How to Dice Salmon for Tartare (Knife Skills for Clean, Even Cuts)

Perfect tartare starts with uniform cuts. Here’s how to get clean, even cubes without turning your salmon into paste.

Step 1: Keep Everything Cold

Chill your knife for 5 minutes. A cold blade glides through raw salmon instead of smearing it. Keep the fish cold, too—firm fish is easier to cut cleanly.

Step 2: Remove Skin and Trim

Take off the skin, then trim away the dark bloodline and thin tapering edges. Those soft, uneven sections turn mushy in tartare.

Step 3: Slice With the Grain First

Cut the salmon into even ½–¾-inch planks. Don’t press down—let the knife do the work. Smooth, confident strokes keep the texture intact.

Step 4: Rotate and Dice

Stack a few planks at a time. Slice them into strips, then cut across into ⅛–¼-inch cubes. Smaller cubes = smoother texture; larger cubes = chunkier bite. Both work—just stay consistent.

Step 5: Check Your Work

Tartare should look glossy, clean, and structured. If any pieces look ragged or mashed, trim them out. Uniform cubes give you better texture and better presentation.

Why Uniform Cuts Matter

These same cuts are what you’ll use for poke or ceviche, where clean edges help marinades coat the fish evenly. And yes—good tartare technique applies to beef tartare too. Texture is everything.

Master this once, and every raw salmon recipe—tartare, poke, crudo—gets easier.
Start with the dish that shows this technique best: Salmon Tartare.