I finally got my fish station dialed in after 6 months of tweaking

For the longest time I was over-salting my salmon before service and it kept throwing off the whole line. I watched a guy at a spot in Seattle do a dry brine with a 1:3 salt to sugar mix and let it sit for exactly 12 minutes. Tried it on Monday for our halibut special and the texture was way better. Has anyone else found a specific ratio that works for different fish types?

2 comments

2 Comments

gavins431mo ago

You ever try a wet brine instead of dry for something like trout or catfish... I messed around with a 4:1 salt to brown sugar mix for a week and the texture came out too soft, had to drop it down to 6:1. Salmon handles that dry brine way better than lighter fish like cod or flounder though, the 12 minute rule is solid for the oily ones.

johnthompson1mo ago

Wait, you're telling me the 12 minute thing only works for the oily fish? I been using it on everything from panfish to halibut for years and just figured I was doing something wrong when it came out mushy. Never even thought to adjust based on the fish type. That wet brine thing with the ratio adjustment makes sense too. I always went dry brine because it's less mess but you got me rethinking that. Catfish especially is tricky, it's so easy to turn that stuff into mush. Good looking out on the 6 to 1 tip.