King Salmon Ideas?

[Dave]

Hi all,

Since there hasn't been a culinary post in a while I thought I'd ask the experts.

Is it just me or is King salmon fatty and very oily? I don't have a lot of King salmon eating experience and I'm not complaining. I feel very fortunate to have caught such a nice fish recently. That said, I have had two pieces of the king I caught last Monday and both fillets had a fatty flavor and an oily texture. I am cooking the fillets on the BBQ, in foil, uncovered, and topped with fresh onion and seasonings. I am trying to keep it healthy so I am using the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray (which isn't bad at all) instead of real butter and I have refrained from coating it with brown sugar type mixtures which I love but don't use these days.

So I am curious to know if there are any healthy cooking alternatives/methods to cooking King salmon that might reduce the fatty flavor and oily texture.

Thanks in advance everyone and please don't get me wrong. It's good eating fish, just not quite as good in my opinion as the silver and pink salmon I have caught in the salt this year. Thanks again.

Dave

[fishing collector]

Hi Dave, :chef: When I cook salmon on the grill I never put the salmon on foil with fake butter, use oilve oil. It will make the fish oily and not have that BBQ flavor. You might as well put it in a pan in the oven. When grilling salmon, pre-heat the grill and oil it so the salmon won't stick and then start with the meat side down , then when cooked 1/3 to 1/2 the way thru turn it over to the skin side down and finish until the fish is flaky and cooked almost thru....about 95% will make the fish very moist and not dried out. As for a flavoring that I like is some granulated Garlic and onion along with some fresh or dried dill or tarragon. I use olive oil spritzed on instead of some other spray. I can't Believe it's Not Butter has a lot of water in it and will cause the oily taste. By using the olive oil you can still reduce the carbs and the calories so it is not to bad. Another way I like to cook 3 to 5lb Salmon is to slice it in 4 to 6oz portions put it in a pan along with a large sweet onion sliced and a red and yellow bell pepper sliced (a green pepper is pretty strong so you can add it if you want to) and a lemon sliced along with a T/S of fresh Garlic...Crushed. Now add Prepared canned Beef broth and white wine 50/50 (Grey Riesling works well) to cover and heat but don't boil,until the fish is done and flaky. Temp should be about 160 to 170.max to cook and you can keep the fish ready for a long time as long as the temp is reduced and never is over 140 degrees. Great recipe for serving to a big crowd. Adjust the amount of veggies to cover the fish and liquids to just cover it all and either cook in oven or on top or BBQ to heat. I catered for 20 years and this was well liked by all. It is a low calorie dish. There are hundreds of ways to cook salmon and as long as you don't go overboard with the oils or coatings the calories will stay low. One last salmon recipe calls for salmon cut in 6oz portions and covered with yellow and green zucchini and onion and a can of Italian stewed tomato pieces and if wanted a cup of white wine( optional). Salt and pepper to taste along with garlic crushed to taste. Put everything in a pan and bring to just a boil and reduce heat to simmer and cook until the fish is flaky. (about 8-10 minutes) Serve with veggies under the fish on a plate. Very Tasty!
Good luck to you, Steve

[wolverine]

Kings due have a very high oil content that a lot of us prefer to the milder less oily salmon. What I do to cut down on the stronger flavor is to skin the fish and cut away the dark flesh on the skin side. I make a marinade of lime juice, peanut oil, dill weed, crushed garlic, black pepper, and a few red pepper flakes. Mix it well and put in a zip lock bag with the salmon. Get as much air as possible out of the bag and let marinade for 30 to 45 minutes. Remove the salmon from the marinade and let it set for 20 minutes at room temperature. I use a fish basket so the fish doesn't break apart while cooking and turning. I put a few slices of onion and citrus (lime or lemon or orange) in the wire basket, put the fish on top of the slices, repeat with onion and citrus on top of the fish, then close the basket. You can also spray the wire with Pam before putting in the fish and citrus to make cleanup easier. If you like a little smoke flavor (also cuts down on the oily taste) make a foil tray and fill with alder or apple chips (I use the Little Chief chips) and put on top of a few charcoal briquettes, or if using a gas grill (shame!) place next to a burner. Wait until the chips start smoking and then place the fish basket on the grill. Try to avoid placing the fish directly over the chips if possible. Drizzle a little of the leftover marinade over the fish as it will add flavor and help keep the fish moist. Don't put so much on that it puts out the fire! A little goes a long way. I normally flip the basket over every 4 minutes to get even cooking. Normally salmon cooks in about 10 minutes to the inch. Don't over cook! Pull the fish off the heat when its still not quite cooked all the way through as residual heat will finish the cooking. Just put it on a platter, cover it with foil and bring it to the table. If you cook it until its done all the way through and is bubbling white protein you've over cooked it. I only salt the fish after it comes off the grill and then just sprinkle it with kosher salt. As Alton Brown would say. "Good eats".

[Dave]

Wow you guys. Thanks so much for all the great information and ideas. I really appreciate it. I am fortunate this year to have a decent amount of salmon in the freezer (all food saver packaged) and I will eat it 2 or 3 times a week until it's gone. I just wasn't sure if there was something I could do to make the King salmon just a little better. It's a very nice eating fish but just a bit fatty tasting which is why I thought I would ask. You guys came through and I thank you both for it. I look forward to anyone else who would like to share their ideas as well. Thanks again Fishing Collector and Wolverine.

[racfish]

King (chinook) are really the only salmon I eat.I grew up in the fish business besides the drapery business. The beauty of eating a nice piece of salmon is simplicity.I prefer my salmon with salt, pepper,onions and fresh lemon juice.The fattiness of a chinook is the flavor and nice texture.To me if I want a sauce or a marinated salmon then I use the cohos or sockeyes.I prefer my kings pretty natural.

[Dave]

I also like the idea of keeping it simple Rac. I appreciate your reply.