Cooked Fish Skin

April 2, 2004 9:50 AM

Any uses for cooked fish skin? [more inside]

I smoked a 10-lb salmon on the grill yesterday and separated the meat from the skin (it was deboned at the fish counter). So now I've got all this skin (and the head), and I was wondering if I can make soup stock or fish paste or something with it. Seems a bit of a waste to throw it out.

posted by adamrice to Food & Drink (8 answers total)

Here's a thread on various uses for fish parts. "Many countries use the heads, bones, etc for stock making, the Japanese have found other uses for them as well and actually you will rarely see them being used for stock. the bones are often removed from the fish and deep-fried and eaten as a snack with drinks. Fins, especially that of fugu, are often steeped in sake and enjoyed with the meal. Fish heads are often braised or added to nabes (hotpots) and then picked clean down to the bone including the eyeballs."

Maybe that'll give you some ideas. Eat them up, yum!
posted by kindall at 10:25 AM on April 2, 2004

Weird that you ask... I have a plastic baggie full of smoked salmon skin in my fridge right now. I feed it to my dog as a treat, since I can't bear to throw it away. Besides making the trash-can all stinky, it seems like a shame to trash any piece of wild Chinook. Especially since I caught it myself.
posted by maniactown at 10:31 AM on April 2, 2004

First off, you didn't eat the cheek meat from the head! Shame on you! It's perhaps the best part - I find it tastes almost like blue crab. As for the skin - well there's always one of my personal favorites, which is crispy salmon skin sushi rolls.
posted by jearbear at 10:31 AM on April 2, 2004

I think the head is good for stock, definitely. Just put it in a pot with water to cover, and add some carrots or celery or what-have-you, and let it simmer all the live-long day. It's a great base for fish soup, or risotto, or any number of things. Take out the eyes.

As far as the skin goes, you can use the pearlessence to make your own frosted lipstick...
posted by iconomy at 10:31 AM on April 2, 2004

We feed cooked fish skin to our cats occasionally -- a little goes a long way, though, so it's probably not the quickest method of disposal. Otherwise, I would have made the same suggestions as everyone else here.
posted by me3dia at 12:00 PM on April 2, 2004

If you make sushi, try fried/baked salmon skin (should be crunchy) tucked into the center, with your usual fillings. Tastes great, novel texture, overall pleasant surprise.
posted by precocious at 12:23 PM on April 2, 2004

After posting: what jear said. D'oh.
posted by precocious at 12:25 PM on April 2, 2004

If you don't feel like making something to eat, I think fish parts are really good in garden compost. That is, if you have a garden.
posted by sixdifferentways at 12:44 PM on April 2, 2004