RCP: king salmon filet with lemon butter caper sauce

Decided to break into some of the king salmon that we caught in Alaska this summer. It's a strongly flavored fish and I was in the mood to a) use up some of the stuff in the refrigerator and b) make a nice sauce.

2 frozen alaska king salmon filets (probably about 3 lbs total)
EVOO
S &P
leftover homemade chicken broth, relatively low salt
half a small jar capers
1 lonesome leek
1 lemon leftover from some other project. Zest the lemon and squeeze the juice.
1 can of water chestnuts (as above)
1 bottle white wine (in this case 2000 cour-cheverny Loire white) see WTN on the other side
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour

Thaw the fish in the fridge, when almost thawed brush with EVOO, sea salt and fresh pepper and put back in the fridge for an hour or so.

Heat a skillet and throw in a splash of EVOO. Slice the leek and cook until soft. Sear the salmon ( non-skin side down) for about 2 minutes or so. Remove the fish to a clean dish and deglaze the pan with a splash (maybe 1/2 cup or so) of wine. Cook the wine down to almost a syrup. Add the fish back and add some leftover chicken broth so it comes up about 1/2 way on the fish. Cover and turn the heat way down to poach for about 20 minutes or so. Meantime, make a roux in a saucepan with the flour and butter. Cook for 5 minutes or so, don't be afraid to let a little color into the roux the fish will stand up to it.

When the fish is done ( cut into the thickest part to check) remove to a dish and keep warm by covering with foil. Add about 1/2 cup wine and 1/2 cup chicken broth and mix and bring to a boil. Strain this liquid into the roux, whisking all the while. Add the lemon juice, zest ,capers and water chestnuts ( I threw these in for the texture). Mix well, test for salt and pepper.

Put a couple of tablespoons of sauce on a plate and add a piece of salmon. I served this with peas ( nice color) and fresh homemade baguette. The strong salmon flavor blended beautifully with the lemon/caper/butter sauce. Very satisfying meal indeed. Oh, and the wine absolutely sang with the salmon and the sauce.

Howard,
Whenever I buy fresh fish at Whole Foods, they tell me not to keep it frozen over 30 days. My husband wants to go to Alaska fishing and if he brings back as many pounds as they say I wonder how long we can keep is frozen?
Did you have any problem with yours being frozen longer than thirty days?

The fish that we caught was vacuum packed and flash frozen within hours of being caught. I was told at the lodge that it will last up to a year. I can tell you that the king that we ate last night (now 7 weeks old) was fabulous. Wonderful very fresh texture. I think different rules apply to commercially caught fish, possibly due to the length of time between being caught and being frozen. Also, the "fresh" fish you buy, even at the most careful store, has almost certainly already been frozen at least once. When you consider that most commercial fishing boats are out for longer than a couple of days, something has to be done to preserve the fish caught early in the outing. My understanding is that even fish labelled "fresh" has been frozen until the boat can return to port for unloading.

Our smoked pinks arrived (frozen) last week. OMG are they good.

I did buy a separate small tub freezer just for the halibut, rockfish, kings, and smoked pinks that we caught on our trip (nearly 100lbs fish total).

Hope that helps