♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Welcome to "America's Test Kitchen" at home.

Today, I'm making perfect pan seared salmon steaks.

Jack is going to talk to us all about salt.

Adam has a roundup of the best seafood tools, and last but not least, Erin is going to make a Brussels sprouts salad.

You got a lot going on today, so stick around.

♪♪ -I love serving salmon when company is coming for dinner because it's elegant and everybody likes it, and I especially love serving salmon steaks because they're cool and also they have two flesh sides, so you get a lot of good browning.

But the problem with salmon steaks is this bone in the middle and all the pin bones that radiate out from it.

We're going to solve that today by getting rid of those bones before we start cooking, but first, we're going to brine the fish.

I know brining fish is a little unusual, but it does two things.

First, it changes the protein structure so that the protein strands actually hang on to moisture.

That means more moist fish.

The second thing it does is it prevents that ugly albumin from leaching out during cooking, so the salmon will be a looker.

First up, we have some water.

This is two quarts of water.

To this, we're going to add a quarter cup of table salt.

And if you're using kosher salt, be sure to double that amount because table salt and kosher salt do not measure the same because their crystal sizes are different.

Alright, be sure to whisk the salt in to make sure it's dissolved.

Alright, now here are the salmon and they're beautiful.

Each of these are between eight and 10 ounces each, three quarters of an inch thick, and you can see they're all about the same size so that they'll cook at the same rate.

Now, this brine is a quick brine.

There's no need to find room for this in the fridge.

You can just let this sit on the counter and it's just going to take about 15 minutes.

Well, that salmon is sitting in the brine, I'm gonna whip up a quick sauce.

I'm going to make a tarragon chimichurri.

A chimichurri is simply a fresh herb sauce pulled together with a little either vinegar or lemon juice and some olive oil.

So today I'm going to use a base of parsley, and I'm going to need about half a cup of parsley.

And of course, I washed this already, but I'm going to show you a quick trick.

You can gather all the parsley up, and then you take your knife, and you shave, and the knife just grabs the leaves.

You get some stems in there, not too bad, and you just shave the parsley off, and then you're halfway there.

Just pull out some of the bigger stems, and the parsley stems taste a bit bitter, so you don't want to include them.

There you go.

Nice, easy way to prep parsley.

So, I'm gonna gather these together, gonna give it a rough chop.

Alright.

So that's the parsley.

Moving on, we're going to add some tarragon.

Just going to need about two tablespoons.

Into the bowl this goes.

Alright.

Now, we're going to add some olive oil.

You want about a quarter cup of olive oil.

Alright.

We're going to add a little white wine vinegar.

But again, if you wanted to vary this, champagne vinegar is nice.

Also, lemon juice is nice.

Just a little bit of crushed red pepper flakes, you know, an eighth or a quarter of a teaspoon.

I like to have it a little spicy, and salt and pepper.

Moving on, we're going to add the garlic.

Now, having that bright, raw flavor of garlic is just lovely in a chimichurri.

Let's give this a little taste, and see if it needs any more salt or pepper.

Mmm.

It's going to be killer with the salmon.

It's good to go.

Alright.

So, now I'm going to take it out of this mixing bowl.

Just put it in a nicer looking bowl, because it's for company.

♪♪ So, the fish is out of the brine, and now we're going to pat it dry with towels.

Make sure all that excess moisture is off the salmon, because that'll prevent browning in the skillet.

Time to work on those pesky bones.

So you see there's this big bone in the center and this line of cartilage going up to the top.

What we're going to do is we're going to start at the top on one side of that line of cartilage using a paring knife.

You could also use a boning knife.

But a small knife works best because it's just a bit more agile.

You're going to go around that bone.

You might feel some pin bones.

You can just kind of jump over those, and then you're going to go down the inside of the skin on the inside of this salmon steak.

You're just going to gently free it.

So that's one side.

We'll do the same on the other side.

Just take a pair of kitchen shears or poultry shears, and you can just snip out that center piece, and there you have it.

So now the big bones are out.

Time to go in and look for any little pin bones that have been left behind.

Sometimes you get a lot, sometimes you get none.

It really depends on the piece of salmon.

Feels pretty good.

I feel one there and one on the side.

And this is a pair of fish tweezers.

They're pretty inexpensive and easy to find, worth having in your drawer.

If you don't have them, a good pair of needle nose pliers will work well.

And if you find the bone, just grab it, pull it out.

Alright, I don't feel any more pin bones in there.

That's good.

Alright.

So now what we're going to do is we're going to tie this up.

So it's a nice even piece of salmon that'll cook at the same rate, and we're going to make it look pretty.

So what I'm going to do is I'm going to cut away the skin on one of these lengths on the side, about one half inches or so.

No need to trim too much of it away.

Alright.

Now, what we're gonna do is we're going to tuck this piece into the center of the salmon.

I'm going to wrap this other tail right around so the skin will mostly line up, and then you have a nice even piece of salmon to cook.

So we're just going to secure this with some kitchen twine.

And for that first knot, I like to do a double knot because that'll help that twine stay in place, then it holds so you can get a nice tight second knot.

And there you go.

One down, three to go.

Alright.

So now it's time to get cooking.

And I have the salmon all laid out here.

We're just going to season it with some salt and pepper.

Let's get the second side here.

Now, one last trick before we start cooking is that we're going to dust the salmon in cornstarch.

That's going to make a nice crust, and it'll prevent things from scorching in the pan.

So what I have here is some cornstarch.

It's just in a pie plate.

You can use any sort of plate.

We're going to hit both sides of the salmon, and then you want to brush off any extra with a pastry brush.

Handle these gently when they're raw.

They'll firm up as they cook, but right now, you want them to keep that nice shape.

Alright.

Just a thin layer.

So these are ready for the skillet.

Over here, I have a 12-inch non-stick skillet, and I have two tablespoons of vegetable oil in there.

I'm heating this up over medium high heat.

We're going to get it really hot just until it starts to shimmer.

So now I'm going to gently lay the salmon in the pan.

And then, as always, when you lay something in a hot pan, put the front side down and then lay the rest away.

That way, if any waves of hot oil happen, they happen to the back of the pan, not towards you.

Now, the salmon will cook pretty quickly, about three minutes on each side, but the magic temperature we're going for is 125.

And yes, I'm going to use an instant read thermometer.

That way you can tell each piece of salmon is perfectly done.

And again, if some are different sizes, they might come out of the pan sooner than others.

That way, everyone has a perfect piece of fish.

It's been about three minutes on that first side, and they look beautiful.

About three more minutes on the second side.

So it's been about three minutes on the second side.

Again, we're looking for about 125 right in the center.

That one's perfect.

Alright.

So this one's coming out.

You can see there just a little bit of that white albumin came out on the side.

Very often when you cook salmon, you get a lot of that.

You can see there just a little bit this time thanks to the brining.

Alright, I'm going to give it a quick pat on the paper towels just to drain off any grease so it doesn't get on the platter.

That's one.

And yeah, I'm going to temp each one because I want everyone to have a perfect piece of salmon.

I'm going to take a little bit of this chimichurri.

I'm just going to put a little right in the center of each piece of salmon.

Use a pair of kitchen scissors.

You just peel off the twine.

So there we have it.

Time to give this salmon a taste.

Mmm.

A little extra chimichurri, because I can, and a little squeeze of lemon.

Oh.

Beautifully cooked all the way through.

Nice and even, and still juicy.

Mmm, that's good.

That's how I like to cook salmon.

so if you want to make the perfect pan seared salmon steak, start by brining the fish for just 15 minutes, then cut out the bones and tie the pieces of salmon up for even cooking.

And last but not least, cook the salmon till it registers just 125 degrees.

From "America's Test Kitchen" at home, the perfect recipe for pan seared salmon steaks with a tarragon chimichurri.

♪♪ -Is there anything more important to your cooking than salt?

I don't think so, so if you don't understand it, you're in for trouble.

I'm here to help.

Let's start with the three different choices that you have.

At the very top level, you can choose either table salt, kosher salt or sea salt.

Let's dig in.

So, I've got table salt over here.

All the brands are pretty much the same.

They all contain an additive that prevents caking.

Some of them also have some iodine.

The iodine is to address nutritional deficiencies.

They're less of an issue today in the United States, but can be an issue elsewhere.

The thing about table salt is it's very fine.

It's very regular.

I find it a little difficult to work with by hand.

You often get sort of salty spots.

Next up, we have kosher salt.

So this is like table salt, typically pumped up from underground salt mines.

It's ancient oceans that have evaporated and there's salt underneath the earth.

They send water down, they pump up a brine.

What's different here is that they rake the brine as it dries so that the crystals are more irregular.

They're actually kind of large, and they're not all the same size.

If you look under a microscope, you'll see that these are really quite different from each other, as opposed to the table salt, which is very uniform.

But the other thing is there's no additives here, so this is just salt.

No anticaking, and there's no iodine.

It breaks apart more easily in my hands.

It's less likely to stick to my fingers when it comes to sprinkling over food, because I like to cook with my hands rather than measuring spoons.

For everyday use, I'm using the kosher salt more often than not.

And there are these two choices in the supermarket, Diamond Crystal and Morton, and they're surprisingly different.

I'm going to pick up the Morton.

They're a little bigger.

They're actually harder.

That you're not going to see, but you can definitely feel that as you're cooking.

And the reason why it makes a difference is it's a little harder to crush, and it's also a little harder on the tongue.

The Diamond Crystal kind of has little hollow crystals that almost melt in your mouth.

So, in addition, there's sea salt, and you guessed it, this actually comes from the ocean.

Now, these vary a lot.

They can be really fine.

They can be really coarse.

This is my favorite.

This is an English sea salt.

It's called Maldon.

And you can see the crystal size.

Look at the size of this one.

It's really irregular.

These are finishing salts.

No matter the sea salt, you shouldn't be putting this in a pot of pasta water because it's really expensive, and honestly, you're just pouring money down the drain.

So these are finishing salts for the table, and I like the big crystals.

I mean, look, you can really see on the tomato the varying sizes.

And so anything that you're serving, fish, chicken, meat, vegetables, at the table put a bowl of delicious sea salt.

So, throughout all of this, the most important thing is for you to understand that these measure really differently and whether you're measuring with your hands or a spoon, this is really, really important because the crystal size varies.

You get more or less salt in your hands or in a spoon.

The good news is table salt all measures the same.

So a teaspoon of this is always going to be a teaspoon no matter the brand.

Now, it gets a little bit more complicated when you're trying to substitute for kosher.

You need two teaspoons of the Diamond Crystal in order to equal one teaspoon of table salt and to have the same weight of salt.

The Morton is in between.

You need one and a half teaspoons of Morton kosher in order to have the equivalent of one teaspoon of table salt.

This matters because you don't want to end up with food that's either under or oversalted.

And if math isn't your thing, just go slow with the salt.

Add a little, taste.

You can always add more, and that's the most important thing I want you to remember when you're cooking at home.

♪♪ -My "Test Kitchen" compatriots and I live in coastal New England, and this is a seafood lover's paradise.

Here's some of the equipment you're going to need to prep fish and shellfish.

Now, it's always best to keep fish on ice.

So if it's going to be a little while between getting home and cooking your fish, you'll want a container that can store the ice and the fish together and do it neatly.

These are Cambro dry storage containers.

This one is the six-quart size.

We actually use this for dry storage like flour or sugar, but it's also great for storing ice and fish together.

And this one is the 12-quart size.

They come in a wide range of sizes, and the prices do vary.

When we bought this, it was about $7, but you'll want to check prices before you go ahead and buy one.

Now, when you're going to cook fresh lobsters, you need a large pot to do it in.

We've tested 12-quart stock pots, and this is our favorite.

This is the Cook N Home stainless steel stockpot with lid in the 12-quart size.

It's $45, and testers liked it for a few different reasons.

Number one, it's fairly light, so it's easy to lift up, and that's important if you're going to have a pot full of soup or stock.

Also, these handles are really generous.

They're big wide loops.

They have a rubber coating, so they're easy to grab.

It makes it easy to pick up the pot and pour from it.

Okay, your lobsters are cooked.

Now you're going to want to get through the shells.

A lot of people use crackers for that.

We actually prefer these.

These are the RSVP International Endurance Seafood Scissors.

They're about $15.

You can see that the blade is narrow and arched.

It's also got micro serrations on the cutting edge, which made it really effective for tough shells and delicate shells.

We're going to try it on this lobster.

First, we're going to cut through the top of the tail like so, then we're going to cut through the other side of the tail.

And this is why we like that arch, because it follows the contour of the tail, and then you can just break it open like that and out comes your lobster tail intact.

Now, a personal favorite, fresh oysters.

If you're going to buy oysters and open them at home, please do not use a regular knife.

They're too sharp and they're too flexible.

You could really hurt yourself with that.

A dedicated oyster knife is just the opposite.

The blade is rigid, it's thick and it's dull.

This, by the way, is our favorite oyster knife.

This is the R. Murphy New Haven style oyster knife with a stainless steel blade.

It's $27.

You cannot go wrong with this oyster knife.

You always want to protect your hand, so you fold a dish towel over it, but leave the pointed end out because that's the part you're going to work with.

That's called the hinge.

You work it in, and when you feel it catch, twist it and that will pop off the top of the oyster shell.

Then you can take the blade of the knife, and just drag it along the top to release the oyster.

You can do the same thing on the bottom, that will release the oyster from the bottom shell, and then you're ready to go.

You get a squeeze of lemon or a hit of hot sauce, if that's what you want or a mignonette.

And cheers, you have your oyster ready to go.

♪♪ -I am part Brussels sprouts.

I'm convinced of it.

I eat them pretty much year round, whether it's in salads or roasted or fried or in hash, in a pasta.

You name it, I eat it.

I love them.

Today, I'm going to show you how to make Brussels sprout salad with a warm mustard vinaigrette, and we're going to start with the vinaigrette.

I'm going to start off with measuring out five tablespoons of white wine vinegar, and then a tablespoon of grainy mustard.

I always dip and sweep everything.

Grainy mustard can be pretty potent, so you want to make sure you only add a tablespoon, and then I'm going to add a teaspoon of sugar, and a quarter teaspoon of salt.

And now I'm just going to whisk this together.

This is the base of my vinaigrette.

There's more to come.

So now I'm going to add a shallot, so I'm going to thinly slice a shallot.

Just cut off both ends.

Cut it in half, and then it's easy to peel.

Sometimes there's a couple of lobes in a shallot.

You cut it in half, and I'm going to cut it crosswise.

Hold on to it at the root end.

I'm just going to thinly slice it.

I'm using the claw, so I'm holding on to the shallot so it doesn't move, and I'm using my middle knuckle to guide my knife.

So now we have our shallots.

I'm going to add them to my vinaigrette base.

Now, I'm going to add apricots.

The apricots add a nice sweetness.

So I'm going to add a quarter cup of chopped apricots.

Add this to our vinegar mixture with the shallots.

I'm just going to stir that together so everything is thoroughly combined and the shallots are as submerged as possible.

Okay, so everything is now submerged.

What I'm going to do now is I'm going to microwave this 30 to 45 seconds until it starts to steam.

What I'm doing is making a quick pickle of the shallots.

They're going to heat up in the vinegar and they're going to absorb some of the acid, give the salad a little more dimension.

♪♪ So, that took about 45 seconds.

As you can see, it's steaming, and I'm just going to give it another quick stir.

I'm just making sure that all the shallots are submerged in the vinegar mixture.

Put this aside to cool for about 15 minutes.

Okay, now it's time to prep the star of the show, and that is Brussels sprouts.

I have one and a half pounds of Brussels sprouts, and they're about one to two inches in diameter.

They're about the size of a golf ball.

Because I have so many Brussels sprouts to prep, I'm going to do it assembly line style.

I'm going to trim off the ends and cut each one in half, and I'm going to do that for all of them.

And the outer leaves are going to fall off as I go.

That's okay.

This is a little faster than prepping each one fully.

Now, I'm going to go through each Brussels sprout and peel off any tough outer leaves, and a lot of times, they just pop right off.

You really want to peel them off until you get down to the lighter green, and that's usually taking off one to two layers of the outer leaves.

If you don't remove them, they will have that tough, chewy texture to them, which we don't want.

Okay, so this is the final step.

Because we're eating this raw, it's really important to tenderize them as much as possible by slicing them very thinly.

That's going to be a big step in making them more tender.

I'm going use my claw and just run the knife right through it.

I'm holding on to the root end, and I'm basically shredding it.

I'm going to continue to prep the rest of these Brussels sprouts before we can go on to the next step.

You might have noticed that I didn't add any oil to our vinaigrette.

This is where the oil comes in.

I'm going to start with five tablespoons of vegetable oil.

I'm going to add it to a 12-inch non-stick skillet, turn the heat on to medium, and we're going to heat the pan and the oil until the oil starts to shimmer.

So typical ratio of vinaigrette is three parts fat to one part acid.

What we're doing here is we're kicking it up.

We're increasing the amount of acid, and we're turning this into a ratio of 1:1, so one part acid to one part fat.

And the reason that we're doing that here is because Brussels sprouts are very pungent, they're very strong, and they need a vinaigrette that can stand up to it.

So adding more acid is going to really help to kind of cut through that pungency and it's going to make the perfect balanced salad.

Okay, our oil is shimmering.

I'm going to add a third of a cup of chopped shelled pistachios.

Pistachios are going to actually infuse some of their flavor into the oil, which is going to add to our vinaigrette.

This is going to take about one to two minutes.

I'm starting to see them get nice and brown.

This is as far as I'm going to take it.

Let's go and finish off the salad.

Okay.

So, now we're going to take the heat that's in the pan.

First, I'm going to add our shallot and apricot mixture.

You can hear it sizzle.

I'm just going to stir this in.

Mmm, it smells so good.

Oh, gosh.

Look at that.

Ooh.

Ha, I'm awake.

Now I'm going to add my prepped Brussels sprouts.

The heat from this pan and the heat from the oil is going to help to soften the Brussels sprouts.

It's not really going to cook them.

Basically, I'm just going to keep stirring them so that the heat is evenly distributed throughout the Brussels sprouts, and I'm going to do this for about one to two minutes just until those leaves start to darken.

They're still going to definitely have a bite to them, but they're going to be just soft like we want them to be.

Alright.

That heat is doing its thing.

You can see some of the leaves are getting a little darker.

I'm going to transfer it back to a large bowl.

By adding just some leafy greens, it's really going to break up the texture.

So here I have one and half ounces of watercress that I've chopped up roughly.

Another thing I'm going to add is Ricotta Salata.

This is four ounces.

I have a vegetable peeler, and all I'm going to do is just shave it right on top.

And Ricotta Salata is a dry, salty cheese.

It has a little barnyardy flavor to it, and it goes really well with dried fruit.

And we have our apricots in here, so this is where the salty comes in.

Now I'm just going to toss the watercress and also the ricotta cheese into the Brussels sprouts.

I don't want to over mix it.

I don't want to break up that Ricotta Salata too much.

There we go.

Look, I'm in heaven.

It is salad time.

I am so excited for this.

Alright.

There's so much going on with this salad.

It is excellent.

The Brussels sprouts are tender, and the apricots are adding just a perfect amount of sweetness along with the crunch of the nuts.

This is exactly the type of salad that I love to eat, because it has a lot going on and it's very complex and -- and it has Brussels sprouts, my favorite thing in the whole wide world.

So, if you want to make this fabulous salad, slice your Brussels sprouts very thinly, use a 1:1 ratio of oil to vinegar and use the residual heat from the pan to further tenderize your Brussels sprouts.

From "America's Test Kitchen" at home, my favorite recipe for Brussels sprouts salad with warm mustard vinaigrette.

Thanks for watching You can get all of the recipes from this season along with our product reviews and more at our website -- americastestkitchen.com/TV.