How to remove fishy smell from salmon

Q: What do you soak fish in to remove fishy flavor?

Weve found an easy way to eliminate the smell: Soak the fish or the shellfish meat in milk for 20 minutes and then drain and pat dry. The casein in milk binds to the TMA, and when drained away, it takes the culprit that causes fishy odor with it. The result is seafood thats sweet smelling and clean-flavored.

Q: What absorbs fishy smell?

In addition to vinegar, McCormicks, the flavor creator, proposes using simmering spices to rid your kitchen of those unwanted lingering smells. Some spices include ground ginger and cinnamon sticks.

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Table of Contents Show

You want to eat fish because it's good for you, but when your salmon piccata leaves behind a stench, it's not so appetizing.
Salmon and Your Health
Fresh is Best
Remove Fishy Taste From Salmon
What do you soak fish in to remove fishy flavor?
What absorbs fishy smell?

Claudia Totir/Getty Images

You want to eat fish because it's good for you, but when your salmon piccata leaves behind a stench, it's not so appetizing.

Even if you love fish, actually cooking it in your kitchen can be a commitment. Long after the fish has been eaten, the pots washed, and the plates put in the dishwasher, the fish smell lingers. It can be enough to put even the most devoted fish eater off cooking it regularly. And it definitely isn’t something that you want your guests to notice, which means that menu planning for a dinner party is just that much tougher. Luckily, expert cooks from around the Internet have figured out how you can cook your fish without leaving behind a stench that lingers for days. Make sure you know the house smells you shouldn’t ignore.

First off, know that truly fresh fish really shouldn’t have much of an odor at all. So if you unwrap a package of fish and take a step back from the smell that greets you, toss it because it’s not fresh. But, admittedly, even the freshest fish can get a bit of stink going in your house once it’s cooked.

A lot of the smell from cooking fish is because of the cooking method that you use. How to get rid of fishy smell starts by changing the way you’re cooking your fish. Frying can cause a massive odor problem, but other techniques, like cooking fish in foil or paper, can put a lid on the problem before it starts. Cleaning experts recommend neutralizing the odor before cooking by soaking fish in milk or a solution of lemon and water. Find out other more ways you’ve been cooking fish wrong.

If it’s too late and your home is beginning to smell like the parking lot of a seafood joint, then Good Housekeeping suggests mixing together vinegar and water and letting it boil for several minutes for how to get rid of fishy smell. You can also add cinnamon sticks or lavender oils for a more pleasantly scented atmosphere.

Prep your home ahead of fish cooking time by shutting any inside doors to keep the smell from spreading throughout the house and into bedrooms, but open up kitchen windows and doors to allow the smell to ventilate. And be sure to wipe any spills and toss any trash containing fish bits as soon as possible to help prevent any lingering odors. When all else fails, bake up some cookies for dessert and the resulting sweet scent will make everyone forget about any fishy odor. While you’re at it, here’s how to make every room smell amazing.

Sources:

Epicurious: “The Quick Shortcut to a Better-Smelling Kitchen”
Cleanipedia: “How to get rid of the smell of fish”
Good Housekeeping: “5 Smart Ways to Zap Kitchen Odors”

Originally Published: October 28, 2020

There are some tips and tricks that may remove fishy taste from salmon.

Image Credit: Plateresca/iStock/GettyImages

Unless you're catching your salmon yourself, or the fish has been flash frozen as soon as it's been plucked out of the water, it's possible that your salmon may have a fishy taste. But there are some tips and tricks that may remove fishy taste from salmon.

Salmon and Your Health

According to Seafood Nutrition Partnership, Americans are eating more seafood, including more salmon. In fact, salmon is the second most popular seafood choice in the United States, preceded only by shrimp.

Salmon may be so high on the list due to its health benefits. This fatty fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential fats that support brain and heart health. The American Heart Association recommends you eat fatty fish like salmon twice a week to reduce your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

Salmon is also low in calories, high in protein and an excellent source of many essential nutrients needed for good health. According to the USDA, a 3-ounce serving of cooked wild Atlantic salmon has:

155 calories
22 grams of protein
7 grams of fat
5 percent of the daily value (DV) for iron
30 percent of the DV for copper
72 percent of the DV for selenium
108 percent of the DV for vitamin B12
47 percent of the DV for vitamin B6

Unfortunately, salmon is a source of mercury. Excess exposure to mercury is toxic and can affect the nervous, digestive and immune systems. To get the health benefits without getting too much mercury, Harvard Health Publishing recommends consuming no more than 6 ounces of salmon a week.

Fresh is Best

Salmon may offer a lot of health benefits, but many people have a difficult time eating the healthy fish because of its fishy taste. To remove fishy taste from fish, you need to make sure what you're buying is as fresh as possible. According to the University of Minnesota Extension, fish tastes fishy due to poor handling.

When buying fresh fish, smell it before you bring it home. Fresh fish shouldn't smell fishy. It should smell fresh and the flesh should be firm, not mushy. When buying frozen fish, avoid any packages that have frost or ice crystals, which indicates the fish may have thawed and then refrozen.

Once at home, store your salmon tightly wrapped in the coldest part of your refrigerator and plan to cook it that day. If you're unable to prepare your salmon immediately, place your fish in a tightly sealed freezer bag and freeze right away. Frozen fish can be stored for up to six months in the freezer, and it's best to defrost fish overnight in the refrigerator.

While salmon certainly makes a healthy fish choice, it may still be too fishy for some people. According to the food experts at On the Gas, the least fishy fish for those who don't like fish include flounder, tilapia, cod and arctic char.

Remove Fishy Taste From Salmon

If your salmon is still too fishy, there are cooking tricks that may help lessen the fishy taste. The professionals at Epicuriousrecommend soaking your fish in milk for 20 minutes prior to cooking. The protein in the milk binds with the fishy odors and removes them, leaving behind a sweeter, brighter and cleaner-flavored fish.

If you've already cooked your salmon, squeezing fresh lemon over the fish may help add freshness to the flavor and dull the fishiness. You can also create various sauces to serve with your salmon to help remove fishy taste from the fish.

Make a healthy dill sauce by mixing together nonfat Greek yogurt with fresh dill, lemon juice and garlic and serve over your cooked salmon. Or create a lemon-butter sauce made with butter, juice from a fresh lemon, chopped shallots and white wine, sauteed over medium heat until the shallots are cooked.

You can also add a sweet honey or brown sugar glaze to your salmon before cooking to improve flavor for those who have a more difficult time with the fishy taste of fish. Or look for salmon recipes that suite your taste to improve the flavor of your fish.

What do you soak fish in to remove fishy flavor?

We've found an easy way to eliminate the smell: Soak the fish or the shellfish meat in milk for 20 minutes and then drain and pat dry. The casein in milk binds to the TMA, and when drained away, it takes the culprit that causes fishy odor with it. The result is seafood that's sweet smelling and clean-flavored.

What absorbs fishy smell?

In addition to vinegar, McCormick's, the flavor creator, proposes using simmering spices to rid your kitchen of those unwanted lingering smells. Some spices include ground ginger and cinnamon sticks.