Copper River salmon season is here

We bought some great, but VERY expensive, Copper River Salmon at Whole Foods last Saturday. Beautiful, deep, orange/pink color.

At least there is quality behine the buzz and HUGE price, not like Beaujolais Nouveau.

So you are the one....

After spending a somewhat charmed, Tom Sawyer-esq childhood growning up in a small town on the western shores of L. Michigan, where we ate smelt, after ice fishing for walleye came to a halt, near shore brown trout in early spring, coho, king and chinook salmon throughout the heady days of summer all for the dropping of a dented, old Red Devil spoon at the end of about a hun'ert yards or so of monofilament....I just stood with my mouth agape-- not unlike a just landed chinook--staring at the price of copper river salmon at Whole Foods. It looked devine, fish flesh like I haven't seen in years, but I just couldn't justify the price, barely even half of it.

I asked the fish monger, or rather counter boy, as he was too young and unweathered to be a true fish monger, how's that selling at XX a pound. "Its moving" was all he dared reply.

So you are the one brave enough to take the plunge.


....tell me again, was it really good?

pd

Peter,

I set out hell-bent in pursuit of the Copper River. I had Nancy worked into a frenzy (well, she was at least enthusiastic), since salmon may be her favorite fish.

After walking up to the counter and having to self defibrillate with a rap to my chest, I couldn't back out now. Whole Paycheck, indeed.

I had to justify it by using the terroir therory. The pinnacle of salmon. And it was still less than ordering it in a restaurant.

I tried to only buy enough for the two of us and supplement with some 'regular' Atlantic salmon for the three girls. But, the better-half's logic was maybe the girls would like it better since it was going to be great. Fortunately, the three of them only eat maybe one adult portion of fish.

It was really good. Right up there with the best salmon I've ever had. Worth $27/lb? Not for me. Next time I'll try the line caught, wild salmon for $8 less per pound, but that's still nosebleed range.

Al

Al,

Copper River salmon is incredible, expensive, but absolutely delicious, your dinner sounds a treat. In the past, and what I plan on doing this year as well, is to make gravlax from a couple of Copper River filets.

The Copper River's richness makes for incredibly luxurious gravlax and the fact that it's cured, and one only eats, ideally, 2-3 oz at a sitting gives more bang for the buck.

Enjoy,
Gary

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Gravlax (Recipe)

Here's 'my' gravlax recipe. The variations are endless, for example for Southwest I sub cilantro/scallion/mint for the dill and add dry mustard to the sugar/salt/white pepper. For Asian I often add lemon grass and grated lemon peel, let your imagination run.

One thing I most always do, even with the 'regular' recipe, is add a slosh of booze, typically Aquavit, though I have used Grappa, Tequila or Vodka with good effect. I sometimes sub half brown sugar for the white sugar and always use kosher salt, never iodized table salt.

What else, hummm, I like to let mine cure for at least 60-hours, often longer and make sure you use a heavy enough weight, you want to press the moisture from the fish. Also, make sure the herbs are clean and dry. Wash well and then dry in a kitchen towel. Crushed red pepper is a nice addition to the mix as well.

One last thing, the included Mustard Dill Sauce tastes, at least to me, like crap. Red onion, good butter and crusty bread is the way to go. I have a recipe for pickled red onion that is excellent with the gravlax, I will include that as well.

One more last thing, I turn the gravlax every 12-hours and change the plastic wrap every 24-hours.

You have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Enjoy,
Gary
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Gravlax (Swedish Sugar and Salt Cured Salmon)

2 center cut salmon fillets, approximately 1 pound (450 g) each, with skin left on.
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup coarse salt
15 coarsely crushed white peppercorns
1 large bunch of dill

Remove any small bones from the fillets with a pair of tweezers or needle-nosed pliers. Mix the sugar, salt and pepper in a bowl. Cover the bottom of a baking dish with 1/3 the dill and rub half of the sugar-salt mixture into the first fillet, on both sides, and lay it skin side down on top of the dill. Cover with 1/3 of dill. Prepare the other salmon fillet in the same way, and cover with the remaining fillet, skin side up, with the remaining dill on top.

Cover in plastic wrap, place a cutting board with some heavy weights on top and marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Remove from plastic wrap and discard accumulated juices. Rewrap and refrigerate another 24 - 48 hours.
Scrape off the marinade and slice paper thin.

Mustard Dill Sauce

3 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vinegar
Salt and ground white pepper to taste
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill

Mix the mustard, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Add the oil slowly while whisking, to form an emulsion. Add the chopped dill.

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Red Pickled Onions

2 cups apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 whole clove
3 whole allspice
3 large red onion -- very thinly sliced

Put vinegar, sugar, salt, clove, and allspice in a large nonreactive saucepan.
Place over high heat and bring to boil.
Put the onions in a large, nonreactive bowl and pour the boiling pickling liquid over them.
Toss well.
Allow to sit, tossing occasionally, until cool.
Onions will wilt and turn pink.
Let sit for 3-4 hours before using or refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Al Ehrhardt wrote:We bought some great, but VERY expensive, Copper River Salmon at Whole Foods last Saturday. Beautiful, deep, orange/pink color.

At least there is quality behine the buzz and HUGE price, not like Beaujolais Nouveau.

Last year during one of my ventures to Chicago, I stopped in at Issacson & Stein(?) with the Ultimo. I purchased 2 whole Copper River salmon at a very decent price. I think it was around $7.00 lb. Even with the waste the price was very good. They filleted it for me and I left the carcass. Even with that loss the price was better than Whole Foods.

You can only purchase whole fish, but one fish will feed you for several meals, can be frozen, and the carcass can be used for stock.

Re: gravlax, another thing I do is put the whole fish assembly on top of a couple green onions. I don't really believe it does anything, I just like the idea that the skin is out of the accumulating juices and possibly it keeps the skin fresher.

Gah I love gravlax, when I get a job again, I do believe that will be my first splurge.

I just bought some Copper River today at Sunset Foods in Libertyville for $16.99 and it was great. Hey, I guess we can post recipes on this board, so I think I will.

I used a recipe from the now-Portland, previous-Chicago (Gordon's) chef, Cory Schreiber.

from Cory Schreiber's Wildwood cookbook.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Take any sized piece of salmon--preferably a filet.

Place it on a bed of kosher salt in a baking dish, skin side down (mine was skinless).

Cover the fish with a finely chopped combo of fresh herbs, including basil, tarragon, parsley, and thyme (I used sweet and thai basil, sorrel, tarragon, & chives). Add to the herb mixture a tablespoon of toasted fennel seeds that have been coarsely ground in a mortar and pestle. Salt and pepper the fish as well.
Bake in the oven for about 35-35 minutes.

Schreiber suggests serving this with a red onion vinaigrette, but I drizzed balsamic vinegar over the herbs.

Went great with the 2000 Chehalem Ridgecrest Vineyard Pinot Noir.

I saw a Whole Foods ad a few days ago for wild Alaskan salmon for $8.99 lb, reg price $16.99 lb. Has anyone tried this, and is there a big difference between this and the Copper River? Thank You

I'm going to go ahead and take the plunge and invite some friends over for grilled salmon tomorrow night. It's going to be dinner for 6, yowch.

I actually just spoke with Eric at Dirk's, and he informed me that "Copper River" is actually just a brand with excellent PR (ala Certified Angus Beef) - and is really just sockeye salmon caught in the river.

So, do you folks think there's a real difference between the Copper River Sockeye, and the Sockeye caught elsewhere? Should I buy the sockeye from Dirk's where I normally do my shopping, or take the plunge and spend $11 more a pound for the branded product from Whole Foods?

I'm also being incredibly uncreative when trying to think of what I want to serve with this. Anyone have ideas?

There is nothing wrong with saving $11.00 lb.

I like to grill asparagus and serve with salmon. Both grill easy and fast. Spend some extra time and money on a great dessert.

Grilled asparagus is a nice choice. Toss with olive oil, salt, & pepper. After it's grilled you can drizzle on some balsamic and toss with fresh herbs. Myself, can never get enough fresh basil. If an herb could be a condiment, I would use basil the way David Hammond uses catsup.

Pete wrote:I actually just spoke with Eric at Dirk's, and he informed me that "Copper River" is actually just a brand with excellent PR (ala Certified Angus Beef) - and is really just sockeye salmon caught in the river.

I certainly wouldn't want to pretend to have more knowledge of fish or commercial fish procurement/retailing than people that do it for a living . . . but I have to answer, at least from my view as an angler.

Yes, it's the same fish and yes the difference is it was caught in the river vs. being caught in the ocean. But the difference doesn't really end there. Salmon is a diadromous fish, specifically anadromous. Diadromous refers to the fact that salmon spend time in both saltwater and freshwater; anadromous describes that they primarily live in saltwater and spawn in freshwater. In general, the only reason an adult Pacific salmon is in a river is because it is time to spawn.

In most cases, Chicago being a rare exception, rivers flow into larger bodies of water. In Alaska, the Copper River flows into the Pacific Ocean. Anadromous fish native to this region are spawned in the freshwater river and then migrate to the Pacific Ocean where they spend their lives until it is time to spawn. As spawning time approaches, the fish undergoes a tremendous amount of physical changes. Part of these changes involve the fish storing a much larger fat and oil content than the fish would normally have. The fish draw upon this reserve during their upstream migration to spawn (spawn-season salmon rarely eat, as any angler can tell you - hooking them is more about presenting your lure as a threat or annoyance that must be dealt with than it is about dangling food).

It is this extra fat/oil content that makes all spawn-season anadromous salmonids so very tasty, especially when grilled (IMO). Sorry for the long rambling but I wanted to help explain how it is accurate to say that it is the same fish (it's Pacific salmon, there are several varieties) yet not exactly the "same" fish. FYI, all Pacific salmon die not long after spawning though some of the salmonids such as Steelhead (a great game fish and a fine tasting anadromous trout in it's own right) are able to spawn multiple times in their lives.

Pacific salmon is good eats (sorry, Alton). Pacific salmon caught in the river on the way to spawn is damn good eats.

Bake in the oven for about 35-35 minutes

Your recipe's suggested cooking time of 35 minutes at 325 seems to be a long time.

When I prepare fish, I use the Canadian Cooking method: for every inch of thickness, 10 minutes cooking at 450 degrees Fahrenheit. This method works for all fish preparations: grilling, poaching (my personal favorite), frying and baking.


I just found a website with a good rundown of seafood cooking methods:

Seafood Cooking Methods

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy,

I know, I also thought it seemed like a long time. I did know the Chef is a good cook, so I trusted it. Since he now lives in Portland, I figured he must cook a lot of salmon and maybe he has experimented with various cooking times/temps.

The temp is on the low side and it has a blanket of moist (at least they're moist for a while) herbs. I didn't feel it was over cooked at all. It was delicious.

Al

Kim wrote:I saw a Whole Foods ad a few days ago for wild Alaskan salmon for $8.99 lb, reg price $16.99 lb. Has anyone tried this, and is there a big difference between this and the Copper River? Thank You

I got this last night and it was quite good. It didn't say Alaska on the sign at the store, it just said wild Sockeye, but that was the price.

Very tasty! I marinated it in oil, lemon juice, red onion, dill and thyme for about 20-25 mins at room temp, then baked it with the marinade poured over and a little bit of salt and pepper added.