The way for a customer to find the freshest Atlantic salmon is through sight and smell. This is true whether the salmon is whole, in fillets, or in luscious, glistening horseshoe shaped steaks. The customer should inspect the fish! The gills of the whole fish are red and healthy, the eyes are clear and bright. The white flesh between the pink of the fillets and steaks is still snowy white and everything smells not of fish, but of the sea.
The Atlantic Salmon
This most delicious and sought after fish can grow to be nearly 4 and a half feet long and can weigh up to 50 pounds, though most fish caught commercially weigh only about a quarter of thet. The adults are brownish above with silvery sides embellished with black, X-shaped freckles. The males also have red patches on the sides. Wild Atlantic salmon are found off the coast of the northeastern United States and eastern Canada and all the way to Scandinavia and the Arctic circle. The fish famously leaves the ocean to spawn in streams and freshwater lakes, and there are some captive populations in lakes in New England. This species of salmon doesn’t necessarily die after spawning, even though they’re pretty weakened by the experience.
The salmon spawn in the fall, with the males dramatically changing their shape. Their heads enlarge and a hook appears on their lower jaw. The female digs a nest in the gravel, then lays her eggs there while the male fertilizes them at the same time. The process of building a nest and laying and fertilizing eggs can take a week. Eventually, a female who weighs about 10 pounds can eventually lay 8,000 orange eggs at a spawning. Some Atlantic salmon who survive this might spend the winter in the river, recuperating, then go back to the ocean in spring.
The eggs hatch around April. The newborn salmon are called alevins. They become parr when they reach about 65 mm in length, then smolts when they’re about 12 cm long. This is when they go to sea. Some come back to spawn after a year, others wait two years.
While they’re at sea, salmon feed on many types of food, from plankton to smaller fish, but they stop eating before their spawning time and don’t eat again till they return to the ocean.
Good and Good For One
Salmon isn’t just good to eat, it’s good for the body. Salmon is considered a fatty fish, its fat necessary to protect it against the cold waters of the northern Atlantic. As such, it is chock full of omega 3 fatty acids, which are known to lower levels of bad cholesterol and trigylcerides. High cholesterol levels are implicated in heart disease.
Atlantic salmon are great in all kinds of dishes, including sushi and sashimi. It can be canned, hot or cold smoked, poached, baked or fried. The pearly orange roe is used for caviar. The flesh is pink for the same reason the flamingo's feathers are pink; because of the shellfish they naturally eat in the wild. Farm raised salmon would usually have white flesh because what they’re fed doesn’t contain the pigments of the shellfish. So, they’re given supplements that color their flesh the pink color that most consumers crave.
Recipes
Like many fish dishes, salmon recipes are simple to make. Like all fish, salmon should never be overcooked. A little undercooked is even preferable. A fish that's done has flesh that's tender and flaky.
One salmon recipe calls for slices of Atlantic salmon to be mixed with fresh blueberries, a vinaigrette of Dijon mustard, lemon juice and olive oil and dill and sea salt. All is tossed together for a quick and satisfying meal. Other recipes include:
Salmon Poached with Mushrooms, Cream and Tarragon
The cook should watch the sauce carefully lest it reduce too much.
2 tbs. sweet butter
1/2 cup fresh, cleaned mushrooms, sliced
1 cup ml dry white wine or white vermouth
1 salmon fillet, about 6 ounces
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tbs. chopped fresh tarragon
Salt and pepper to taste
Tarragon for garnish
Melt the butter over high heat in a small skillet. Add the mushrooms and sauté them for five minutes.
Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Pour the wine into a pan big enough to hold the salmon fillet. Bring to a simmer, then add the salmon. Cover and poach over low heat for about eight minutes or until the salmon flakes. Remove the salmon and set aside. Add the cream and 1 tablespoon of the tarragon to the poaching liquid. Keeping an eye on it, reduce till it's slightly syrupy. Add the mushrooms, then spoon the sauce over the salmon with more tarragon for garnish.
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