2010 Wild Salmon Season

[rlibkind]

The 2010 Copper River season began a little over a week ago (May 13) with catches of both king (a.k.a. chinook) and sockeye (a.k.a. red).

Another low-catch season for Copper River kings is expected, fewer than 17,000 fish vs. 9,500 last year which was the lowest since the 1960s, according to Laine Welch, writing at Stories in the News, Ketchikan, Alaska. Sockeyes, on the other hand, are expected to be plentiful, with better than 30 percent more fish this year than last, with an expected 2010 Copper River catch of 1.27 million fish, vs. 900,000 last year.

For the first time in three years there will be kings from other West Coast states, primarily Oregon and Washington. The catch from the lower 48 has been set at just under 195,000 fish after a hiatus to let the stock rebuild.

Although much of the Alaskan salmon you see during the winter is frozen, there is a significant ocean-caught fishery. Southeastern Alaska fisherman brought in 32,000 kings this past season at an average of more than 13 pounces apiece.

At John Yi's in Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market in recent weeks "New Zealand Wild King Salmon" has been displayed at $17.99/pound. I'm sure the same fish has been appearing elsewhere.

Despite the sign, I have little doubt it's anything but farmed salmon.

Although in the late 19th century California kings were successfully raised from eggs in a New Zealand hatchery, released into the headwaters of four South Island rivers and took to the wild, virtually all salmon exported from New Zealand today are farm-raised, including the kings.

Does it make a difference?

I won't address the environmental issues here, but if you're only concerned about availability and price, farm-raised salmon are generally a better buy. When it comes to nutritional value, however, farm-raised salmon are a distant second. Whether king or Atlantic, farmed salmon are heavy on Omega-6 fatty acids, and low on Omega-3's; the former are deleterious to health, the latter beneficial. From a nutritional standpoint, you'd be better off with the cheapest canned wild salmon (most, but not all, canned salmon is wild) than farm raised fish.

Though the 2010 commercial in-shore king salmon season has barely started, the Alaskan king you're likely to see right now along the East Coast is frozen from last year's catch. Most of the frozen Alaskan salmon I've had, both king and sockeye, have been of excellent quality and texture and closely resemble the fresh. In some respects, since it's usually frozen shortly after landing, what's available to us in Philadelphia can be considered superior to fresh wild salmon from the Pacific Northwest which has made a trans-continental trip.

[SusieQ]

Thank you for this most excellent report! I'm hoping to have some fresh Chinook when the prices come down a bit (which they will, after the initial flurry). But all through the winter I buy frozen sockeye, and it's really good, too, as you point out.

SusieQ

[Blether]

... At John Yi's in Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market in recent weeks "New Zealand Wild King Salmon" has been displayed at $17.99/pound. I'm sure the same fish has been appearing elsewhere.

Despite the sign, I have little doubt it's anything but farmed salmon...

That's an eye-watering price for salmon. Why the doubt ?

[rlibkind]

You're right. I have no doubt it was farm-raised. As for price, that's for filet, not whole.

[Blether]

Wow. Over here on the east side of Asia, fillet of salmon farmed in faraway Norway is readily available retail for what must be 3 or 4 bucks a pound.

(Edit to get the calculation closer - it's 7 bucks a side).

Edited May 23, 2010 by Blether (log)

[rlibkind]

Norway farmed salmon goes for about $6-7 filet or $4 whole at Philly fishmongers. When it's sold as 'wild' that the price escalates.

[RobertCollins]

Copper river King were $34.99/# last evening at the fish monger I went too here in Seattle. I'll stick with the Columbia river run at $24.99, Although the Halibut I had Friday at 17.99 was to die for.

[qrn]

We "discovered" Norway farm raised, a couple months ago...After trying other farmed stuff over the years, this stuff is great...In fact over the winter we compared it to wild ,(was most likely frozen/thawed ) it is the best that we have available...Got spoiled years ago at Cannon Beach Oregon on vacation, going to the local fish market , where they had just gotten it fresh from the boat that just caught it...

Bud

[David Ross]

Copper river King were $34.99/# last evening at the fish monger I went too here in Seattle. I'll stick with the Columbia river run at $24.99, Although the Halibut I had Friday at 17.99 was to die for.

The first Copper River King I bought in Spokane was on May 26. It sold at $28.95 a pound at my old-fashioned butcher shop who also happens to sell some fresh seafood. He sources his Copper River salmon directly from a fisherman and doesn't go through any middelemen or processor's-it goes from the river to the airport in Alaska to Seattle to Spokane and then into the butcher shop. Two other local markets in Spokane were selling the King that week. (I'm old-fashioned and still call it the "Chinook"). One upscale market was pricing it at $34.99 a pound on May 26 and the only fishmonger in town was pricing it as high as $45.00 a pound. That's the highest I have ever seen it, $45.00 is really a bit much.

Since I only cook the Copper River King once a year I cook it really, really simple and very delicately--quickly sauteed and then finished with a simple roast in the oven. This year I tried a new technique that I learned about from an article in my local newspaper. It comes from from Jon Rowley, a Seattle-based seafood expert who is noted as one of the leaders in bringing the Copper River Salmon to fame in recent years. Rowley recommends searing the salmon in a hot pan for a minute or two and then turning it and placing it in a low oven, 225-250 degrees, for 10-15 minutes depending on the thickness of the filet. I was skeptical as I didn't think such a "low and slow" roasting technique would work. But it did, and when I tasted it I realized why. The low oven temperature keeps those unique oils of the Copper River salmon from drying out.

I seared the fish in a cast iron pan with a bit of olive oil and then put it in the low oven. I actually put the oven at 275 and since this king filet was so thick, it roasted about 18 minutes for a medium-rare finish. I served it with a basic butter sauces with some chipotle chile powder and spaetzle with brown butter and toasted hazelnuts. Nothing for my tastes like fresh Copper River King Salmon.

[David Ross]

This past weekend I crafted some Salmon Gravlax with the last of the Copper River Salmon I'll use for the season. For curing, some of us in the Northwest prefer the Sockeye because it tends to have a thinner filet and more oil in it's flesh than the King which has a much thicker filet and more fat, (which as I mentioned above, I prefer to grill and roast).

I bought this Copper River Sockeye at a local large grocery store. The salmon was fresh and sold for $12.99 a pound on a special. No doubt this large retail market had procured a large contract and was able to buy fresh fish on a large scale at this price. But when it was gone it was gone. I was at the market at 7am on Friday morning, June 4 and the fish had just been brought in the night before. It wasn't in the display case yet and at first the guy wasn't going to bring it out when I asked. I think he thought I was probably the typical stupid shopper who wanted the salmon on special. After a few moments of breaking the ice so to speak, he got the vibe I knew what I wanted and that I know my salmon and so he was more than happy to go in the back. I couldn't belive what I saw. Racks of fresh Copper River Salmon. Whole salmon. And really to my amazement they looked and smelled so fresh. What a pleasant surprise for a large, mass-market fish counter.

After the sockeye cures, the natural red color of the flesh deepens to a hue that is almost unbelieveable. You almost think it is soaked in fluorescent red paint the color is so intense, yet it is just Mother Nature taking its normal course.

I started with Marcus Samuelsson's recipe for Gravlax out of his "Aquavit" cookbook. The basic cure calls for 1 cup of sugar to 1/2 cup of salt. I found this mix far too sweet for my tastes, so I think next time I'll tinker with it a bit and go with a ration closer to 1 cup sugar and 1 scant cup of salt. The recipe called for 2 tbsp. of cracked white peppercorns but I used a mix of white, green, pink and black peppercorns. I also used a blend of both Aquavit and sweet white wine that I had on hand. Some recipes call for brandy, but I like the anise and herbal flavor of Aquavit. I could do without the sweet flavor of the white wine next time.

Rather than the normal "bagel," I served the salmon with tiny little "Gougeres" which are basically a savory puff pastry dough. In this version I added chopped anchovy, chives and grated parmesan cheese. I wanted something light to accompany the salmon rather than the typical accompaniments of capers, red onion and cream cheese so I made a whipped cream and added some Dijon mustard, chopped capers, chives, fresh dill, lemon juice and white pepper. It was light and refreshing and the mustard gave the cream a bit of tang yet didn't overpower the salmon.

Copper River Sockeye Gravlax, Anchovy-Parmesan "Gougeres," Dijon Whipped Cream-

[rlibkind]

That technique works great; I've used it without searing. I just use a slightly sweetened (brown sugar) brine for 20-30 minutes first. and don't be afraid to let it roast @ the recommended temp.