At times like this, I wish I had the fabulous camera skills that so many of you do. There's only so much I can do with my Android phone and no understanding of photography. I hope my words are better at capturing the unbelievable joy of a perfectly fried salmon skin than my photos are.
Here it is, used as a garnish on an Avgolemono Soup, and, I kid you not, I gobbled that skin down before I ever got to the delicious soup. It was phenomenal.
I'm assuming only serious chefs will be interested in this item, so hopefully you know how to skin salmon. If not, you can ask your butcher to skin it for you, and to include the skin in your package. If you skin it yourself, try to leave a bit of meat on it. If you are a novice cook, I don't suggest trying this recipe at all - it requires working with very hot oil, and that can be very dangerous.
Get 1/4 inch of animal fat (ghee, lard, or tallow) very hot, but not smoking, in a thick walled pan. Cast iron is best.
Sprinkle a generous amount of salt over the oil. It should sizzle. You may salt the skin instead, just make sure the oil is good and hot before the next step.
Carefully lay the salmon skin, skin side down, into the salted oil, then take a big step back because that baby is going to spit at you.
Stay away from it and let it sizzle for so long you are sure you have burned it (three minutes?), then carefully lift a corner up.
If that baby is not stiff as a board, you have not fried it long enough.
If it is stiff, take a peek at its color underneath.
If that baby is not browned, you have not fried it long enough.
When the skin is both stiff and browned, flip it over.
Fry the second side only for a few seconds, maybe ten, then remove it from the pan straight onto a cutting board.
Cut immediately into the desired shape. Be ready to serve the salmon skin moments after you have cut it. Or gobble it down right then and there.
All images are my own unless otherwise stated.
