Copper River Salmon season is here....

I love salmon, so two years ago when I heard about Copper River Salmon, I purchased some. I was not impressed and all I can recall is that is was very oily, fatty, and not the taste I love with regular salmon. Usually we grill our fish, so I am assuming that is what we did. I'd like to try it again... any tried and true ways to prepare it?

I love salmon, so two years ago when I heard about Copper River Salmon, I purchased some. I was not impressed and all I can recall is that is was very oily, fatty, and not the taste I love with regular salmon. Usually we grill our fish, so I am assuming that is what we did. I'd like to try it again... any tried and true ways to prepare it?

Copper River salmon should, if properly labeled, not be fatty beyond the normal fat of a salmon. It should be wild caught Coho salmon, with a dark orange (salmon?) colored, firm flesh. My favorite preparation of it is to grill it on an alderwood plank, giving it a subtle, smoky flavor. All things considered, though, I find Copper River salmon overrated and much prefer the later run of King Chinook. YMMV, of course.

Mark Lipton

[Jenise]

A couple of clarifications: there are TWO salmon species that run in the Copper River, red, also known as sockeye, and kings (also called Chinook). Coho, also called silvers, do not. The sockeye's, which are small salmon in the 3-5 lb range, have very little fat, silvers have a moderate amount, and the huge kings have the most. The sockeyes come in first and will be followed by the kings in about 4-6 weeks. In Alaska, where I have lived, the preferred names are sockeye, silver and king.

Karen: copper river salmon are prized for their rich flavor. But as Mark says they're not neccessarily fattier. What you probably got was the King, where it sounds like you would be a perfect candidate for the sockeye. But you might have not gotten a perfectly fresh piece of fish either, and it's entirely possible that what you bought labeled Copper River wasn't. There's been some talk that more Copper River salmon gets sold than there is actually salmon in the Copper River.

The way we prepare wild salmon (be it king or sockeye) is this: Use only fillets from the thick part, butter the skin (don't skimp), place on hot pan, cook for two minutes, transfer to 400f oven for three-five minutes (depending on how you like your salmon). I usually add a sauce after plating but it could be just a simple vinaigrette (mustard+red wine vinegar, olive oil).

If the fish is very fatty, I skip the sauce, but I season the salmon with some ground coriander before cooking.

Buttering the skin will make it very crisp, I do not turn the fish.

A couple of clarifications: there are TWO salmon species that run in the Copper River, red, also known as sockeye, and kings (also called Chinook). Coho, also called silvers, do not. The sockeye's, which are small salmon in the 3-5 lb range, have very little fat, silvers have a moderate amount, and the huge kings have the most. The sockeyes come in first and will be followed by the kings in about 4-6 weeks. In Alaska, where I have lived, the preferred names are sockeye, silver and king.

I can promise you I've cooked more salmon than anyone in this forum.

As I have always understood it the cohos do run - just later in the year.

And I do think there's a certain amount of shuck and jive in this designation. I suspect part of the reason this "brand" came about is the fact that the salmon run is so prolific and can (so far) be counted on year to year. I see no reason the fish from this river would be any better or worse than the wild fish from any other relatively clean environment.

A couple of clarifications: there are TWO salmon species that run in the Copper River, red, also known as sockeye, and kings (also called Chinook). Coho, also called silvers, do not. The sockeye's, which are small salmon in the 3-5 lb range, have very little fat, silvers have a moderate amount, and the huge kings have the most. The sockeyes come in first and will be followed by the kings in about 4-6 weeks. In Alaska, where I have lived, the preferred names are sockeye, silver and king.

Ack!! Right you are, Jenise. My bad. Right now should be the sockeye run. King Chinook should follow soon and Coho later in the season.

Karen: copper river salmon are prized for their rich flavor. But as Mark says they're not neccessarily fattier. What you probably got was the King, where it sounds like you would be a perfect candidate for the sockeye. But you might have not gotten a perfectly fresh piece of fish either, and it's entirely possible that what you bought labeled Copper River wasn't. There's been some talk that more Copper River salmon gets sold than there is actually salmon in the Copper River.

In my experience, farmed salmon is typically fattier than the wild-caught. And, yes, I've been off salmon labeled "Copper River" for some years now, as it reminds me all too much of the Jamaican "Blue Mountain" coffee craze of the '80s: too much product and not enough quality control.

Mark Lipton

Raley's always gets the Copper River Salmon, and I am wondering if it was farmed. I always ask and the fish guys are very good about telling me when the fish is, indeed, farmed. I never knowingly by it. I will try it again and ask more questions. Thanks

[Jenise]

Raley's always gets the Copper River Salmon, and I am wondering if it was farmed. I always ask and the fish guys are very good about telling me when the fish is, indeed, farmed. I never knowingly by it. I will try it again and ask more questions. Thanks

Copper River salmon is wild salmon, period, Karen. It's caught in Alaska's Copper River. Farmed salmon's from somewhere else.

[Jenise]

I can promise you I've cooked more salmon than anyone in this forum.

As I have always understood it the cohos do run - just later in the year.

And I do think there's a certain amount of shuck and jive in this designation. I suspect part of the reason this "brand" came about is the fact that the salmon run is so prolific and can (so far) be counted on year to year. I see no reason the fish from this river would be any better or worse than the wild fish from any other relatively clean environment.

You certainly have, Chef, no argument. All I bring to it is that I lived in Alaska long before Copper River salmon became a brand known to every salmon eater in America, and the CR fishery catch was well known and anticipated by locals. It truly had a richer color and taste that stood out. But it's possible that some of that richness doesn't travel to market in the way that Alaskan halibut is never as good here as it has been there. Every day takes a toll.

[Jenise]

Btw, you guys are absolutely right about there being CR silver/Coho. I honestly--well, obviously--don't remember it. And silver is my favorite salmon of all, I'd have paid attention but I just don't remember any silver being sold based on the specific river it came out of. Anyway, I've been on the phone with the Copper River Marketing Association in Anchorage getting straightened out on all this, and it looks like I've got myself invited to the welcoming bash at SeaTac tomorrow to welcome the plane that Alaska Airlines has all painted up like a big fish just for this Opening Day-like event.

Btw, you guys are absolutely right about there being CR silver/Coho. I honestly--well, obviously--don't remember it. And silver is my favorite salmon of all, I'd have paid attention but I just don't remember any silver being sold based on the specific river it came out of. Anyway, I've been on the phone with the Copper River Marketing Association in Anchorage getting straightened out on all this, and it looks like I've got myself invited to the welcoming bash at SeaTac tomorrow to welcome the plane that Alaska Airlines has all painted up like a big fish just for this Opening Day-like event.

Way cool, Jenise! Silvers are both Sockeye and Chinook? If so, I'll agree with you, but my preference is for King Chinook, though I won't toss any of them out of bed for eating crackers (and well that I wouldn't: can you imagine what an enraged salmon might do?) I hope that they have some tasty canapés for the opening event.

Mark Lipton

[Jenise]

Btw, you guys are absolutely right about there being CR silver/Coho. I honestly--well, obviously--don't remember it. And silver is my favorite salmon of all, I'd have paid attention but I just don't remember any silver being sold based on the specific river it came out of. Anyway, I've been on the phone with the Copper River Marketing Association in Anchorage getting straightened out on all this, and it looks like I've got myself invited to the welcoming bash at SeaTac tomorrow to welcome the plane that Alaska Airlines has all painted up like a big fish just for this Opening Day-like event.

Way cool, Jenise! Silvers are both Sockeye and Chinook? If so, I'll agree with you, but my preference is for King Chinook, though I won't toss any of them out of bed for eating crackers (and well that I wouldn't: can you imagine what an enraged salmon might do?) I hope that they have some tasty canapés for the opening event.

Mark Lipton

'King' and 'Chinook' are interchangeable words for the same fish. 'King' is the word used in Alaska, and 'Chinook' is the Indian name used here in Washington/Oregon. 'Silver' = Coho. And 'Sockeye' vs. 'Red'. Because I learned about salmon in Alaska (before that, salmon was just salmon, though I preferred the Norwegian Kings I used to sometimes find at Bristol Farms) when I lived there, I use the Alaskan names and have to struggle to remember what they mean here when they use the Indian names. But yes I like silvers the best. Fattier and larger than the reds but more manageably sized than the kings makes them the better all-around, all-purpose salmon. Best for smoking, too.

I once caught a 44 lb king.

[Jenise]

Oh, and I didn't go to the event. My name's on the list for the VIP tent, if you can believe that, but I would have had to leave here at 4:30 a.m. and I didn't sleep well enough to be able to do that. The way it goes is that the plane lands at 6:45 a.m. They have a ceremony on the tarmac for the TV cameras and then the first fish, which will be a king, will be handed off to three well-known Seattle area chefs and whisked off to the tent where it will be divided three ways, and each will prepare a dish to be submitted to three judges and then shared among the guests. I was so excited I couldn't sleep! I'm surprised I'm already up now.