Grilled Alaskan Sockeye Salmon

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Our Summer trip to Alaska took us to the Kenai Peninsula, world renowned fishing grounds with popular salmon runs in the local rivers along with world class halibut fishing out of the picturesque fishing village of Homer. We’ll get to the latter in a future post. On this day we got up at an unholy hour – one closer to a typical bedtime than an unwelcome morning alarm (think 1 AM-ish). Fishing is a funny game of tides (yes, even with river fishing) among other conditions that impact results. Our early morning trip to the Kenai River proved fruitful as we brought back 9 beautiful Sockeye (Red) salmon. We brought most of our fish back home but we couldn’t resist firing up the grill to gorge ourselves in the rewards of the day. Of course, we have to share it with you so today in this early stop in our Alaska Series we bring you Grilled Alaskan Sockeye Salmon.

As the months tick off in Alaska the various species of salmon will make their runs in the rivers. This keeps the bears and humans alike very happy. The red salmon – commonly called Sockeye – make the earliest runs up the river. The fishing technique involves a lot of casting – like arm soreness into the next day casting. It’s a rhythmic technique that is pretty simple once you get the hang of it. We think this particular type of salmon has the best flavor of them all so we were thrilled to have a successful day along with the ensuing feast.

We know you didn’t come here for a full recap of the trip so we’ll spare you the unimportant details. This recipe is done in no time and can serve as the center of the plate or the basis for other things. You’ll see what we mean when we show you what we did with the leftovers but that’s another post for another day.

Preparation: Grilled Alaskan Sockeye Salmon

The biggest fear most cooks have with fish is overcooking it. Fish is more delicate than terrestrial proteins but it shouldn’t be intimidating. Practice makes perfect. For the novice cook we always go by a simple piece of advice – you can always cook the fish more but you can’t “uncook” an overcooked piece of anything, including a fish fillet.

Pat the fish dry, brush with a little oil, and season both sides of the fish. We kept it simple with just salt and pepper. The reason we restrained our typical creativity is because of the story above. This was about the freshest fish on Earth and fresh Sockeye salmon has so much of its own goodness. Feel free to take any seasoning liberties here.

Grill skin side down over medium heat for 5 – 7 minutes or until the meat lightens in color (may vary depending on thickness of filet). Flip and grill for another 2 – 3 minutes. Remove immediately and let rest for 3 – 5 minutes. We plated our with a simple side of wilted spinach and cherry tomatoes.

Equipment: Grilled Alaskan Sockeye Salmon

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You’ll need a quality grill for this or any grilled recipe. The cheap ones wear out quickly and aren’t always reliable for even heating so get a good one. If you’re in the market, check these recommendations out (affiliate links):

If you liked that, try this…

More fish recipes below:

• Poached Thai Coconut Curry Swordfish
• Mediterranean Striped Bass (Rockfish)
• Peix Espasa Català (Catalan Swordfish)
• Asian Tuna Lettuce Wraps
• Miso Glazed Black Cod

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