World’s Best Leftovers- Wild Alaskan Salmon!

Monahan's Seafood Market | Fresh Whole Fish, Fillets, Shellfish, Recipes, Catering & Lunch Counter-Ann Arbor, Michigan

It’s wild Pacific salmon season and some of the most delicious and healthful fish of the year will be around all summer! Right now we’re in the thick of the Alaskan Copper River salmon season and the kings and sockeyes are the finest, most rich, flavorful fish we’ll see all year. Nature’s perfect food: dripping with fat (the good fat: healthful omega-3’s) and ready to slap on the grill.

copper river king salmon

The only thing that could rival grilled Copper River salmon is leftover grilled Copper River salmon. That’s right! For sandwiches, fish cakes, pasta, hash, quesadillas, the possibilities are endless! Last night we made a simple salad of mixed greens, goat cheese, edamame, tomatoes, onion, hard-boiled eggs and cucumber topped with big chunks of leftover grilled king salmon and strips of crispy salmon skin. This salad would be great with any type of salmon but Copper River king was pure decadence. I used ingredients I found in the fridge but you could mix it up however you’d like. Feta cheese with oregano would work; caramelized walnuts would be good. Get creative.

The salmon skin strips are a nice touch. The trick is to keep the skin intact when grilling the fish. I coat the fillets, with the skin on, in coarse kosher salt for about 5 min. before grilling. The fillets start to cure and firm up for the grill. Rinse the salt off, pat dry and baste with a little olive oil. I use an indirect heat method by separating the coals so the salmon grills, with the lid on and vents open, with no coals directly under it. Make sure the grid on the grill is clean and oiled. I used soaked hickory chips on the coals and basted the fillets with our Irish whiskey maple glaze. You could also plank the salmon using the same glaze.

If your grill is clean and oiled and the fish is slightly salt cured, everything should hold together, including the skin (my favorite part)! If you cut the skin off your leftover salmon and slice into strips, you can baste with a little olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and broil ‘till crispy.

Buy a little extra salmon and turn your fridge into a treasure chest with the world’s best leftovers, fresh from the Copper River!

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Monahan's Seafood

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