An Outdoor View: Salmon 7 Ways

While grilling the last of last year’s salmon the other day, I got to wondering about what other people did with salmon. Curious, I e-mailed 20 people, asking them for their favorite salmon recipes.

The response was immediate and enthusiastic, testimony to the popularity of salmon as food. Some respondents went into great detail, while others kept things brief. On the wordy side, AE Poynor listed all 18 ingredients and 200 words of directions for Smoked Salmon Chowder. Jon Holland won the prize for pithiness with his “My favorites are grilled, and poached and drizzled with FRESH dill butter.”

Pete Rosko sent this interesting idea: “My wife makes a great strawberry freezer jam. Last year, I pan seared my salmon with skin on. Upon removing it to my dish, I spoon-spread the strawberry jam over the salmon then ate the salmon while it was still warm. It was delicious … the sweet flavor bonding with the flavor of salmon. It is how I now prefer to eat any type of salmon.”

Dennis Randa mentioned that salmon dipped in beer batter and deep-fried had become one of his favorite ways to prepare salmon.

Rod Arno wrote that he doesn’t cook, but went on to say how he likes to catch a salmon, wrap it in foil and cook it in the coals of a riverside campfire.

As I expected, leftover salmon received several mentions, including using it in dips, spreads, tacos, wraps, patties, salads, chowders and sandwiches.

Going by the 16 recipes I received, there’s no limit to the rubs, sauces, condiments and marinades used in salmon cookery. One cook sprinkles on Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. Another massages salmon with Williams & Sonoma’s Potlatch Rub. Other ingredients mentioned were butter, soy sauce, garlic, onion, honey, dill weed, brown sugar, grated fresh ginger, mayonnaise, bourbon ketchup, blackening seasoning, maple syrup and the zest and juice of limes, lemons and oranges.

It occurred to me while reading these recipes that I could use ideas from them to create a salmon feast, a twist on bo 7 mon, the Vietnamese beef fest in which beef is served seven ways. High on the idea, I came up with the following menu:

Salmon 7 Ways

1. Salmon Sashimi A fast freight to flavor town, this is uncooked king salmon, freshly harvested with Asian white-radish garnish, soy dipping sauce, wasabi and fresh, grated ginger.

2. Salmon Caviar Lovingly made with roe of wild, ocean-caught Alaska chum salmon, served on toast with lemon-butter. These orange-red pearls will burst in your mouth and leave you with a salty hint of the ocean and a healthy dose of Omega-3.

3. Bagels and Lox A crispy bagel chip, topped with a thin slice of coho salmon lox, pickled lemon and fresh dill. You can’t eat just one.

4. Salmon Bisque Mouth-watering chunks of alder-smoked sockeye salmon swimming in a sinful sea of butter, heavy cream, tarragon and lemon zest. An awe-inspiring bonding of flavors. Nothing that tastes this good can possibly be bad.

5. Salmon on a Shingle In our version of SOS, a chow-hall term universally known to GIs, the first “S” stands for salmon. Wild, ocean-caught pink salmon, to be exact, lightly smoked with a 25/75 mix of alder and apple wood chips. The fish is flaked and used in a rich, creamy gravy, as well as being used in hush puppies, the “shingles” for this decadent dish.

6. Coconut Salmon Chunks of wild Alaska sockeye salmon, beer-battered, rolled in shredded, sweetened coconut and deep-fried. It’s served with our version of tzatziki, made with sour cream, pressed garlic, diced sweet onion and garden-fresh dill. You’ll love it tonight, and you’ll still love it tomorrow.

7. Salmon Pad Thai This dish features Asian rice noodles that have been cooked, chilled and married to carrot, red onion and cucumber, then gently tossed with a spicy lime vinaigrette and chopped peanuts. It looks like a salad, but you’ll drool like you’re eating dessert.

You may not have the courage to try making, let alone eating, all seven of these dishes at once, but wouldn’t it be fun to try two or three? Or four?

Les Palmer can be reached at les.palmer@rocketmail.com.

More in Life

William Raymond “W.R.” Benson (front row, far right) poses along with the rest of the Sigma Nu fraternity at Albion College in Michigan in about 1908. Despite a lifetime spent in the public eye, Benson was apparently seldom captured on film. This image is one of the few photos of him known to exist. (photo from the 1908 Albion College yearbook via ancestry.com)
Hometown Booster: The W.R. Benson Story — Part 1

W.R. Benson was a man almost constantly in motion

Will Morrow (courtesy)
Obsolete?

As it turns out, I still use a whole lot of “obsolete” things

File
Minister’s Message: In search of your heavenly place

There is a heavenly place that is real and not just figurative

Dancers rehearse the all-company jazz routine “Steamed Heat,” from the Broadway musical “The Pajama Game.” (Photo provided by Forever Dance Alaska)
Forever Classical

‘A Night with the Classics’ channels old Hollywood with a ‘red carpet awards night’ vibe

Tantanmen, a 30-minute ramen dish, doesn’t sacrifice flavor or wholesomeness for speed. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
Ramen that satisfies

Tantanmen features a milky, nutty broth and can be on the table in under 30 minutes

Sara DeVolld works on “Towards the Sun,” a dress she designed that was featured in February’s Trend Alaska 2024 Fashion Show. (Photo provided by Shona DeVolld)
Fashioning with light

Soldotna student’s designs featured in statewide fashion shows

Sandra Hüller portrays Sandra Voyter in “Anatomy of a Fall.” (Promotional photo courtesy Neon)
On the Screen: ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ is dense, rapturous

I’m disappointed I had to wait so long to get the opportunity to see this film

An Alaska Native man walks towards an Orthodox church in a screenshot from “Sacred Alaska.” (Promotional image courtesy Simon Scionka)
Church to screen film exploring Orthodox connection to Alaska Native cultures

“Sacred Alaska” screening will be held at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Center and start at 6 p.m.

In the early 2020s, the extended Keeler clan continues on the southern Kenai Peninsula, with (far right) Vikki, the daughter of Ina (Keeler) and Spek Jones, her son Brad and his infant son Hugh. At left is Spek Jones and his mother Nelda Jones. Photo courtesy of the Keeler Family Collection.
Keeler Clan of the Kenai — Part 8

Three siblings from the Keeler family of Oregon came to the Kenai Peninsula to live between 1947 and 1951

Most Read