Fat Salmon

Being back from college, the boys wanted grilled salmon for dinner last night - not something offered at school very often I'd guess. I went to the local seafood shop and bought what looked like some nice filets but they were farmed, not wild caught. They looked nicely "marbled" (a term I usually reserve for beef).
Well, they were too marbled, actually more fat in some places than flesh. Even well dome, they were not firm but soft and not real appetizing. This is something that I blame on the salmon being farm raised. What I bought was essentially a couch potato fish that's been eating chips, drinking soda and watching TV all day long - fat and lazy.
Anyone else seeing this more often? No more farm raised for me.

[Jenise]

"Couch potato fish" got me laughing out loud, Jon. That's priceless.

I've just not liked the taste of farmed salmon, all other considerations aside. Robin once reported cooking, as a test, farmed salmon, wild sockey and wild king side by side. I dont' recall whether they preferred the kind to the sockeye or other way around, but I do remember they found they couldn't eat the farmed after tasting the others, and more telling (and funny), neither could their cats.

"... neither could their cats.

Now that's proof positive right there!

Anyone else seeing this more often? No more farm raised for me.

Great description, Jon. Yes, we've seen that fattiness of farmed salmon, too, along with the huge amounts of albumin (that white stuff) exuded by farmed salmon as it cooks. We now buy wild-caught exclusively and feel fortunate that even here in the middest Midwest we can get good wild-caught Pacific salmon in season. This weekend I smoked a side of wild-caught King Chinook, my all-time favorite Pacific salmon.

Mark Lipton

This weekend I smoked a side of wild-caught King Chinook, my all-time favorite Pacific salmon.

That sounds good, Mark. As often as not, salmon is not identified here in the mid-Atlantic. I guess it depends on where one goes to buy.
Any particular beverage/wine with the smoked salmon - smoked fish can be a tough match?

I'm not sure if proximity has anything to do with it, but we have never had a problem with farmed raised salmon. We usually grill fillets, and have not had a problem with fat or white ooze.

All the other problems I have with farmed salmon notwithstanding, they actually possess more omega-3s than wild salmon as a result of the fish meal they're fed. And, yes, that makes them fatter.

Cage rattling time: Ask your fish monger if your wild salmon has been injected with sodium tripolyphosphate.

[Jenise]

Any particular beverage/wine with the smoked salmon - smoked fish can be a tough match?

Not at all! Look no further than riesling. A good bubbly is no slouch either.

[quoteCage rattling time: Ask your fish monger if your wild salmon has been injected with sodium tripolyphosphate][/quote]
This chemical is used in scallops...I have tried to find dry scallops here but no one seems to know what I am talking about. As far as the farmed salmon goes....I don't buy it anymore or any farmed fish. Raley's has a great fish dept. even better than our local fish monger, who claims to get wild caught, but his fish is stinky. I buy in season, fish, and when I do find a frozen brand that is good, I buy that. Costco has some nice frozen Tilapia that is individually frozen and wrapped. It makes good fish tacos.

[quoteCage rattling time: Ask your fish monger if your wild salmon has been injected with sodium tripolyphosphate]

This chemical is used in scallops...I have tried to find dry scallops here but no one seems to know what I am talking about. As far as the farmed salmon goes....I don't buy it anymore or any farmed fish. Raley's has a great fish dept. even better than our local fish monger, who claims to get wild caught, but his fish is stinky. I buy in season, fish, and when I do find a frozen brand that is good, I buy that. Costco has some nice frozen Tilapia that is individually frozen and wrapped. It makes good fish tacos.[/quote]

Yes, it is commonly used in scallops. Don't seem to have any problem finding "dry" scallops out here, though.

I mention it in regard to the salmon because I have seen some of the fishermen talking about losing weight and they were discussing adding it to their catch to preserve weight and compete with the farm raised stuff.

Well, did you try and discourage them? Weight is already added to some of our meats, hamburger especially, it is disgusting to see all that water coming out when browning. The meat turns color and does not brown well. My success rate with recipes that I cooked 30 years ago is declining and I am now thinking it has to do with the quality of the ingredients.
I've almost converted 100% to organic raised meats. Very expensive, however.

"... neither could their cats.

Now that's proof positive right there!

My wife used to work as a waitress in a local eatery that served Friday night fish fries (haddock). When she came home, she smelled like a fish fry and all 5 of the cats would be waiting for her at the back door (I think they could smell her as she pulled in the driveway), as she would always bring home fish scraps for them. After working there a few years, new owners bought the place and decided to cut costs by switching to another fish market. Not only did their Friday night business drop by 80% within 2 weeks, but our cats wouldn't eat the scraps.

Cindy and I have been avoiding farm-raised salmon for a few years now. That fattier composition just does not taste good unless you mask the taste with a sauce of some sort. Also, I believe the fish are fed food coloring to get color in their flesh. Wild salmon pick up that pinkish hue from eating krill in the ocean.....not available in the pens.

Last summer I laughed to myself one night at Costco. There, in the fish case, was a lot of farm-raised salmon at $6.99 per pound....and folks were snapping up the packages willy-nilly. While ignoring the wild salmon next to it, going for $9.99 per pound. Which I proceeded to snap up.

Cindy and I have been avoiding farm-raised salmon for a few years now. That fattier composition just does not taste good unless you mask the taste with a sauce of some sort. Also, I believe the fish are fed food coloring to get color in their flesh. Wild salmon pick up that pinkish hue from eating krill in the ocean.....not available in the pens.

Not food coloring, Mike (or at least the kind we normally think of). Most farm-raised salmon is fed the same colorant (astaxanthin) that wild salmon get from the krill. Hoffmann-Laroche, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant, supplies synthetic astaxanthin (a carotenoid) to those farming operations.

Last summer I laughed to myself one night at Costco. There, in the fish case, was a lot of farm-raised salmon at $6.99 per pound....and folks were snapping up the packages willy-nilly. While ignoring the wild salmon next to it, going for $9.99 per pound. Which I proceeded to snap up.

Great price for wild-caught salmon, Mike.

Mark Lipton

Made gravlox a couple of weeks ago with Orkey Island farmed salmon. Instead of taking the tail pieces I took the main body portion of two fillets. The white fat on the bottom of both pieces was really tough to remove. The fat went partially up the sides of the fillets and covered the flesh with a layer of white fat. I was not pleased with the outcome. The fat covered areas proved impossible for me to remove the fat covering. I finally just cut them off entirely. However, my Chesapeake did enjoy them.

My rationale for trying to use fillets with that much fat was to see what the flavor outcome was. With the exception of those over layer sections the gravlox was very nummy. Fatty fish is not all bad. I love Toro and Chutoro and purchase it when ever I can at our local fish store, Coastal Seafoods.

Coastal Seafoods have their fish flown in and sell wholesale to most of the 'better" eateries around the Twin Cities. After eating fish from Coastal for a number of years it is difficult to buy "fresh" fish at the local supermarkets. There is such a difference.

The big problem with the not "dry" scallops sold many places is that if you wish to pan sear or saute them you end up with lots of watery goo under each scallop. This goo seems to prevent them from browning quickly. They saturate the scallops to the point of up to 25% of their weight. These sell for about $12 a lb. Fresh "dry scallops sell for about $18 a pound. Deduct this weight loss and the price of the scallops previously frozen saturated scallops isn't such a good deal.

The big problem with the not "dry" scallops sold many places is that if you wish to pan sear or saute them you end up with lots of watery goo under each scallop. This goo seems to prevent them from browning quickly.

Exactly - I don't use the word 'hate' much, but I do hate it when the heat causes the scallops to give up all this liquid as you try to give a nice sear to them. I try to use the Weber more often but sometimes that's just not practical. I sure wish dry or day-boat scallops were a little easier to get a hold of.