tips for marinating and cooking frozen ( defrosted) salmon fillets.

We have salmon at least once per week and when it looks really good my husband buys for two dinners. The only way we cook it is jerked on the grill because we are insanely addicted to it this way. He buys it on Saturday morning and I spread Walkerswood jerk paste (make no substitution on the brand - no other is worth using) on both sides of the one pound steak. It marinates until Sunday dinner and is then grilled. If he has bought two, the second is frozen right away with the marinade and defrosted in the refrigerator the night before we are to grill it. Maybe the jerk does something to the fish but the frozen turns out as well as the fresh. If you are a hot head you MUST try this!

Thanks for these suggestions. I will try the milk soak along with added efforts to dry the fish -- then compare pan frying and steaming. The fish I used was wild caught -- the only way to obtain wild caught at this time of year in New England I think -- so the problem is not related to the sourcing, just the freezing.

I live in a small Midwest town, so we can only get frozen salmon. I soak it (or thaw it) in milk to take away any fishy taste, pat it very dry, and use a dry spice rub in a hot pan.

I never marinate salmon, so can't speak to that. At our house, it is either grilled with seasoned salt and lemon slices on it, or baked with mayonnaise spread on it and lemon pepper, then topped with fresh dill before serving. If we have a whole side, we'll lay it on foil, season it, add lemon slices and partially wrap it in the foil before grilling it. We eat salmon pretty regularly and find it is best slightly under cooked. Also note it doesn't really flake like other fish, and once you are able to flake it, it is usually over cooked.

The first thing to know is if your salmon is farm raised or wild. Farm raised salmon is fed a fishmeal and are grown faster and are bigger. The fish meal or pellets are full of things not appetizing. They are administered antibiotics and are kept in small spaces inhibiting movement. Finally, they are given a chemical to make them red. Wild salmon may only eat a bite or two of other fish. Mostly they feed on krill, giving them their rich red color. No matter how you cook farm raised, you won't get what you are looking for.

Wild caught salmon is easy to bake. Even without marinade. Here is a recipe we like a lot. You can subsitute parchment paper to wrap them in place of phyllo. http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/salmon-fillet-wrapped-in-phyllo-pastry/

I know the frustration. It has to do with the water in the fish when it's frozen. The best thing to do is defrost and then make sure you dry the fish as best as you can with paper towels. Then marinade or season like you would with fresh fish. OR I've found that poaching or microwave cooking is great because the texture is compatible.