Options aplenty for preparing – or just eating – salmon this summer

With salmon filling Alaska’s rivers and creeks this time of year, that also means dinner plates featuring the popular fish. Local restaurants routinely showcase a variety of presentations of salmon throughout the summer. But home chefs should not shy away from creating their own culinary masterpieces with this versatile and flavorful Alaska staple.

Gretchen Hopping, executive chef at The Grape Tap in Wasilla, said the species of salmon has a lot to do with how to best maximize its flavor in the cooking process. King, or chinook, salmon have the highest fat content, so grilling or baking suits it best.

Grilling is a popular cooking method in the summer. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute recommends thoroughly cleaning the grill before getting starting.

The grill should be hot and brushed liberally with oil before fillets are put on it. Alternatively, an oiled grill pan can be used to better keep fillets from falling apart. Large fish steaks or whole fillets should be cut into meal-size portions before grilling so they will be easier to flip. Always start to grill fish with the skin side up. This allows the natural fat carried beneath the skin to be drawn into the fillet, keeping it rich and moist. It’s also easier to turn when the more delicate or “flesh” side cooks first.

Pan-searing is Hopping’s preference for red (sockeye) and silver (coho) salmon, since they are middle of the road, fat-wise, and tend to be firmer and flakier than other species. Poaching and grilling also work well for these species.

“To me, they have the better texture and nice fresh fish taste to them,” she said.

When pan searing, fish should be patted dry, then all sides of the fish should be brushed with oil and seasoned to personal taste with salt, pepper, dried herbs, and spices.

It’s important to choose a cooking oil that doesn’t burn easily to brush on your fish. ASMI recommends canola, avocado, peanut, grapeseed, soybean or safflower oil. Avoid butter and olive oil, sunflower oil or corn oil because they can burn at high temperatures.

Hopping said clarified butter is an exception to this rule because with the fat removed, the butter doesn’t burn as easily and still retains a nice buttery taste. Ghee, available in most supermarkets, is a suitable alternative to clarifying butter at home.

“You can get a really good sear on both sockeye and coho,” she said. “Clarified butter caramelizes on the outside of fillets easier and gives good flavor.”

Hopping’s pan-searing skills will be showcased in an upcoming dinner special at The Grape Tap. Her chili bourbon salmon will feature a sockeye fillet topped with a reduction of bourbon, honey, and lime juice seasoned with garlic, sesame seeds, and red pepper flakes. It will be garnished with cilantro, scallions, and lime wedge.

“If you’re going to spend the money to get fresh salmon,” she said, “the best way to do it is pan sear it and enjoy the fresh flavor.”

At the Chop House on Lake Lucille, Executive Chef Paul Russell also favors pan-searing. After patting a fillet dry, he lightly salts it and cooks it in a small amount of grapeseed oil, skin side down, at low to medium heat. Depending on the thickness of the fillet, it should be cooked about five minutes before being flipped.

“The redness of the salmon starts to turn pink,” he said. “That’s how to judge done-ness.”

Once that color change can be seen halfway to two-thirds of the way up the sides of the fillet, it’s time to flip it. Russell adds unsalted butter to the pan at this point and cooks the other side about three minutes, while basting the skin side in the melted butter to crisp it.

He cautioned home chefs to watch carefully to avoid overcooking the fish. Don’t use excessive heat or too little oil, and remember that a fillet will continue to cook once it is removed from the heat.

Oversalting and overseasoning are also common mistakes when cooking salmon, Russell said.

“It’s a nice piece of fish. You don’t want to ruin it,” he said.

A favorite of his currently appears on the Chop House dinner menu. Cedar plank salmon features a king salmon fillet cooked on a cedar plank and topped with basil chimichurri and blistered tomato relish. It is served with seasonal vegetables and steamed jasmine rice.

“The cedar imparts a nice robust, smoky flavor that’s not overpowering,” Russell said. “It’s a nice change of pace.”

Coming soon, Russell plans a salmon rillettes appetizer. A rillettes is a mousse of hot smoked salmon mixed with fresh salmon poached in wine and herbs to add richness and depth of flavor. It is topped with buttered bread crumbs, baked in a clay pot, and served with crusty bread.

The Chop House menu, he said, will continue to develop and diversify in the coming months.

“We’re always moving forward,” Russell said. “We’re listening to the community and forever evolving.”