Six Days of Salmon
Jul 17th, 2009 | By Hank | Category: Asian, Fish, Italian | Comments | 20 Comments |
Salmon, especially king salmon, are the pigs of the aquatic world. Large, fatty, with significant differences in flavor from cut to cut, the salmon is, like pork, equally good fresh or cured.
And if there is a fish you can get all nose-to-tail on, it is the chinook. After Holly and I caught three gorgeous spring-run kings in the Trinity River last weekend, we decided to dispense with the fillets (they went straight into the freezer) and wallow for a week in the “nasty bits.”
As my friend Josh and other readers have pointed out, there really aren’t any truly nasty bits on a salmon, but what I’m talking about are the pieces many anglers toss into the river: heads, collars, bellies and bones.
These parts are quite possibly the best cuts on a salmon, as they are fattier and have a more interesting texture and flavor than straight-up fillets — and those fillets are themselves spectacular Let me just say that this has been some of the most incredible salmon I have ever eaten — and I have eaten Copper River sockeye, wild Atlantic salmon, Canadian coho and even the vaunted Yukon kings. This Trinity River spring-run salmon is the equal of them all; only the Yukon kings might be better. Might be.
The most surprising dish has been a salmon head soup I made last night. These salmon heads had been in our fridge for six days — long enough for a normal fish head to start stinking. These had no odor at all. None. I am still kind of in shock about this, and I attribute it to our bleeding out the fish immediately after catching them, and then putting them on ice after that.
I made the soup the Japanese way: I brought the three heads to a bare simmer (not a boil) with a slab of kombu seaweed, a three-inch piece of ginger and a little salt. I let this simmer for 20 minutes or so, until the heads started to collapse. I picked out the meat — especially the cheeks, which, unlike the rest of the fish were grayish white, like the dark meat on a chicken. I then strained it it through cheesecloth and serve d the soup with somen noodles and a dollop of white miso. (Here is the recipe.)
So satisfying, even on a hot evening. Holly thought it almost buttery, with pearls of salmon fat dotting the surface of the broth like constellations. The cheek meat was transcendent, and strangely meaty; it tasted uncannily like the “oyster” in a chicken or pheasant.
And that was just the most recent of our Adventures with Salmon Bits.
I am pleased to say that I actually do know of other people who roast the bones of a salmon and pick off the meat for salmon salad or salmon cakes. In fact, Jon, our fishing guide, smokes his racks and picks them. I grilled ours, and in a short time had two pounds of meat — enough to make a full batch of both salmon salad and salmon cakes.
The salmon salad is some of the best I’ve eaten, and again it is because of the clean flavor of the fish: no fishiness, no tacky feeling on your teeth. I added the obligatory mayo and mustard, but then a little homemade piri-piri hot sauce, capers, a minced pepper and lots of baby leeks. My whole office has been eating it for two days now. Delish.
Salmon cakes will be tonight. Our friend Nick has a recipe for them, which I will no doubt bastardize and make my own somehow. I will post my recipe once I come up with it. On to my favorite parts: the bellies and the collars.
There simply aren’t any better parts of a salmon than these, and there simply isn’t any better way to prepare them than grilling. Why?
- You have skin, which is crispy, yet slightly gelatinous from the subcutaneous fat.
- You have the meat iself, which is clean and umami-liciously decadent.
- You have ALL THAT FAT. Salmon, like the rest of us, store most of their fat in their bellies. And this, friends, is a Mother Lode of those omega-3 fatty acids people are all talking about. I actually got a full-on glob of salmon fat in one bite, which, if you can imagine it, was both alarming and tasty. No need to take fish oil pills after this meal.
- You also have collagen from the cartilage around the fins and bones. This partially melts under the heat of the grill and lubricates everything. I feel that my lips are more supple these days…
- Finally, there are the fins. The crispy ends of the fins, dipped in whatever sauce you are serving, are nutty little crunchy tidbits that contrast so well with the luxuriant fat, collagen and meat that you’d think Nature herself had created it just for our pleasure. And maybe she did.
We had two nights of collar-belly foodgasms. The first night was quasi-Euro: Grilled collars, brined for a few hours, served with grilled green onions, the first garden tomatoes of the year and a dipping sauce made with garlic, a smidge of mustard, salt, olive oil and verjus.
Holly and I barely spoke during this meal, being reduced to grunty yummy noises and slurps of the Holly’s Hill Viognier we served with it.
The next night was all Japanese. Again, the collars bathed in brine, then received a massage of sesame oil before hitting the grill. While they sizzled, I made a classic teriyaki of soy, mirin, sake and a little sugar, which I boiled down by half. I thought about glazing the collars with it (which would be typical), but they had been so good, so pure, the previous day that I once again used settled on using it as a dipping sauce. I served it simple, with just a dash of togarashi.
We were sorry to see those collars and bellies disappear. Now all we’re left with is about 25 pounds of pristine salmon fillets. Poor us.
The hard life you lead!! Salmon belly is a favorite of mine, I just love it. Love roasting out the bones, and picking off them.
Great article mate, lovely photos from Holly
Fantastic. But please tell me you had at least one slice of sashimi before freezing those filets!!
Err… just read in Wikipedia that you’re not supposed to eat raw fish that’s been in brackish or fresh water. What a shame! That filet looks soo beautiful. Not to diminish the other preparations… the collar looks divine as well.
Amazing photos.
I am of the opinion that when making stock (or soup) you do not want the liquid temperature to reach 190 F. I aim for 185.
I also now do this when braising meat such as pot roast. I find that this temperature consistently brings moist meat, higher does not.
It’s been three very long years since my last king salmon collar dinner. This post has driven me to purchase a salmon license during my stay in the Canadian Maritimes…I only hope Salmo salar tastes half as good as the Alaskan King’s I’ve eaten. Thanks for lighting the fire Hank!
Jeff: Most reputable sushi places freeze their salmon before serving it as sushi — prevents seal worm, which is no fun. If they’ve never frozen it, that means you’re most likely eating farmed Atlantic salmon…
ntsc: We’ve had this discussion before, and with unroasted meat I will go to a boil to get that froth, then drop the heat. Fish I never boil, so I’ with ya there.
Carolina: Heard you just got married to a Newfie! Congrats, and enjoy eating all…that…codfish! Definitely give us a full report on the Atlantics, as I have not eaten a wild one in about a decade.
Thanks Hank. Just yesterday the mother in law fixed up some cod tongues and britches (roe) for dinner. Yum. You ever tried frying up fish tongues?!
The subsistence fishery opens up in a about a week, so I hope to taste some fresh Newfie cod dishes.
No luck on the Atlantics, yet.
Salmon for nose to tail: love it. Do salmon have nose or snout or … what? I won’t get river fresh salmon like that any time soon, but it’s fun to read about it and how the respectful way you are using it all. Ever since some of the dams have been removed on the Rappahannock (VA) river the salmons are now coming more upstream (and the eagles too), but I am too far up the mountain – still – for them…
ahem! I have been informed by a fellow Rappahannock Co resident who also reads this blog that it’s not salmon that’s coming back up the Rappahannock river, but “Shad, Herring, Yellow Perch and Striped Bass (Rockfish). Not that they aren’t some tasty species, but they are no substitute for salmon. ” Not they aren’t. but I would not mind some herrings to pickle! because I ain’t going to get salmon like yours, Hank!
Carolina: Nope, never cooked cod “tongues,” which, as I understand, are not actually tongues, but rather collars.
Sylvie: Yep, no salmon in the Rappahannock. I spent years fishing that river in Fredericksburg, and have put up lots and lots and lots of herring, as well as hickory shad. Caught lotsa stripers down by Westmoreland County.
Love salmon & beautiful pics. I bought some really good smoked-candied salmon at the Farmer’s Market.
No collars involved with the tongues served in Newfoundland…It’s the tongue and the flap of skin & meat underneath the tongue. The Newfie mother-n-law tells a story about when the kids around town used to go down to the wharfs when the cod fishermen would come back in and cut out the tongues from the cod frames. They’d walk around town with a sack of cod tongues, selling them door to door.
Awesome post and v. good reminder for all so-called salmon lovers: the action is in the “nasty bits.” I need to be reminded myself of this sometimes because it’s true that the deep red of a fillet is so enticing. Been meaning to make a salmon head soup for a while. Will try yours in a couple weeks when the pinks are cavorting in Puget Sound.
[...] We love to eat fish in the summer. Just seems right. Read here about the Hunter Angler Gardener Cook’s “Six Days of Salmon,” and several recipes come with the read. Combined with stunning photography by Holly A. Heyser (aka NorCal Cazadora), this blog entry at the HAGC’s food blog is sure to taste your teasebuds. See http://www.honest-food.net/blog1/2009/07/17/six-days-of-salmon/ [...]
Growing up in an Asian household, it was always a common sight to see fish heads lolling about in the back of the fridge, ready to be incorporated into a spicy Korean stew or clear soup. In fact, most of the Asian grocery stores I visited had fish heads for sale right along side the more “desireable” cuts of meat. Shocked me to no end when I grew up and discovered that most people throw the heads, tails, entrails, and bones away.
To this day, my Filipino step-mother’s favorite dish is fish eyeballs lightly dipped in a vinegar and soy sauce blend. I’ve never had salmon head before. Might have to give it a whirl (if I can ever find a whole salmon). I wonder if mackerel could be used as a quick subsitute for your miso soup as I come across whole specimens now and then.
Sandy: I might use mackerel — but only if it was absolutely perfectly fresh. Mackerel goes bad VERY fast. If you are in the deep South, use a redfish head instead.
Hank, to say that this blog has inspired me would be a gross understatement. I have been hunting and fishing for years, not realizing the full potential of my game. Thanks for opening my eyes. A quick side note related to this post: I was in the local fish market (Narragansett, RI) and I noticed a whole salmon rack, including the head in a bag on the ice. I asked how much, and he told me to take it! Clearly, whoever filleted the fish didn’t care how close they got to the bones, because after removing the head and cooking it, I got 1 1/2 lbs. of meat. Yummy salmon cakes! And I made your soup recipe with the head. Two days of salmon meals, for free!
Hank, or Boyfriend as you’re called in Holly’s Blog, thanks for a story about belly meat and heads, two of my favorites.
I try not to hog the belly meat at salmon dinners, but lucky for me, many others don’t know the joy and benefits of this delicious cut of fish. I’ve been eating it for years and am always surprised by people who wonder why I go nuts for it.
Heads are the same way. When I was a starving univ. student in N CA my neighbor had some friends down from the mts. for a “rock cod” trip. The came back with limits and were cleaning them in her yard, putting all the heads in a big washtub. They were amazed when I asked if I could have them and asked what I was going to do with them. Soup, I said, and proceded to show them how much meat was in a large rockfish cheek and around the collar. That soup fed me for a few days. Your story brought back memories. (My advisor called me the optimal forager, as I was always gathering something: mussels, fish, crab, huckleberries, chantrelles, etc)
I found your blog and Holly’s while searching forums for CA hunting opportunities. I’m going to be down in the Clovis/Fresno area for 4 months or so and I’m looking for places to go.
I may have to talk my wife into a trip to Sacto to go to Grange for dinner. Wish I had been able to get in on the duck dinner.
Thanks for a wonderful blog.
Yum. I scored a salmon head and bones from my Japanese grocery and made soup. Later, I came across your recipe. Amazingly, I used most of the same ingredients as you! The only difference was that I put tofu and mochi in it instead of noodles. Delicious!
Hank,
Just made a kokanee head soup with a 6+ pounder I caught up at Wallowa Lake this past week. Holy crap that soup is good! I only had the one fish, so I used the leftover skeleton and tail as well after filleting the fish. Added some chopped green onion to the final soup and again, holy crap is that soup good! Thanks for the good work.
Matt