Chefs like Australian Josh Niland, who uses absolutely everything, would throw their hands up at the mere suggestion of wasting the skin of fish like salmon. Because power, you can eat; another question is whether we should or if it is recommendedat least from a health point of view.
Niland himself or chefs more committed to the sustainability of marine resources, such as Ángel León, advocate using lesser-known fish and also making the most of them, avoiding waste, as if they were pigs from which everything is used. However, the seafood chef is also aware that it is not always pleasant or appropriate for certain recipes, and he has a good trick for removing the skin from the fish in one go.
Beyond questions of particular tastes, the skin of the fish yes it is edible. Once the scales are removed, a task that is usually done in the fishmonger, the soft texture of the skin allows any dentition to handle it. Repudiating it is not just another way of contributing to food waste, we are also losing rich culinary possibilities and nutrients, and it can even harm the fish itself.
Properties and nutritional benefits of fish skin
The skin of salmon and any fish is made up of a mucosa that protects the animal, which is usually removed when peeling and washing it, collagen and fat. The blue ones have a skin richer in polyunsaturated fats healthy -omega 3- and essential proteins, as well as vitamins of group B and D and minerals.
Although they do not exceed the nutritional content of the fish meat itself, which is much richer in proteins and micronutrientsit does add benefits to the body, also contributing to greater satiety, which allows the same fish to serve more servings.
The skin protects the fish
Even if we don’t want to eat it, because we don’t like it or because we need to remove it for certain recipes, it is best to remove it at the last moment, whether the fish is going to be raw or after cooking.
The reason is simple: the skin protects the fish, which has very delicate meat. Protects it during storage in the refrigerator or freezer, and also during cooking, avoiding overcookingand also leaves better flavor and texture, in a case similar to bone and fat in meat.
How to cook delicious fish skin
Most people are put off by the gelatinous texture of the fish skin, but it is easy to avoid if we do not cook it. steamed or papillote. These techniques cause the collagen It becomes viscous and sticky, not very pleasant, so it is more advisable to remove it before serving.
But things change when we achieve a very crispy skin, a true delight that even today is marketed as alternative snack to chips or crusts, thus taking advantage of the skins that would otherwise be discarded. In this format, fried cod skins and salmon skins are popular.
The best way to achieve a crispy skin is to grill the fish, always starting from the skin side, marking it over high heat for the first few moments, and maintaining a certain pressure so that it does not shrink. You just have to turn it over when it is 75% cooked, and serve it skin side up.
Other valid ways to achieve rich skin is bakedobviously with the skin facing up, being able to use the grill always carefully, grilled or grilled, in the air fryer and with normal frying in a pan or deep fryer with plenty of hot oil, always ensuring that it is dry and, optionally, floured.
Does fish skin have health risks?
The only problem that the skins present is that, in addition to collagen and healthy fats, they accumulate a higher amount of mercury, heavy metals and other possible substances that are present in the water where the fish has been raised. Blue fish are the ones that accumulate the most heavy metals.
Now, scientific evidence indicates that the general population should not be afraid of consuming fish or its skins. The amount of these that we would have to ingest for them to really be toxic would be very high, when in reality a normal portion of skin is minimal.
In this way, we can be guided by the same recommendations provided by the AESAN on the consumption of healthy fish:
- General population: three to four servings per week, varying between white and blue all species.
- Pregnant women, planning to be pregnant or breastfeeding and children up to 10 years old: avoid consumption of species with high mercury content.
- Children 10 to 14 years old: limit consumption of 120 g per month of species with high mercury content.
The fish that accumulate the most heavy metals are swordfish/emperor, bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus), shark (dogfish, mako shark, dogfish, dogfish and blue shark) and pike.
Cod, Atlantic salmon and Pacific salmon and other blue and semi-fatty fish such as sardine, mackerel, anchovy, sea bass, horse mackerel or trout, have a low content in mercury. If they come from virgin waters, like Alaskan salmon, the presence of heavy metals is even lower.
The best fish to eat the skin
We have already mentioned that they are all edible, so we really just have to try and choose the ones we like the most.
fish species most used by professionals to cook the skin are salmon, cod, mullet, flounder, mackerel, sardine, sea bass, sea bream, sole, snapper, sea bass and also sea bream, whose fried scales are used in haute cuisine as crispy chips. Tuna and bonito, on the other hand, have a skin that is too thick and tough and difficult to tame in a domestic kitchen, and emperor or ray tuna are usually not pleasant either.
Cook a fish: The new way to cook and enjoy fish from head to tail (Thematic Cooking)
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Photos | Freepik – Yun Huang Yong – Verch Framework licensed under CC 2.0
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