains its freshness and flavour, you need to thaw it out slowly for the best results.
The ideal way is to place the salmon in a shallow dish in your refrigerator and let is stay there for around ten hours, thawing slowly. In this way you will maximise the retention of freshness and flavour. Once the salmon has completely thawed out, it can be cooked in the normal way for any unfrozen salmon. Cooking times will be just the same as for a fresh fish that has never been frozen.
However, as already mentioned, you can just as easily cook your salmon from frozen. Cooking frozen salmon is easy. Take the frozen fish and remove any excess icy glaze that may have formed by running cold water from the kitchen tap over it. After the ice glaze has been removed, pat the salmon dry using paper towels. Next, rub the fish over with a layer of olive oil. Vegetable oil can be used instead if you prefer.
Now it's time for cooking frozen salmon. The whole fish can be cooked in a hot oven, or it can also be cooked in a hot pan or even grilled. If you wish to add spices to the cooking process, it's best with a pan to only add them after the first side has been cooked. Adding them at the start is likely to cause them to burn on the hot pan, and not be added to the flavour of the salmon. In the case of grilling the spices are also liable to get burned first.
Cooking frozen salmon that has been prepared into salmon steaks or salmon fillets is just as easy, and probably even easier. If you are cooking on a pan, use it hot at around 200 degrees Celsius, about 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook your steak or fillets in the same way as you would cook fresh or thawed out salmon. Around three to five minutes is about right for the first side. The second side should be cooked for a little bit longer. Around six to eight minutes is about right. Add seasoning to the first side once it has been cooked and flipped over. Do the same for the second side briefly. Cooking frozen salmon is easy and quickly lets you get to what you really want to do - eating the salmon!
