Baked Salmon Skin

10. November, 2009

Yes really, baked salmon skin!!! You might think that I have gone absolutely mad but bear with me here. I can promise you that once you taste this, you won't ever throw out salmon skin again. Baked salmon skin can be used in salads, as a snack and inside sushi rolls (which is how I most often use it). Whenever I buy salmon at the fish mongers, I ask for them to skin the fish and place the skin in a separate bag. I then take it home and work the magic. Salmon skin of wild salmon is very healthy and I love the idea of using the whole produce, both the skin and the fish so nothing goes to waste. In Iceland there are several designers that make things out of salmon skin as the material is very strong. You can buy stuff like wallets, bags, jewellery and even clothes. I prefer to eat it however! I got this recipe from Elín, my sister in law who got the recipe from a Canadian sushi master. I dare you to serve this at your next dinner party and ask the dinner guests what they think they are eating; they will never guess. Note that the instructions seem very complicated but they are not really, I have just broken them down into many steps to make it as easy as possible to prepare.

Note that you will need one or two large heat proof baking dishes. Please use wild salmon if possible, and not the farmed type.

E-mail recipe

Print recipe

Add to Favourite Recipes

Baked salmon skin, absolutely delicious!

2 comments

This recipe is:

Egg free
Gluten free
Lactose (dairy) free
Nut free
Nut free but includes seeds/oils from seeds

Baked Salmon Skin

Serves 3-4 people as a snack

Ingredients

Skin from half a salmon (fairly large)
2 tablespoons tamari (or soy sauce if not gluten or wheat intolerant)
2 tablespoons fish sauce (nam plah)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)
A pinch of salt (Himalayan or sea salt)

Preparation

Skin the salmon (or ask the fish monger to skin it for you).
Place the skin on a large cutting board (scale side down).
With a teaspoon, scrape off the remaining flesh. There should be almost no flesh remaining and the skin should feel very thin (with no fleshy bits).
You will need a large heat proof baking dish (or two smaller).
Drizzle ½ tablespoon of the sesame oil in the bottom of the baking dish (I use plastic gloves to rub it all over the dish).
Cut the skin in half and place each half in the baking dish. The skin has to lie completely flat, scale side down.
Drizzle the remaining ½ tablespoon sesame oil, the 2 tablespoons tamari sauce and 2 tablespoons fish sauce on top of the skin. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on top.
With your hands, rub the sauces lightly into the skin.
Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sesame seeds.
Place aluminium foil on top of the baking dish (don't tuck it in, just allow it to sit on top).
Bake at 180 degrees Celsius/360 Fahrenheit/Gas Mark 5, for 50-60 minutes.
After 40 minutes check that the skin is baked. It should feel crisp and not soft. If the skin is still soft or oily/wet, bake for a further 5-10 minutes. Be careful to check several times during these 5-10 minutes as the skin will be ruined if it burns.
Once the skin is crisp and dry, turn off the oven and allow the skin to cool completely.
When ready, you should be able to hold the skin vertically without it falling over to the side.
By now the skin should break easily. Break into several little pieces.
Serve as a snack or as a topping for salads. I also use small pieces inside maki rolls for sushi and it is absolutely delicious.

Tips

You can use soy sauce instead of tamari sauce (note: contains wheat).
You can omit the sesame oil if you are allergic and use coconut oil or sunflower oil instead.