It’s a problem we’ve all faced, remembering an hour before cooking dinner that you forgot to take out the salmon fillets from the freezer in the morning, leaving you with an unhappy family for the evening. Well, unhappy until the word ‘takeaway’ is mentioned, that is.
Cooking frozen fresh fish and meat is something many of us are very wary of, and would rather not chance.
The risk of food poisoning or overcooking may put some people off cooking meat or fish from frozen.
However, most ingredients are absolutely fine to freeze both when raw and cooked and can be preserved to a perfect standard.
So what about salmon? Express.co.uk has all you need to know below.
Can you cook salmon from frozen?
The main thing to remember when cooking any meal from frozen is that it’s all about heating it up to a safe internal temperature.
It’s actually completely safe to cook frozen salmon.
Many have their assumptions about what it’d taste like, but you don’t need to worry.
We can assure you salmon cooked from frozen can taste as delicious as properly thawed and cooked salmon too.
The secret is to use the power of a hot oven, a little foil, and a flavorful sauce to get you from frozen to dinner in just half an hour.
All you need to ensure is that it is cooked to a safe internal temperature for it to be fine to eat.
Of course, the real challenge is cooking frozen salmon so it is just as tender and flaky as thawed fillets.
The key is to use a two-step cooking method in the oven, covering the salmon for the start of baking and then cooking it uncovered until it reaches temperature.
How to perfectly cook your salmon from frozen
Method
Preheat oven to 200°C/180ºC fan/gas mark 6.
Make sure you don’t wash the frozen fillets before cooking, or you’ll end up with salmon which tastes like water.
Wrap the frozen salmon fillets in baking foil, making parcels which can be easily opened later.
During this step, take extra special care to ensure the edges are properly sealed together.
Place the parcels of frozen salmon on the baking tray and whack them in the oven for 15 minutes.
After the 15 minutes have passed, take out of the oven and open the parcels.
Season the fillets and lightly drizzle them with olive oil/honey and soy – you just need something to lubricate your salmon once it’s no longer covered by foil.
Return to the oven and cook for a further 10 to 15 minutes.
Take out the salmon, et voilà! Your meal awaits…
Can you cook salmon from frozen in the microwave?
Yes, you can indeed!
To do this, you should lightly brush the frozen salmon with a little olive oil, just enough to have a little shine all over, then season with salt & pepper.
Place the salmon portions in a microwave ovenproof dish, wrapping it in cling film and cooking for seven to eight minutes (900 watts).
If your microwave oven has less wattage increase by one minute.
Once the salmon has cooked through leave the dish to stand for 30 seconds, then remove the cling film and serve.
Can you pan-fry frozen salmon?
Pan-frying is not recommended when cooking salmon from frozen.
If you would like to pan-fry your fish, it is best to defrost the salmon first.
Can you poach your salmon fresh from the freezer?
Yes, it’s also possible to poach your frozen salmon.
Place the frozen salmon portions in a shallow pan, fill the pan with liquor until the salmon portions are almost covered.
Liquor can be fish stock, vegetable stock etc. A drop of wine can be added depending on your taste.
Poach on medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes.
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