FINE SUMMER DINING ON THE WEST COAST....TRY MY PINK SALMON RECIPE

When I was growing up in England, back when the last of the dinosaurs still stalked the earth, the only salmon I ever tasted came in a tiny 85 gram tin that cost a pound or more. It was a rare treat that was usually extended with salad cream and spread thinly on sandwich bread and that was it. I read about people going salmon fishing in Scotland but these kind of holidays were only a dream to me. I simply assumed that salmon, all salmon, but especially fresh and smoked salmon were delicacies everyone loved but were only enjoyed regularly by rich folks.

But here on the west coast, in modern times, the salmon situation is quite different. The five species of Pacific salmon, Chinook (Spring, Tyee), Chum (Dog, Silverbright), Pink, Coho (Blackmouth, Blueback) and Sockeye are widely available as well as is farmed Atlantic salmon. Despite declining wild stocks, salmon are there in the local sea for catching the year round. And guess what....salmon is absolutely the cheapest fish that one can buy! Yes! Cheaper than cod. Cheaper than farmed tilapia.

I now buy tinned salmon smoked from The Fishery on Saltspring Island. It's a family owned business that offers all the species of salmon smoked in tins. Its only around $4.oo per tin.
Regular tinned salmon is cheap in the grocery stores as well. The 213 gm. tin of wild pacific sockeye is always available for about $2.00 and goes on sale in August for less at the Real Canadian Superstore.

I've discovered something else that continues to puzzle me after all these years. Guess what. Most people don't like salmon. Yes it's true. I used to think that people en masse don't eat salmon because it seems expensive. But that isn't the reason. Most folks simply prefer beef. The purpose of this writing is not to convert those folks, it's to help people who already like salmon to get the most from their dining experiences.
For some reason that escapes me, restaurants generally treat salmon as if it is expensive....which it isn't.
Salmon served in restaurants is served in undersized, overcooked, overpriced, little, fingersized portions. There are some exceptions and I apologize to you. Local Japanese restaurants offer nice portions under $10.00. Yes! If you haven't had salmon sashimi then you haven't completed your salmon culinary tour. Try The Eatery on W. Broadway.
Here's another thing that is cheap and fabulous. Next time you're hankering for fish n' chips, order salmon n' chips instead of cod or halibut. Cockney Kings does it well.
For BBQing, grilling, sashimi, smoking, frying, poaching and for the salmon deal of the year, here's the local secret, the bottom line, the best way to go.
Yesterday at the Real Canadian Superstore I bought fresh, wild, Pacific, Pink Salmon, head off and gutted, two small fish in a bag...are you ready for this... $3.90 A KILOGRAM! Yes....less than $2.00 per lb. The cost of my fish was $6.49.

Pink salmon gives and gets a raw deal locally compared to the bigger, redder, fattier species like Sockeye and Chinook, but when they are running in August nothing beats fresh, lean, delicate, fillets of wild, Pink Pacific salmon. Why is the little Pink so under appreciated? There are a couple of reasons. Because Pink salmon is mostly caught in huge numbers right when they begin the spawning run, the overwhelming majority of Pinks are tinned for sale. Pink salmon, like other lean species of fish doesn't tin well. The flavour is bland because the fish has to be grossly over heated in order to tin it. Species like Sockeye taste better from the tin because the high fat content of the fish helps the flavour survive the hyper boiling process. Tinned Pink salmon is half the price of tinned Sockeye so I think that many people having had both species tinned and having found the much cheaper Pink salmon to be inferior assume that it's an inferior fish in general. Many folks add fat to tinned Pink salmon in the form of mayonaise for sandwiches and salads but this is not the way to enjoy Pink salmon. Pink salmon should be carefully cooked when fresh.

Pink salmon spoils quickly. To get a truly unforgettable West Coast salmon dining experience you are going to have to either know someone who understands and loves his or her salmon or you are going to have to do it yourself. Here's how Julian does it.

1. Buy your Pink salmon small, fresh and whole (head off and gutted ok) in August and September and be prepared to eat it within one day.

2. Fillet the fish or cut it into steaks just a half or at the most three quarters of an inch thick, no more. If your fish is  big enough so that the fillets are thicker than an inch, carefully slice them horizontally. For steaks, roll the belly flaps up into the belly cavity and secure them with tooth picks. The fat in the belly flaps will be held against the leaner body flesh for the most flavourful steaks and the steaks won't fall apart. If you cut your salmon into pieces that are thicker than three quarters of an inch, the outside of the fish will dry and be overcooked before the middle flakes. This is a classic way to ruin Pink salmon. Ideally Pink salmon should be cooked very quickly in pieces sized like little sole fillets.

3. Preheat a nonstick or cast iron skillet over heat high enough to sizzle butter but not burn it. Put a knob of salted butter, a sprinkle of freshly chopped parsley and little white pepper into the pan. Add the salmon and put the lid on, turn it after about a minute and cook for another minute or so until the salmon just flakes....as if you were cooking sole.

4. Since the Pink run is in late Summer, Pink salmon is often ruined on BBQ's. It gets overcooked in big chunks and this contributes to Pink salmon's reputation as being dry and unappetizing, not to mention that it's too delicate get off the grill. There really is only one way to conveniently BBQ fresh Pink salmon and that is to use a wire basket. These are cheap enough at the Dollar Store to buy and throw away if washing it afterwards is inconvenient. I like the ones that are square and flat for toast rather than the fish shaped ones as they are too big to hold the little salmon pieces. Prepare the salmon as above, except brush the salmon with melted butter. Cook it quickly over high heat so as not to dry it out. Alternatively, Pink salmon can be steamed on the grill in sealed foil with butter and a little wine....which is excellent, but of course there won't be any BBQ flavour.
DO NOT OVERCOOK IT and serve it immediately with Grey Monk Pinot Gris. Or get a growler of Derrick's Pilsner from Dix! Bon Appetit!