Alaska Native peoples have gathered and preserved salmon for centuries, and it continues to be a part of a subsistence lifestyle that many still practice. Today, it is a savory delicacy. Smoked salmon, in particular, has a very distinctive flavor and is excellent for pastas, chowders and dips. Here's a list of which Alaska salmon to eat, and how to prepare it:
Red Salmon (or Sockeye)
Reds are the first salmon of the season to arrive, from May to June depending on the location of the community. They are a bright red (hence the name) and bring some of the highest value commercially. Much of this is due to the high oil content of the fish. Oil content in salmon can be compared to the high butter content of some rich French dishes – the more of it there is, the more delicious it generally is.
How to eat it: Traditionally, Alaska Native people favored “fresh” preparations of the fish (cooked immediately), but would preserve it in ways that best preserved or enhanced the flavor of this fish, such as smoking. Today, this fish is enjoyed baked, fried, smoked and canned.
King Salmon (or Chinook)
This big, pretty salmon makes the best for display, but it is not as plentiful as other salmon. While kings are the next to arrive in the season, these are also the only salmon available to be fished year-round.
How to eat it: Native people traditionally made strips of the largest salmon, because of their high oil content, and the people of the Yukon River are still known for their prized king strips. Kings make great large steaks, and because kings are the only salmon available year-round, fresh-caught, wild Alaskan salmon served in the middle of December is generally a king.
Pink Salmon (or Humpys)
This fish is the most abundant salmon, is most easily caught and available nearly everywhere, but is also generally less desired on the salmon scale of flavor, and the smallest. It is a much less oily fish than a red or king, and has a pink flesh, which gives it the name.
How to eat it: It was traditionally smoked, but is now more often canned. Modern uses usually call for additions like like mayonnaise and seasonings for this salmon variety.
Silver Salmon (or Coho)
This fighting fish is most well-known for sport fishing, and is highly valued for its flavor, though not as plentiful as other salmon. It can be one of the most sought-after of the season for certain areas of Alaska, and when the silvers are “running” (referring to the silvers making their way up river), many Anchorage residents spend evenings and weekends on the hunt for them.
How to eat it: Traditionally, the fish would be as enjoyed as much as possible in “fresh” preparations over open flame, or smoked. These salmon are popular today for their fillets and steaks, and find their way to many an Alaskan barbeque.
Dog Salmon (or Chum)
This plentiful fish is the last to arrive in the season, usually in September and even into October. On the big rivers of Alaska they were caught by the thousands, dried and fed to the dogs throughout the winter, which gave them their name.
How to eat it: The traditional use of the fish was dried or half-dried, half-smoked, as they are not a very oily fish. An advantage to this, as opposed to their more popular and oily cousins, is they make great fish for boiling into fish chowder and soups.
Shops, groceries, restaurants and even some cultural centers offer up varieties of salmon in a wealth of preparations. Grilled over cedar chips, baked with a rich sauce, fresh in a grocer’s ice case, smoked in gift boxes, dried into jerky strips – the list goes on and on. One of the best ways to find salmon, however, is to ask nearly any Alaskan where the best salmon is. Even if they don’t like it themselves, everyone generally knows where to go.
Smoked salmon is easy to pack home with you, but fresh salmon and other wild Alaska seafood can also be shipped directly to your doorstep by local seafood and game processers.
