Buying whole salmon from the market? Most fishmongers are happy to clean and gut the entire fish for you.
If you feel like de-boning the salmon, you can do it now or wait until you defrost the fish. It’s totally up to you! Cut your salmon into small quartets of filets if you plan on using it for sushi. Be sure to make clean cuts with a sashimi knife.
It’s a good idea to check the expiration date on the package of salmon. Don’t freeze salmon that’s past its expiration date.
If you’re storing salmon in its original packaging, you can skip this step or wrap it in aluminum foil for extra protection against freezer burn. Want to package several pieces of salmon? No problem! Just wrap each piece individually instead of stacking them and wrapping them in 1 piece of plastic wrap. This makes it a lot easier to defrost them.
Treat the vacuum-packed salmon gently since you don’t want to pop the bag.
The aluminum foil also stops pieces of plastic-wrapped salmon from sticking to each other. If you used a vacuum sealer, you can skip this step.
For example, write down 4 salmon steaks, 1 fillet, and the date. This lets you know at a glance what’s in the bag without needing to open up and unwrap the fish.
Now’s a good time to check your freezer temperature. Set the freezer to 0 °F (−18 °C) for the best storage conditions.
If you add new packages of raw salmon to your freezer, follow the first in, first out rule and use the older salmon before defrosting the salmon you just put in.
If the salmon is still solid, replace the water with cold water and check it again in 30 minutes.
The defrost setting automatically reduces the power level on your microwave so you don’t have to choose a heat setting.
The exception to this is if you defrosted your salmon overnight in the fridge. Since you didn’t warm the salmon to thaw it, you can keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days before cooking it.
