What is that white gunk on your salmon?

sophial (60)in #food • 8 years ago

The popular myth is that it’s fat. But it’s actually a protein called albumin. Albumin is also one of the main proteins in egg whites. It’s perfectly safe to eat, but too much of it on your salmon might mean it’s overcooked.

Once heated, the salmon’s muscle fibers start to contract.

Normally, albumin is transparent but when It’s heated to at least 150oF its moisture evaporates and leaves behind clumpy white gunk.
The same process happens when you cook egg whites. Cooked salmon will always have some white gunk. But you can minimize the overall effect with bringing.

Soak the fish for 10 minutes in this solution, then cook the salt in the brine dissolves some of the muscle fibers.
So, during cooking they’ll congeal instead of contract. The result is minimal albumin on your fish. Now, there’s only one thing left to do...