Why did my salmon turn brown when I steamed it? A few months ago I took out a wild salmon fillet I had in the freezer and left it to thaw for about 15 minutes in water. After it had partially thawed to the point where it wasn't hard, I filled my steamer pot with water and put it on a gas fire for about 20 minutes with the salmon inside.
When I took the salmon the out, I noticed there were 2 brown patches near different ends of the fillet. I took a bite of it and it tasted quite bad and way different to the normal steamed salmon I had before. I couldn't eat it so I threw it away but I was confused as to why did the salmon fillet turn brown when I steamed it? All the other times I steamed this same type of salmon it always came out pink.
The fillet in question is wild salmon from the Pacific.
Most sources recommend anywhere between 5-10 minutes to steam a piece of salmon.
Bonappetit.com says:

Although oily fish can be easier to execute when steaming compared to white fish because of the fat content, you have to avoid overcooking it, since the bloodline between the flesh and the skin can let off a metallic flavor.

The most likely answer would seem to be that, in steaming for 20 minutes, you massively overcooked the fish.