Let me add a Swedish twist.

Lemon, salt, peppar and sugar.

This is traditionally the recipe for gravid lax but if you grill it instead of curing it you get a real nice result.

The swedes have about as many recipes for salmon as Americans have for chicken but I totally agree simple is better.

Thanks for the recipes folks.
Just scored some CR Sockeye for around $10/lb. and some cedar planks. Will try it out tonight with some pinot.

Soooo, other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?

BUMP.

Copper River Salmon is just starting to hit the seafood counters again (I paid $16.99/lb). Had my first filets last night, simply coated with olive oil, lemon juice, and some Herbs de Provence and then grilled. Delicious.

Pinot Noir is made for this fish. Last night, it was a 2001 Testarossa Bien Nacido.

Cheers,

Otis

My take on it:

Buy whole leaf basil.

Make pesto.

Reserve basil stems.

Serve pesto some other time

Dry basil stems thoroughly (a week or so), rehydrate in water for an hour, toss on hot coals, wait till it starts smoking, and throw CRS on the grill to desired doneness. The basil smoke infuses the fish - a great combo.

My other favorite is to saute diced morels in butter and bacon fat and serve over plainly prepared salmon.

FWIW, here is a link to some more recipes:
Salmon Recipes

Living in the 'Salmon Capitol of the World' as we do, we eat it just about every week of the year...I can say we have had salmon just about every way you can cook/prepare it!
Preparation really depends on how 'Gamey'-'Fishy' the salmon tastes.
We primarily stock the freezer (double vacuum packed) with Sockeye every summer. Sockeye salmon is unquestionably the finest eating salmon in the sea...I prescribe 'Less is better' with good salmon, as previously mentioned, keep it simple.

I offer sound advice.
That's 99% sound and 1% advice

I must admit that there's nothing like a fresh wild Pacific Salmon. However while in Iceland, I used to get whole fresh Icelandic Salmon for $1.89/lb which was really hard to beat. I agree that simple is much better with salmon. I used to filet them, put in foil with a little water, olive oil, and a little lemon; then poach/steam them in the oven. Awesome.

ANNUAL BUMP

Just had my first CRS of the season Friday. $18.99/pound at Sunset Foods.

Poured a little EVOO and lime juice over it and sprinkled some salt, pepper, fresh ginger and cilantro on top. Grilled it for 4 minutes per side. Yum.

Cheers,

Otis

This is not a recipe but an FYI: the prices for the initial week (now) is a little bit higher (from what I was told from the nice seafood guy at Central Market) this year since the numbers were almost half what they had expected; however, within the next week, if the numbers increase, the price should go down but they started high just in case there weren't that many to begin with...make sense?

otisabdul,
Good bump.
Had some sockeye Saturday with a Pennar-Ash Pinot and it was terrific.

I'm a purist when it comes to salmon of such pedigree. I don't use fancy sauces or marinades, posh grills or cedar planks. Instead, I start by preparing early in the season. Right around Halloween, I buy a bear costume and practice animal behavior by scaring the living daylights out of local kids and playing visual tricks on the elderly. "No, Madam, I have not seen any bears. You might want to check the expiration date on your laxatives."
Then, as soon as the season kicks in (after all, even in a bear suit, I'm still a law abiding citizen), I head to Copper River and wait for the fish... to jump straight into my mouth. As I said, I'm a purist.

Abu,
Is that you?

Had a fillet of CR Silver last Sunday. I also subscribe to KISS, (Keep It Simple, Stupid) when it comes to salmon. Fish was naked on the grill except for a little butter, dill and lemon.
Unfortunately for most of you folks, CR salmon gets more expensive as it gets farther from Alaska. Here, I've seen it going for $9 to $16 a lb.

mneeley -

do you know how Pike's prices are right now... i bought a whole King Salmon from them when i was living up there, i think it was close to 30lbs, and with overnight shipping to LA, it cost like $450-, if i remember correctly... it was great, i was like a Rock Star, "i want the biggest Salmon you have..."

it was great, i sent it to my grandma (Japanese) and she flipped

Shame on you, making your grandma do flips for fish.

$22.95 at seafood market/restaurant in Des Moines. Flown in fresh. Said they would have shipments coming in until mid-June and then switch to other sockeye after that.

quote:

Originally posted by kumazam:
mneeley -

do you know how Pike's prices are right now... i bought a whole King Salmon from them when i was living up there, i think it was close to 30lbs, and with overnight shipping to LA, it cost like $450-, if i remember correctly... it was great, i was like a Rock Star, "i want the biggest Salmon you have..."

it was great, i sent it to my grandma (Japanese) and she flipped

Try Pike Place Fish Their seafood is undeniably fresh and the fish-flingers put on a good show for the tourists, but they DO charge "tourist" prices. I can find the same quality elsewhere for less, but I don't know about shipping.

BTW, mine was paired with a nice '02 Matthews Rose.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mneeley490,

Are the fresh Copper River Salmon here yet? The folks at Whole Foods keep saying not ‘til June?

the official run has not yet been opened. The expected opening should be about a week.

Sea salt and a little white pepper, grill over a hot alderwood fire. Don't do the trendy mistake of leaving it raw in the center. This fish is so high in oil, it is nearly impossible to overcook. Although I love Pinot Noir and salmon, I grew up eating salmon an d washing it down with Oregon Pinot Gris.

If you have the most recent Joy of Cooking cookbook there is a fabulous recipe for chili spice rubbed salmon. I know that it may sound overpowering but it is not. You can adjust the amount of spices you want on the fish according to your personal preferences. If you grill it just right the salmon is done perfectly with a little crust on the outside while maintaining moistness on the inside. The recipe is a staple for me and I always have some of the spice rub made up & on hand. If you don’t have the cookbook and are interested I’ll gladly post the recipe.

Nice pull GreenDrazi. I was wondering the same thing last weekend.

quote:

If you don’t have the cookbook and are interested I’ll gladly post the recipe.

Alta Skier: I would be very interested. Sounds right up my alley. Perhaps you could post it, noting its copywritten source. Thanks!

Cheers,

Otis

It's here, but hold on to your wallets. Early reports are it's fetching up to $37 a pound.
Read it here.
There were trucks waiting at SeaTac airport yesterday for the first planeloads.

It's always more expensive the first of the season because they claim that they "don't know how much of a supply they will get." Prices drop within 2 weeks after that.

otisabdul,

Here's the recipe:

Grilled Salmon with a Chili Spice Rub

The recipe makes enough spice mixture for several dinners. Keep in an airtight container and use it with chicken, beef lamb, or pork as well as salmon.

Stir together in a small nonstick skillet:
¼ Cup sweet paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)

Heat, stirring occasionally, over medium heat for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Pat 2 tablespoons of the spice mixture over the flesh side of:

One 2½ pound salmon filet

Drizzle over the top 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil. (I’ve done this recipe putting the oil on after the spices, before the spices, and not at all. They’ve all been marvelous.)

The recipe says to serve with lime wedges.

The remainder of the recipe gives directions on grilling the fish. The directions are for using a charcoal grill but I use a gas grill (sometimes I wished I still used charcoal). I’m sure you have your own technique for grilling fish so I did not include that part of the recipe here. When I grill fish I always use one of those grilling baskets after I’ve rubbed oil on it.

-Adapted from Joy of Cooking, 1997

quote:

Originally posted by Bella Donna:
It's always more expensive the first of the season because they claim that they "don't know how much of a supply they will get." Prices drop within 2 weeks after that.

I’m willing to pay $30-$37 lb. the first weekend. It’s still way cheaper than dinning out and I’ve been in anticipation of this for months. I will be scanning Whole Foods this Saturday a.m. in hopes of finding some.