Salmon

N

NickDanger

2,500+ Posts
I decided a long time ago that I didn't like salmon. I don't even remember what it tastes like. The wife loves it. The boy and I are going salmon fishing in AK this summer and look to bring a mess home. I would do well to figure out some recipes I like. And I would do well to do it and try some recipes before I go.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I'm not keen on ginger or soy sauce or asian glazes, etc, but others might read this thread and might be.
 
You should just send it to me, and save yourself the trauma.


Actually, you're probably burned on Atlantic farm-raised salmon. The real deal, the wild king salmon, is spectacularly good.
Grilled with a spice rub is my favorite.
 
Wild salmon filet. Squeeze and rub some lemon juice on it. Brush with a little melted butter, add a dash of salt. Grill.

When done, brush with a little more butter, and another squeeze of lemon. That's all you need. Simpler is better.
 
I'm well aware that the farm raised stuff is just not the same fish. I figure that if I can learn to like what I can get here in SA, then I'll really like what I bring home. We will be going in August so it's pretty unlikely we'll have any Kings, but we should come home with some Silver.

And some Halibut.

What I have read is consistent with what you guys have said - that the simpler the better for wild salmon. That the natural fat is the true key to flavor. It's going to have to be frozen to get it home, but I'm told frozen wild is still much better than fresh, farm-raised.
 
if I had some good wild caught salmon, i would do this:

heat olive oil in pan. season fish with sale and pepper (squeeze of lemon).

then, i would sear each side of the filet for about 1 minute, max. that natural fat flavor that you speak of is centerstage when you just sear it like that.
 
I'll have to tell you, in my experience Alaska salmon fishing is very overrated. It has to be the most frustrating fishing experience of my life and I've fished a great deal. The dang things don't strike or bite. You have to snag them in the mouth to keep. Sound tricky? More than you can imagine. My normally patient son was bored to death. All this while you're one of a thousand snaggers, uh, fishermen standing side by side in the river. Or, go with a guide for King Salmon and you get to keep one a day. Put that one in the box and you become a spectator for the rest of the trip.

We had much more fun halibut fishing (which I much prefer to salmon as far as eating goes). We literally caught halibut until we were exhausted from pulling them in. We came back with over a hundred pounds of delicious halibut fillets worth far more than we spent fishing. We went with two different guides and I'd recommend both, but one in particular. He was fantastic. PM me if you'd like specifics.

When we weren't halibut or salmon fishing we were trout fishing which was much better than the salmon fishing, too. We caught a ton of trout on flies.

You'll have a great time no matter what, because it's a beautiful state. But with some research you can have a great fishing experience, too.

Let me add that since I now see you'll be going in August then the Silver run will be on as you say. That is the one run I haven't fished and it may be somewhat better from what I've read.
 
I'll make a suggestion. A dry, as in NO OIL, PAM etc, cast iron skillet on your outdoor grill of choice, (I use my gas Weber). LIGHTLY rub no more than a few DROPS of olive oil on both sides of a fillet or steak and salt/pepper liberally. Put fish, skin side down in BLAZING HOT skillet for about 4-6 mins on 1st side. Turn, and repeat. In the last min of cooking time, put a thick pat of REAL butter and a liberal squeeze of fresh lemon over fillets.

Fresh salmon is sooooo flavorful IMO, with all it's natural oils/fat, that it needs nothing more to squelch the taste.

p.s. You could always FedEx it to meeeee!
biggrin.gif
 
We have 4 days of fishing planned in mid-August. One day will be floatfishing on the Kenai River*, one day will be halibut, one day will be saltwater salmon and bottom fish (lingcod, etc) and one day will be a flyout trip for fishing/bear watching. We won't be doing any snagging. My understanding is that you have to snag them when they stop feeding and we should be there during the first half of the silver run and won't need to do any snagging. I don't remember who told me this, but I was told that if you had to snag it, you probably don't want to eat it anyway. I'm not a huge fan of bottom fishing. I'd rather fish with a dry fly, but that just isn't in the cards except for maybe the flyout trip. Not sure I want to haul my silly string to AK for 11 days and only use it once. I'm pretty sure I'm going to take my 2 weight and fish for grayling on dries where we are going to stay near Denali.

Thank you for the cooking suggestions. Well, all of the commentary is appreciated.

*I know. I've heard all about the "combat fishing" on the Kenai Peninsula. I asked our guide about this and even said I was prepared to pay more money to avoid it and he assured me that it wasn't going to be bad at the time and place we had arranged. He could have taken more money from me and he told me to save my money so I feel OK about that.
 
4-6 minutes per side seems like a lot. How thick is the piece of fish you have in mind? If I were doing, say, a tuna steak I wouldn't think I would do much more than a minute a side. I am happy to eat sashimi, but if I'm going to cook it, I want it to be a tad bit cooked in the center (still pink, but not raw) if that gives a frame of reference for my taste in tuna steaks.
 
The Kenai River makes for an interesting salmon trip. You may also want to consider the Kasilof River which is float only--no power boats allowed. Some people prefer it because it's quite a bit more laid back and old school. Also not nearly as crowded. It apparently has a nice silver run on par with the Kenai. I suspect more guides go to the Kenai because it's a lot less work for them.

Silver Fox Charters in Homer is an excellent guide service for halibut. I wouldn't use anyone else when I go back. Our best guide was a computer programmer except in the summers when he guides for halibut. Where do I get a job like that?
 
Grilled salmon is awesome without doing anything fancy. A simple Italian dressing marinade is fine. Grilled over charcoal with damp Mesquite chips tossed on. You don't even need to grill it on both sides (I just like to do it for the grill marks). Skin side down, until the meat separates from the skin. If you don't care about the cosmetic appearance, just test doneness with a fork. I was never a salmon guy for a long time either. I had never cooked it before a few years ago. My wife brought some home, so I just tossed it on the grill per above, and it was some of the best fish we've ever eaten.
 
Like I said. I don't even remember what it tastes like. Only that I once decided that I didn't like it. I'm going to try real hard to get some good fish to reintroduce myself.

I KNOW I like halibut. My next door neighbor brought home more than he could eat (actually more than he could cook - his wife's idea of cooking is to spread peanut butter and jelly on bread) so he gave me a bunch a while back and we have a bunch of ways we like to eat halibut.
 
you know, i was the same way about salmon for years -- determined i didnt like it -- too strong. but then my father in law turned me back on to it because its just about all he eats -- literally several nights a week. so its pretty much predetermined what we're having when he comes over for dinner.

i like it plain with salt pepper and lemon juice too as many have suggested here. however, my wife is a picky eater and so i have to work it up to get her to eat it.

here's a brine/marinade i use for salmon sometimes. i marinate the filets in the fridge overnight. it really is quite good. i've used it with sea bass before too and it was great.

1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup salt
4 cups apple cider
2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon whole allspice
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

bring 1st three ingredients to boil on stove, add rest of ingredients and turn off heat and let cool all the way down and marinate. i grill over really hot heat as previously suggested.

i've also used this marinade on a huge salmon filet that i smoked once for a party and it was great.
 
The Kenai is easy driving distance from Anchorage for locals and tourists. Some of the rivers will see people standing feet apart for hundreds of yards during the salmon runs. I have only read about and seen pictures of this. Even those who have/rent boats end up looking like the scene in "JAWS" when they announce the reward and everyone hits the harbor at once, I'm told.
 
970618ANGLERS.jpg

The Russian River is most well known for combat fishing during the Sockeye run. It wasn't quite this crowded when I was there, but I've heard stories of it getting almost shoulder-to-shoulder at times. During the run, Sockeye salmon have to be snagged in the mouth using a special casting/retrieval technique with the properly balanced line and tackle.
 
That picture reminds me of Rowlett Creek when the white bass were spawning. I watched two Hispanic guys get in a knock-down fight when they both hooked the same sand bass.
 
Man I love salmon. I've had it so many different ways that I would swear were the best ever, only to discover something else later on down the road.

The last couple of times I've soaked it in a little dark rum and brown sugar, which turned out pretty well. Then grill it about 5 mins per side, over lump coal and some alder chips. I've always heard mesquite was too strong to use with salmon, but I'm not a pro by any means.
 
coat in butter
sprinkle garlic salt (somewhat generously, but not too much)
wrap in foil
bake @ 325 for 20-30
 
This afternoon, I had a twin craving: pesto and salmon. I have no idea if this is an abnormal combination, but my pesto-stuffed salmon was quite delicious.
 
this recipe is for 1.5 lbs salmon

1.5 tsp grated lemon peel
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil (canola oil is my mom's choice though)
1.5 tsp prepared horseradish
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp pepper
mix, spread, and refrigerate!

it's recommended that you marinate for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

this recipe works when grilling the salmon over an open flame, or cooking in the oven. it's also in the hornfans cookbook if you don't want to pull up this page when making it.
 
I love salmon, but for those that "don't like salmon" I like to use Dizzy Pig Raging River Rub (link below) with a glaze of a mixture of butter and real maple syrup. Grill it about 300-325. Everyone loves this.

This is also one of my favorite commercial rubs. I've loved it on everything from salmon to ribs.


Rub
 
Easy recipe, we eat it once a week, although I do usually add a marinade but like it simple also.
This is the way most restaurants cook fish and steaks for that matter.
Heat oven to 375.
Take salmon put some olive oil on it, and just sprinkle Bay's seafood seasoning on it.
Put salmon in a grill pan, and turn heat to high, get grill marks on both sides, put in oven for 8-10 minutes. Take out let set for a few minutes and serve.

We eat asian rice and steamed veges with it. Usually a mix of cauliflower and broccoil.

My 2 yr old's fav meal.
 
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