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Majesty of the King Salmon

Articles in this issue: Note from Captain Dennis New Southeast Alaska Cruising Map Seymour Canal Trip - Only One Cabin Left For the Love of Herring Five Finger Lighthouse Update Featured Petersburg Lodging - A Guest House at Waters Edge Friends of Admiralty Island Recipe - Salmon with Salsa Verde Hail to the Herring A very nice printable version of this newsletter that can be read in entirety or saved for reference is available here: SpringASANews2008.pdf (2.2MB PDF file)

Since this is our spring edition of our newsletter and as the season for winter king salmon nears it’s peak, it’s only appropriate to feature a King Salmon recipe. There is not seafood to be found anywhere in the world that presents a flavor as sweet and rich to the palate than the delectable fresh winter king salmon.

Winter caught Chinook or King Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) is one, if not the best, if not the absolute best tasting and succulent fish in the world. Please don’t misunderstand us, all wild salmon are great, but the winter king is really extraordinarily exceptional. In order to present this recipe correctly, we’ll need to ‘let the cat out of the bag’ so to speak. Commercially caught between October and the end of April in Southeast Alaska, these “kings” of salmon feed on a diet rich in squid, which differs from their diet the remainder of the year, raising the oil content as well as giving the flesh a sweeter flavor. Only during the winter do squid abundantly move into the waters of Alaska’s Inside Passage and become a choice prey for

king salmon which normally feed on Pacific herring, sand lance, shrimp and other smaller crustaceans. Because of the very limited commercial fishery for winter caught Chinook or King Salmon, they are a very rare breed and perhaps one of the most difficult and expensive of all seafood to obtain, especially fresh. The entire winter Chinook catch is limited to only 45,000 fish which seems like a lot but compared to the 200 million plus salmon that are harvested in Alaska during the commercial summer season, one realizes how truly rare and special this majestic salmon really is.The ultra Omega 3 rich winter king salmon are a very highly prized and well guarded local delight of residents of Southeast Alaska and those few others in the know. King salmon stocks are carefully managed by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game and remain sustainably harvested specie.

Salmon with Salsa Verde Craig Stoll at Delfina Restaurant in San Francisco serves this salmon dish with cranberry beans and Blue Lake or yellow wax beans. Serves 4 Salsa Verde: 1 shallot, minced 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar 2 anchovy fillets 2 garlic cloves, chopped 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint 1 tablespoon minced capers 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 4 salmon fillets, 6 oz. each, skin on salt, pepper and extra olive oil Photo by Terrence McCarthy Combine the shallot and vinegar in a non-reactive bowl and let stand for 30 minutes. With a mortar and pestle, work the anchovy and garlic to a fine paste. Transfer the paste to a bowl. Crush the herbs and add to the anchovy paste. Stir in the capers. Drain the shallots (reserving vinegar); add them to the sauce. Stir in the olive oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding salt or reserved vinegar as desired. Set aside salsa verde. Preheat the oven to 325° F. Brush salmon with oil; season with salt and pepper. Set the fillets on a baking sheet, skin side down. Bake for 15 minutes or until salmon flakes slightly. The salmon will remain translucent, appearing less cooked than it is. If desired, cook a few minutes longer. Lift the salmon using a thin spatula to leave the skin behind. Drizzle the salmon with the salsa verde.