Copper River Sockeye: 'Tis the Season

I can't remember the last time I bought fresh fish. I make my tuna salad from canned salmon (but I still call it tuna salad - go figure). I buy my shrimp frozen from Trader Joe's. I don't often buy fish because I don't like to cook it at home and smell up my house.

Then my friends gave me an article to read from last week's Wall Street Journal about fresh Copper River King Salmon and my curiosity was piqued. That's why when I was meandering by the fish department in Whole Foods today and saw the signs for "Fresh, Wild Copper River Sockeye" I paused. I stared. I stood there unsure of what to do. I suspect that the gentleman working the fish counter knew I was hooked. I asked why it was so much cheaper than I had read about and he said that the first shippment of the season had been up around $26/pound, but the price had come down this week to $16/pound. That was still a heck of a lot less than the $36/pound the King salmon from Copper River was going for. I just wanted to know what it tasted like. I asked if I would have to cook it today (he said I could wait a day or two since it had just been flown in this morning) even though I knew if I purchased it I'd be cooking it pronto. You know how this story ends: I bought a fillet (1.25 pounds) and brought it home for dinner.

Now came the anxiety. I didn't want to overcook this precious fish. I wanted it to be perfect - no pressure. So I looked around and found the following recipe from Mark Bittman. I knew I had the right one when I read these words that Mr. Bittman wrote in the recipe description: "If you make this dish with the most flavorful, beautiful fillet you can find - such as Alaskan sockeye in season - you will be amazed by the richness of the flavor." Bingo!

I modified Mr. Bittman's recipe a smidge - using half butter and half olive oil and I was very careful to cook the salmon for the shortest amount of time he recommended. The tail end of the fish could have cooked a little less, but the wider part of the filet was closer to Medium and was sublime. This fish was so flavorful and rich and yes, buttery.

I asked my husband if he thought we liked it so much because fresh fish was such a rare treat or if it was because this particular fish - flown fresh from Alaska - was really something special. Wise man that he is, he made the only safe reply possible: "It must have been the perfect cooking that did it."

--UPDATE: 6/8/07--
I decided to test out whether the same fish - frozen was as good. I went to Trader Joe's and picked out a package of flash frozen Wild Alaskan Sockeye (the info on the package did not mention where exactly in Alaska the fish was from so this seemed as close as I could get for comparison sake). I cooked the fish using the exact same recipe, method and even the exact same roasting pan - the only difference was going to be the fish itself. I was really rooting for the frozen fish because the price was less than half that of the fresh - so if it could be just as good I'd be thrilled to be eating it all year round.

Well, the difference was stunning. The texture and flavor of the frozen salmon was completely different. Where the texture of the fresh Copper River salmon was delicate and flavor was clean the frozen sockeye had a tougher consistency and was strongly flavored. I think I'll hold out for the fresh fish, in season and eat it a few times a year. I'll skip the frozen salmon and stick to the canned for a lot less money.



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Butter Roasted Salmon

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 pounds salmon filet, skin on, pin bones removed
freshly ground sea salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Melt the butter in a medium roasting pan in the oven as it preheats, until the foam subsides. Add the olive oil.

2. Place the salmon in the butter, flesh side down, and put pan in the oven. Roast about 5 minutes, then turn and roast 3 to 6 minutes longre, until the salmon is done (peek between the flakes with a thin bladed knife). The fish will continue cooking a little bit after you remove it from the oven so try to pull it out slightly less cooked than you would consider done. Remove fish to a serving dish (to prevent it from over cooking in the hot roasting pan). Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Serves 2-4