Fresh Copper River Sockeye Salmon Fillets

[mudbug]

LOL, Mish. Mostly I made room in the freezer for now (I know, I just blew it with that move, but couldn't be helped. I was hoping (and bet correctly) that iron chef would come up with some good idea. Not that I can match his skill................

I was thinking about a kind of cool, cucumbery type sauce, though. Got anything like that, IC?

 

[mish]

Constance posted an excellent Dill sauce, if you do a search, I recall her recipe was posted recently, & I posted an all in one dish - salmon, red potatoes and asparagus.

 

[ironchef]

Your wish is my command:

Cucumber-Lime Vinaigrette

Yield: Approx. 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

1/2 c. Japanese Cucumbers, cut into 1/4" dice
1/2 c. Vine Ripened Tomato, seeds removed and cut into 1/4" dice
2/3 c. Salad Oil
1/3 c. Rice Vinegar
2 Tbsp. Fresh Lime Juice
1 tsp. Fresh Ginger, grated
2 tsp. Fresh Mint, minced
2 tsp. Fresh Parsley, minced
1 tsp. White Sugar
Kosher Salt to taste
Fresh Cracked Pepper to taste

Method:

In a mixing bowl, combine the vinegar, lime juice, sugar, and sugar. Whisk together until the sugar is dissolved. Slowly add the salad oil and whisk until emulsified. Fold in the tomato, cucumber, fresh herbs, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

[mudbug]

thanks all (iron chef, first I inspire you and now you obey my commands - has the earth moved somewhere???!!!)

mish, I think I saw both your and Connie's recipes. You guys never steer me wrong, so will check it out further. I had been thinking of dill and cucumber.

Will research further and attempt something this weekend, with a full after action report, of course.

 

[Alix]

Found mine. Wild West Salmon. In this recipe we have discovered that blended whiskey simply will not do. It must be the good stuff. Mudbug, are you listening? Trust me on this one. I used Canadian CC, which is different from the stuff you folks get down yonder.

Hey mudbug, I think this sounds like a Dine with Us idea. Pick a date for a Salmon night and we will all do salmon with you and share our successes.

 

[mudbug]

That's a great idea, Alix. Just checked the calendar and this weekend is not looking good for leisurely experimenting.

Friday night we have to dispatch and fetch the kid from a party.

Saturday is out because we are helping a friend break in her new tiki bar - sure to be a longish affair, eating lots of appys and drinking beaucoup booze.

Sunday seems to be the best day for me, but it's also Father's Day and I'm pretty sure HH will want to eat a big hunk o' something that used to run around on four hooves.

arrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhh - can I get back to you? My fishies are breathing frozen air right now, so they can wait a bit longer.

 

[Alix]

Sunday seems to be the best day for me, but it's also Father's Day and I'm pretty sure HH will want to eat a big hunk o' something that used to run around on four hooves.

Yep, that seems to be the menu of choice on Sunday. If I were a cow I would be pretty concerned come June!

You just post that thread whenever you are ready to experiment and we will all jump right in. Ok, I know I will jump in anyway. I am always happy to have an excuse to do a salmon.

 

[mudbug]

Deal. My kid is like yours and hates salmon, so she will have pb&j whenever I get it together to make mine.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Well, I just now returned from Safeway, & boy, am I disappointed!!!!!

Yes, they did have the wild Copper River Salmon filets (for $10.99 a pound here), but they looked AWFUL. With emphasis on the AWFUL. They had about 6-8 side filets, all with the flesh already separating. The very worst was the center of each filet was downright gushy/gooey. It made me ill just to look at them. I truly feel sorry for anyone not familiar with buying fresh fish who purchases these, because it could put them off fish for good.

So, no salmon dinner here tonight. I ended up buying some nice-looking vacuum-packed yellowfin tuna steaks, which I plan on doing with an Asian-style baste/marinade & serving with a side of ramen noodles mixed with grated zucchini & carrot & Asian seasonings.

 

[ironchef]

Well, I just now returned from Safeway, & boy, am I disappointed!!!!!

Yes, they did have the wild Copper River Salmon filets (for $10.99 a pound here), but they looked AWFUL. With emphasis on the AWFUL. They had about 6-8 side filets, all with the flesh already separating. The very worst was the center of each filet was downright gushy/gooey. It made me ill just to look at them. I truly feel sorry for anyone not familiar with buying fresh fish who purchases these, because it could put them off fish for good.

So, no salmon dinner here tonight. I ended up buying some nice-looking vacuum-packed yellowfin tuna steaks, which I plan on doing with an Asian-style baste/marinade & serving with a side of ramen noodles mixed with grated zucchini & carrot & Asian seasonings.

You should've brought it to the attention of the manager in charge of the seafood department. At the very least they should've stuck some of those dollar-amount discount stickers on the fish if they weren't going to pull them.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Ironchef - I did mention that the fish looked really sad, but the manager wasn't there at the time - not that it would have done a lot of good. Over the years I've found that Safeway is one supermarket that knows less than nothing about seafood. And a discount wouldn't have made any difference. The fish was clearly WAY past its prime. The centers looked downright rotten.

On a cheerier note - I just recently returned from my local gourmet/organic market where I picked up a pound of absolutely GORGEOUS wild Copper River Sockeye salmon ($15.99 per pound) that looked as fresh & pristine as all getout. This particular market gets their seafood from the same purveyor who supplies The Inn At Little Washington, which is about 30 minutes from me & has been rated one of the top restaurants in the WORLD. So obviously the seafood I buy from there is always terrific.

While at the market, I also picked up lovely Belgian endive, dill, baby bok choi, tiny fingerling potatoes, & baby red onion scallions.

I'm thinking that tonight I'll broil the salmon topped with lemon-dill butter & serve it with the endive - Garlic/balsamic-vinegar braised.