Salmon is an easy to prepare fish that always taste delicious when prepared with fresh ingredients, by the home cook. that any home cook can enjoy.
Salmon is one of the healthiest and delicious fish dishes that the home cook can enjoy. It’s a tasty, versatile, and healthy option as long as you choose the right species at your local grocery or fish store.
You should always angle to get the freshest available wild salmon over the commercial farmed raised offerings. Why you may ask? Omega-3s are deposited deeper in the fat tissue of a wild salmon over the commercial farm raised salmon that may be pumped with all sorts of hormones to expedite the growth process. Wild Salmon on the other hand consume a more natural diet in their own habitat which helps them build the much needed fat stores required for their long journey upstream to spawn. There’s a lot of omega-3s in those naturally developed fat stores.
Here is a quick look at the various salmon species that may be available in the fresh or frozen seafood section at your local grocery. Take some time discovering which species best suites your pallet and recipe preferences.
The largest, and some would say most flavorful, wild Salmon is the Chinook or King Salmon—Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. With the highest concentration of omega-3, this salmon is often described as being the most delicious Salmon available today. Sockeye or Red Salmon is another species available in the Pacific—Oncorhynchus nerka. Sockeye feed on zooplankton their entire life, which is responsible for their striking hue and low concentrations of mercury. Coho or Silver Salmon-Oncorhynchus kisutch is larger and somewhat milder than Sockeye and retains its orange-red color during most preparations. Another Pacific Salmon prized for its mild delicate flavor and medium red flesh is the Keta or Chum Salmon—Oncorhynchus keta. Some cooks may also be familiar with two other species of Salmon, Pink and Atlantic. Pink Salmon is usually sold in cans, while Atlantic are generally raised in pens in large volume. Choose the species that best suites your tastes and budget—prices can vary widely depending on time of year and fresh vs. frozen.
Lemon Zest Salmon Recipe
Here’s a peek at my Lime and Honey Grilled Wild Salmon. This is simply one of my favorite Salmon Grilling recipes because it’s so quick and easy to prepare and the marinade really brightens up the flavor of the Salmon.
Ingredients
- 1/3 Cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
- 1/3 Cup Olive Oil
- 1/3 Cup Soy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- 1 Tablespoon finely chopped rosemary
Recipe adapted from unknown source
Method
1 Simply add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl and marinade your Salmon for 1 hour. It’s best not to marinade for more than an hour because the citrus will start to break down the flesh of the Salmon
2 Fire up your grill and sear your Salmon flesh side down on a hot grill. Leave the Salmon on long enough for the meat to sear—once you’ve got those lip smacking grill marks it’s time to flip.
3 Cook another 8 to 10 minutes or until the skin slides right off the Salmon.
4 Optional, during the final two minutes, sprinkle the zest of the lemon on the salmon.
Recipe adapted from unknown source
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