Is it necessary to remove salmon skin?

Q. Salmon recipes often say to remove the skin. The salmon I buy usually has skin only on one side. Is it really necessary to remove it when a recipe says to? And if so, what’s the reason for removing it? Does it really matter?

A. Whether — and when — you remove salmon skin is largely a matter of personal preference. So no, it’s typically not mandatory. In fact, there are plenty of reasons to leave it on.

Crispy skin might be some people’s favorite part of the fish, especially if you’re using a high-heat method to cook the salmon, whether that’s broiling, grilling, roasting or searing. In Daniela Galarza’s Broiled Salmon With Horseradish Sauce, the skin “becomes as crisp as a potato chip,” she says, with zero extra fat added to the fish.

Leaving the skin on “helps to keep the fish from falling apart and makes for a pleasingly crispy contrast to the tender flesh,” cookbook author Sara Moulton wrote for The Washington Post about her Grilled Salmon With Greek Salad Salsa back in 2018. It can also serve as a protective layer, keeping the flesh from sticking or drying out. “You should cook it that way even if you don’t end up eating the skin, which is so easy to pull off afterward.”

As to why you would want to remove it, well, some people just don’t like the skin. And some methods, such as poaching or threading the fish onto skewers, don’t lend themselves well to skin. (Though, again, you can remove the skin from poached salmon after cooking, for ease.) And if your recipe does not use a high-enough heat or a long-enough cook time to render the skin crispy, that’s another reason to go ahead and remove it, especially since the extra layer of fat under it can potentially make things greasy, Matthew Fairman writes at America’s Test Kitchen.

If you would like the skin off, for whatever reason, you can ask your fishmonger to remove it. Some skin will slip off easily. If it doesn’t, place the fillet skin-side down, and using a sharp knife (a boning knife is great, but a chef’s knife also works), start at the thin end of the fillet and slice between the flesh and the skin. Using a towel, if necessary, grasp the skin with one hand while using the other to slice, slanting the blade toward the skin.

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Broiled Salmon With Horseradish Sauce

½ cup plain Greek-style yogurt, preferably nonfat*

1 to 3 tablespoons freshly grated or prepared horseradish, to taste*

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon), plus more for garnish

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or chives, plus more for garnish

1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard

Freshly cracked black pepper

Fine salt

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

2 (6-ounce) skin-on salmon fillets, preferably center-cut

8 ounces haricots verts, trimmed*

In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, 1 tablespoon of horseradish, the lemon zest and juice, dill or chives, mustard and a few grinds of black pepper. Taste, and add more horseradish and season with salt, if desired. You should have about ⅔ cup of sauce.

Position an oven rack 4 to 6 inches from the broiling element and preheat the broiler to HIGH. Line a small sheet pan with foil.

Very lightly grease the foil with olive oil. Place the salmon filets skin side up on one side of the sheet pan. Toss the haricots verts with the remaining olive oil and spread in an even layer next to the salmon. (It’s okay if they’re somewhat stacked on top of one other.) Season the haricots verts with a pinch of salt.

Broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or to your desired degree of doneness. The salmon skin should be lightly charred and crisped, and its flesh should be opaque and just barely flaking under the tines of a fork. The haricots verts should be blistered and tender.

To serve, spread about ¼ cup of the horseradish sauce on each of two plates. Top with a salmon fillet and about half of the haricots verts, and garnish with lemon zest and chopped herbs.

Substitutions: Instead of salmon, use arctic char or trout, though cooking times may vary. In place of yogurt, try low-fat labneh, sour cream, crème fraîche or whipped cottage cheese. No horseradish? Wasabi works, or you could skip it for a milder sauce.

* Notes: Nonfat yogurt produces a brighter, spicier sauce than full-fat. To grate fresh horseradish, use a vegetable peeler to remove the dusty skin and grate the white flesh on a fine grater, such as a Microplane. If using prepared horseradish, keep in mind that it may be creamy, salty, somewhat sweet or brined, depending on the brand. Adjust the amount you use in the sauce accordingly. If you use thicker, regular green beans you will need to steam or blanch them until they’re parcooked before broiling, so they cook all the way through.

2 servings

Make ahead: The horseradish sauce can be prepared and refrigerated up to 2 days in advance.

Storage: Refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Where to buy: Fresh horseradish root can be found in the produce department of well-stocked supermarkets.

Nutrition per serving (1 salmon fillet, 4 ounces haricots verts, ¼ cup sauce): 386 calories, 13g carbohydrates, 96mg cholesterol, 18g fat, 4g fiber, 42g protein, 3g saturated fat, 324mg sodium, 7g sugar

— G. Daniela Galarza