The Alaska Chat Thread (home, service, commercial)

[Xa'at]

MmMmMmM... salmon.

[barnacle9]

mmm - smoked/kippered/pickled salmon :-)

OK - for the uninformed - typically, and in a common (but not universal) ranking from low to high:

pink=humpie
chum=dog
coho=silver
sockeye=red
chinook=king

note that the 'official' names are not necessarily more official sounding - i.e. pink, chum

also note that, in some areas, the reds (sockeye) may be of higher quality than the kings (chinook), and dogs (chum) may be nastier than humpies (pinks).

of critical importance is the manner in and care with which the fish are handled.

mmmm . . . salmon

[Xa'at]

Mmm, sockeye is my favorite, hot off the grill with a bit of lemon and butter...

[barnacle9]

also, in an area where you have all species (not all areas have all fish), major summer/fall runs will go in order something like this (and they vary by location):

Kings: May-early July (also winter runs)
Reds: May-late July
Dogs: June-August, varies, with southern winter runs
Humpies: July-September
Silvers: July - October

this is a general guideline only!

[barnacle9]

Originally Posted by Xa'at

Mmm, sockeye is my favorite, hot off the grill with a bit of lemon and butter...

Ever tried fresh Copper River King???

[Metlakatla]

Copper River Reds are good but no better than our SE sockeye, really. They've been hyped, marketed et al to the hilt but at the end of the day, Copper River Reds are river fish--albeit damned good river fish. But nonetheless, as soon as salmon of any kind hits the rivers, the quality decreases..it's just the way of nature; they start to decompose once they leave the ocean.

My family has been in the salmon processing business for years. We've survived while others have come and gone...


it's not just the best salmon in Ak...

[warptman]

South East smoked salmon is great. They sell them here in the stores. Whenever I want a different flavor of fish instead of our dried and smoked salmon, I'll buy a package of them strips, yummy.

[barnacle9]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Copper River Reds are good but no better than our SE sockeye, really. They've been hyped, marketed et al to the hilt but at the end of the day, Copper River Reds are river fish--albeit damned good river fish. But nonetheless, as soon as salmon of any kind hits the rivers, the quality decreases..it's just the way of nature; they start to decompose once they leave the ocean.

My family has been in the salmon processing business for years. We've survived while others have come and gone...


it's not just the best salmon in Ak...

Copper River Reds are caught well before they leave the ocean, as are most commercially caught AK sockeye.

The difference has to do largely with handling (very picky, here) and oil content (which is related to length of river to be traveled before spawning - longer river=higher oil content=better fish)

In these aspects I must say that true Copper River Reds (there are some fish caught nearby which go to other rivers) are a cut above most other Alaskan sockeye.

But, yes, marketing is a lot of it.

[barnacle9]

Plus, IMHO (and in the market) it is not Copper River Reds which are the best AK salmon, but the Copper River Kings!!!!!

[warptman]

Yukon kings in my opinion are the best for traditional smoked strips. Followed by our Kuskokwim River Kings.