Salmon


 
Jerry N.

Jerry N.

TVWBB Emerald Member
I've never been a fish eater however, I've recently changed my diet and I am interested in trying some salmon. Not sure if I'm going to grill it or smoke it or what, but the more important question is where to get good salmon. I live in Michigan so I can't go to the dock and get today's catch. I'd like to get really good salmon and I'm not too worried about whether it is fresh or frozen. I'm thinking frozen would be best given the shipping that is necessary to get it to Michigan. So my question is - can you help me figure out how best to acquire some salmon? There are stores near buy like Costco, Wholefoods, TraderJoes . . . and I can certainly mail order. Also, if there are certain things I should keep in mind when looking at/for salmon please let me know. Keep in mind, I want really good salmon. I can experiment later, but I figure to get started eating something new, I should start with a very good product.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
Jerry,TJs has frozen salmon. Not bad,but nothing like fresh! Whole Foods would probably be your best for fresh. Costco might save you a couple bucks,but I think the WF would be bet quality overall. HTH
 
One thing I like about Costco's is their big slabs have no scales at all.... I'm not sure how the quality compares but it's what I get most of the time.
 
Up here Costco had WILD and Organic (ranched) salmon last week. They were excellent. Of course nothing beats fresh, wild, but that is not always easy to get everywhere.
 
Just don't go farm raised. My local Harris Teeter has salmon that sometimes looks insanely good and sometimes looks like mush. Whole Foods consistently has great looking salmon. But it is also consistently VERY expensive. Same goes for Wegman's. You have to find your happy medium between fresh/organic/cheap. The price can vary from 10 or 11 dollars a pound, up to 24. Like I said though, go fresh caught and not farm raised, and find your 'happy place' from there.
 
Thanks. I think I'll try Whole Foods first. I'm not too concerned about the price given the small amount I plan on buying. I'm more concerned that I get good salmon so I can better judge whether or not I even like it. If I start on the lower end, I may conclude that I don't like salmon when really I just got a bad piece of fish. I think next, I will try Costco. On their web site, they have Trident Seafoods® Wild Sockeye Salmon. It frozen so I'm guessing they have it in the store. Between the two, it would seem I'll be giving salmon a fair evaluation.

Now I just need to do some reading to learn how to cook this stuff. :)
 
Did you know that Tuna that goes for thousands of dollars is most always frozen? Flash freezing does no damage to fish or shellfish. As a matter of fact most of the seafood we eat has been flash frozen on the boat before it gets to the dock. This is so the can stay out fishing for a longer time and therefore maximize the catch. Simple economics. A lot of the seafood these days is flash frozen and then thawed to put on the display case.

It doesn't really matter that much if it done well. Just get a good fish monger that knows what they are doing and you can't go wrong. I live in Florida and a lot of times I eat flash frozen Red Snapper and it is hard to tell the difference. And I have caught A LOT of snapper myself and cooked it that same day...
 
I haven't been disappointed in the salmon at Costco in ann arbor. They have both fresh and frozen.

Plus, we tried some sockeye salmon a while back at Meijer - also had no complaints.
 
I smoke 'salmon' almost every Sunday for lunches during the week. Acuually we get the steelhead from Costco as the meat is firmer and it stay together better and comes apart in flakes when smoked. Even my wife whom is not a 'salmon' fan likes it so much she won't share with her lunchmates. (teachers)
I spray with VOO then use black mushroom powder, Cavenders Greek Salt-free seasoning and then a light sprinkle of Johnny Alaska seasoning. Got to be careful as it gets too salty mighty fast. Smoke 2-2.5 hrs at 225 in an 18.5" WSM and you have lunches for 2 all week. Serve with rice seasoned with chili sesame oil, granulated garlic (vampire protection) and some regular Cavenders. Smells great in the mic at work and everyone wants to know what it is...Salmon can be left cold or heated, up to you.
This year I had my best physical exam in 20 years, cholesterol at 145, glucose 93 and BP 116/71 at 59 yrs old, salmon helps!!
(so do the weekly 125 miles racked up bike riding)
 
any ideas on your first recipe? Sometimes I'll just slice a couple pieces 6-8oz each, season with walkerswood jerk paste (I used to use salt & a jerk powder), throw it in the oven (I know, I know) on the upper rack with a sheet of foil on the lower rack to catch the drippings, set it at 400+ for 15-20 minutes. That's one :)

I really like Chris' recipe: Salmon - Brined Appetizer Style


 
Lemon, garlic and soya. (Add some lemon pepper if you are adventurous) Grill on med-high for 10 minutes/each (split over each side)
 
I ended up getting some frozen sockeye salmon from Costco. They had fresh, but it was all farm raised. If one can believe the label, this said wild caught sockeye salmon. Now I have to figure out how to cook it. I'm thinking about grilling (versus smoking) because I have a old 18" Weber grill that I never use and I could easily see it becoming the fish grill. I could also see me using it like a smoker given that it doesn't appear that you really have to smoke salmon that long. I smoked ribs on a 18" Weber before I had my WSM. Wish me luck.
 
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