Canned salmon comes in a variety of ways however, it is usually packed as a steak which is pressure cooked until the bones are soft and brittle and the skin is very soft this is the traditional way or method of cooking and canning salmon.

The basic ingredients for a can of salmon should only be salmon water and sometimes a little bit of salt, depending on the brand.

The skin has a sort of fatty layer underneath of it between the skin and lean meat. Some people may be tempted to remove this skin when using canned salmon in certain recipes because they find it not quite attractive. But, let’s not forget that while adding a dark hue to certain dishes this is certainly a very flavorful and nutritious part of the canned salmon product.

I usually remove the skin and sometimes the bone for the sake of presentation and texture. You may ask yourself why remove skin and bones instead of just purchasing canned salmon or salmon packed in pouches which has no skin nor bone. The answer is simple, salmon packed with skin and bone is more nutritious and I think is much more favorable.

While canned salmon is packed with protein and vitamin D, it also has heart healthy Omega 3 fats if eaten with the bones it also supplies calcium which is a great alternative someone who is lactose intolerant.

While all salmon is a great way to get the benefit of Omega 3’s, in the case of canned salmon make sure you check out the labeling on the can. All canned salmon is not created equally somewhere in that small print you can learn a lot about the salmon that you choose to buy.

I remember hearing that when wild salmon is over abundant it is sent to other processing plants due to the inventory being more than can be handled at the time. Once again check the label you can have Alaskan salmon on your grocer’s shelves that was packed in some Asian country. Truthfully I don’t know if this practice is due to over abundant inventory or just the industry saving on labor cost.

Always choose wild caught salmon which has been processed domestically. If the brand that you like does not say wild caught or if it has Atlantic salmon printed on the label choose another brand. Since Atlantic salmon has been fished almost to extinction it is almost a certainty that any salmon labeled as such is farm raised. I won’t go into the problems with farm raised salmon, we’ll cover that at another time but I will say “stay away”.

Leaner premium salmon with skin and bones removed will have less vitamins and nutrients. It may be worth it to remove the bones and mash them separately then return them to the salmon this way you get the look texture you want and the nutritional benefit you need.

Wild caught fresh salmon is very expensive but that’s not so if you’re eating canned. Whenever you get a chance I want you to try a can of salmon.