The King of Salmon

WEATHER PERMITTING

The King

of Salmon

by JUDITH MARA

Hail to the King. Right now, thousands of silver-scaled King salmon are fervently swimming through the Pacific back towards the rivers of their birth. Whether

its home is the Yukon or Copper Rivers in Alaska or the Columbia River in Washington, this regal member of the salmon family is in season.

Salmon with a river name attached, such as Copper River Salmon, was caught while swimming in that particular river.

Much of the King salmon in stores right now is fished by boats trawling the Pacific near the mouths of the rivers. Wait a little longer to buy some if you can; the more sumptuous salmon is caught as they swim into the rivers to spawn. As the salmon begin their journey up the frigid rivers, they stop eating and are fatty and luxurious in a wonderful way. The lesson here is that wild-caught salmon is typically fished by trawling. Salmon with a river name attached, such as Copper River Salmon, was caught while swimming in that particular river.

King salmon, also commonly called Chinook salmon, is named for a Native American tribe on the northwest coast whose survival was linked to the salmon returning to the Columbia River. It is through this tribe and other tribes native to the Northwest that explorers first tasted salmon cooked over wood. Most fish was smoked or air-dried until very hard and then stored for the winter months. But the salmon they cooked over a wood fire to be eaten straight away still inspires cooks today. The most familiar way of cooking salmon over wood is cedar plank (planked) salmon. Native Americans didn’t use cedar so to speak, but they did tack salmon to wood planks to enable the fish to be held close to a fire pit. The same cooking principle still applies today. But it is recommended to find cedar or other wood planks (alder, mesquite) that are sold commercially for this purpose. There’s no point in risking toxicity from the wrong type of wood. Cooking salmon on a plank is easy to do, as long as you plan ahead—the planks should be soaked in water a few hours. Online you can find hundreds of different ways to season the salmon (or the planks), but connoisseurs usually opt for a light brushing of olive oil, kosher salt, pepper and maybe some fresh lemon. Simplicity is key to enjoying the King of the salmon world.

Check out these websites for more information on cooking with wood planks.

Plank Cooking · Sara Moulton: Cooking on Wood · Healthy Eats: Cooking With Wood Planks