"It's here!"
Several local markets have hung banners triumphantly announcing the arrival of Copper River salmon. Even at $26.95 a pound, it sells briskly for the three to four weeks each May that it's available, and it's heralded for its deep red, fatty and flavorful flesh that's rich in omega-3 fatty acids. So, I decided to bite.
I brought home some sockeye and we grilled it simply, serving it with a Rioja -- a punchier wine than you'd usually pair with salmon, for this is a punchier salmon, having swum upstream more than 300 miles in frigid Alaskan waters.
We cooked a large fillet skin-side down for 4-5 minutes, brushing it with a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and then placing it on a bed of dill to be served.
Other components of the meal were steamed red potatoes with butter, salt and fresh dill, and a mixed green salad with blueberries, red bell pepper, Gouda and lemon vinaigrette. And tasting the salmon's rich, delicious flesh, we were hooked.*
*"Bite" and "hook" are cute metaphors, but did you know that Copper River salmon is usually not caught on a hook? According to www.copperriversalmon.org, commercial fishermen use the gillnetting technique, which involves laying a net wall in the water in the fishes' path. The fish swim into the mesh and are prevented from escaping. I wonder what it would be like to catch one on a line -- they must have Herculean strength! Perhaps some of my dad and dad-esque readers would like to weigh in on this, hmm?
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OK, I'll bite. Copper River sockeye aren't a large salmon, at least compared to other species. And they don't bite as readily either; thus the use of gillnets. And, in most opinions, the tastiest of all salmon are the prized, but comparatively rare, Columbia River spring Chinook. And,yes, they are fun to catch. Cost? Let's see: boat, gas, lures, lunch...don't ask.
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