Wild caught vs regular salmon

[MelissaB]

Why is it that EVERY time we buy and grill wild caught salmon it is dry and the flavor isn't as good as the regular salmon. We cook them the same way.

I'm the one in the family that pushes for the wild caught salmon for health reasons, but I'm frustrated with the taste.

Anybody?

[HassleCat]

1. Salmon varies by species

You have to make sure you're comparing chinook to chinook, sockeye to sockeye, etc. Wild salmon will be a little dryer because they have less fat, and they taste less "fishy" because farmed salmon are fed food made with ground up fish.

[safeinOhio]

4. Fresh sockeye, wild caught is great.

Never buy "pink".

[MelissaB]

6. I think ours is usually pink.

Maybe that's the problem???

[uppityperson]

9. "pink" is a color and also the name of one variety

[Matariki]

11. The species, not the color.

http://www.saveur.com/article/Techniques/Know-Your-Salmon

[Blue_In_AK]

20. If you buy pink salmon,

a/k/a humpy, it won't be very good. My favorite is red salmon or sockeye.

[CTyankee]

13. we have it good in New England when it comes to fish...eat it 3 times a week...

I cook salmon with with low sodium Teryaki sauce mixed with lime juice and some scallions, with a bit of seasoning on top...not much. I put i in he oven and bake it. I's light and flaky...jus don't over cook...it's not reddish pink because it's raw, folks...

[chowder66]

2. Try poaching it in parchment paper in the oven. nt

[840high]

5. That's what I do - with a dab of butter on top.

[MelissaB]

8. Do you put on on parchment paper or wrap it?

I've never cooked it this way.

[Denzil_DC]

18. My dad used to catch Atlantic salmon in the local river.

No shortage of moisture or fat on those guys, and they'd run up to 20 lb.

My mother used to wrap steaks (maybe 1-2 inches thick) loosely in tin foil, along with a little water or thin stock, maybe some herbs and seasoning, and some butter (not really necessary with Atlantic salmon, but other species may benefit more) and a little lemon juice, then seal it and put it on an upturned dish in a covered pot of water to steam. I guess you could do much the same in the oven. At the end, when you open up the parcel, you've the makings of a sauce to go with it, maybe with a little tinkering to finish.

If you're finding you salmon too dry, I think steaming's the way to go, whether with tinfoil or parchment as suggested above (I'd wrap it but leave enough room for steam to envelope the fish in either case). It can accentuate the flavor of the fish - in the end it comes down to how much you really like the flavor of salmon!

Then there's the old-fashioned salmon kettle. If you don't have one, you could probably figure out something similar from whatever pans you have in your kitchen, as my mother did.

[chowder66]

27. Wrap it. Here is a good recipe if you want to try something new

http://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder/cooking-with-salmon/salmon-papillote-dill-yogurt-sauce-100-recipes

You can google Salmon en Papillote for other parchment recipe ideas. This steams the salmon which keeps it moist and really tender.

[Warpy]

16. Salmon is one thing that can be done in the microwave

Asparagus is another. Both retain more flavor. The salmon comes out as if it had been poached, but with intense flavor you don't get in poaching. Asparagus tends to caramelize a little on the exterior and gets sweet, though it works better with thick stalks than the skinny, wimpy stuff supermarkets have been giving us lately.

[tishaLA]

3. farm raised has less fat

because it has a different diet (they actually feed it corn (!) among other things) and tends to be less active.

[uppityperson]

7. What do you mean by "regular" salmon as wild caught is the regular.

Are you comparing farmed Atlantic salmon to one of the 5 varieties of wild caught?

First of all, don't overcook it. Barely cook it so it is tender. Try a different variety as they can be very different.
Pinks, sockeye, chum, silvers, king. They are quite different from each other.

From wiki

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) are also known in the US as king salmon or blackmouth salmon, and as spring salmon in British Columbia. Chinook are the largest of all Pacific salmon, frequently exceeding 30 lb (14 kg).[41] The name tyee is used in British Columbia to refer to Chinook over 30 pounds, and in the Columbia River watershed, especially large Chinook were once referred to as June hogs. Chinook salmon are known to range as far north as the Mackenzie River and Kugluktuk in the central Canadian arctic,[42] and as far south as the Central California coast.[43]

Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) are known as dog, keta, or calico salmon in some parts of the US. This species has the widest geographic range of the Pacific species:[44] south to the Sacramento River in California in the eastern Pacific and the island of Kyūshū in the Sea of Japan in the western Pacific; north to the Mackenzie River in Canada in the east and to the Lena River in Siberia in the west.

Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) are also known in the US as silver salmon. This species is found throughout the coastal waters of Alaska and British Columbia and as far south as Central California (Monterey Bay).[45] It is also now known to occur, albeit infrequently, in the Mackenzie River.[42]

Pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), known as humpies in southeast and southwest Alaska, are found from northern California and Korea, throughout the northern Pacific, and from the Mackenzie River[42] in Canada to the Lena River in Siberia, usually in shorter coastal streams. It is the smallest of the Pacific species, with an average weight of 3.5 to 4.0 lb (1.6 to 1.8 kg).[46]

Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) are also known in the US as red salmon.[47] This lake-rearing species is found south as far as the Klamath River in California in the eastern Pacific and northern Hokkaidō island in Japan in the western Pacific and as far north as Bathurst Inlet in the Canadian Arctic in the east and the Anadyr River in Siberia in the west. Although most adult Pacific salmon feed on small fish, shrimp, and squid, sockeye feed on plankton they filter through gill rakers.[48] Kokanee salmon are the land-locked form of sockeye salmon.

[MelissaB]

10. We usually get wild caught Alaska salmon.

I'm not sure about the rest. The hubby usually does the buying, and I'll ask him when he gets home.

[uppityperson]

15. People have the tendency to overcook it. If it's filleted, put a slice of lemon on it, on

the grill and cook for 5 min a side maximum. I usually put a piece a foil on my charcoal grill, cover it and let it be for 10 min. A whole salmon would cook for longer, lid on the grill though to make heat all the way around.

Or even wrap it in foil, with sliced lemon and onions in the cavity and bake it on the grill.

[AngryAmish]

12. Rainbow trout are steelhead salmon.

Stream v ocean (and great lakes).

[Nac Mac Feegle]

24. Ummm,

I'm sorry, but you seem to have gotten some wrong information somewhere. They are two different species. Atlantic salmon have a freshwater phase, while trout are solely freshwater fish. Maybe whoever gave you the information had confused the salon's freshwater phase with a trout.

[hunter]

25. Nah, Oncorhynchus mykiss...

... can live an entirely freshwater lifestyle or an oceangoing lifestyle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_trout

It's a salmonoid.

There's a mess of subspecies, and hybrids within the species.

[PufPuf23]

26. Steelhead are anadromous rainbow trout.

A rainbow trout that spends its entire life in fresh water is a rainbow trout and a type of salmonid.

A rainbow trout that spends part of life in ocean is a steelhead trout.

There are several different species and subspecies of rainbow trout (and the classification is somewhat fluid).

The steelhead trout is a fish of the Pacific Ocean but has been introduced to the Great Lakes (and many other areas around the world) as the fish is readily farmed, stocked, eaten, and is a good game fish because it fights.

The salmon species in the salmonid group in most cases live in salt water, spawn in fresh water, and die after one spawn.

All the Pacific Ocean salmons follow this life cycle. The Atlantic salmon is like the steelhead (and unlike the Pacific salmon species) in that it will make repeated trips between the ocean and freshwater to spawn rather than spawn once and die.

From wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_trout

The rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is a trout and species of salmonid native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout&quot is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coastal rainbow trout (O. m. irideus) or Columbia River redband trout (O. m. gairdneri) that usually returns to fresh water to spawn after living two to three years in the ocean. Freshwater forms that have been introduced into the Great Lakes and migrate into tributaries to spawn are also called steelhead.

Adult freshwater stream rainbow trout average between 1 and 5 lb (0.5 and 2.3 kg), while lake-dwelling and anadromous forms may reach 20 lb (9 kg). Coloration varies widely based on subspecies, forms and habitat. Adult fish are distinguished by a broad reddish stripe along the lateral line, from gills to the tail, which is most vivid in breeding males.

Wild-caught and hatchery-reared forms of this species have been transplanted and introduced for food or sport in at least 45 countries and every continent except Antarctica. Introductions to locations outside their native range in the United States (U.S.), Southern Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South America have damaged native fish species. Introduced populations may affect native species by preying on them, out-competing them, transmitting contagious diseases (such as whirling disease), or hybridizing with closely related species and subspecies, thus reducing genetic purity. Other introductions into waters previously devoid of any fish species or with severely depleted stocks of native fish have created world-class sport fisheries such as the Great Lakes and Wyoming's Firehole River.

Some local populations of specific subspecies, or in the case of steelhead, distinct population segments, are listed as either threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The steelhead is the official state fish of Washington.[2]

PS If one is fly fishing in the Klamath River for steelhead one really only needs Silver Hiltons and Brindle Bugs.

[Zorra]

29. ^This^

And no one knows how to cook wild salmon better than the Lummi people.

http://lnnr.lummi-nsn.gov/LummiWebsite/Website.php?PageID=190

http://lumminationstommish.com/home.php

Note: Salmon egg clusters are best steelhead bait for the bait dunkers.

[Denzil_DC]

28. To add to the complexity,

brown trout have a migratory form (anadromous, same species) known as sea trout (not to be confused with the southern US seatrout, or speckled trout, not a true trout, which lives in estuaries). Sea trout behave like Atlantic salmon, though some, often called slob trout, will only migrate as far as brackish estuaries.

[MineralMan]

14. I've eaten freshly caught sockeye and pink

salmon in Alaska, cooked the day they were caught by myself. The sockeye was great. The pink was mediocre. Species matters a lot.

[aidbo]

17. I wish I had a taste for salmon.

Living in the PNW, great salmon around here. I have weird tastes when it comes to fish, though. I Can only eat it raw on sushi, or tuna in a tuna salad. A good seared ahi steak I can eat too.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

21. Similar for me...

Cooked salmon I can do without. Salmon sashimi better get in my belly.

I do enjoy mahi and tilapia, however.

[aidbo]

23. People give me funny looks when I explain this to them. I don't get it either. :)

[djean111]

30. I love tuna cooked all ways, canned, seared, baked, sashimi, whatever.

But I cannot eat smoked salmon. Not at all. HATE the taste.
I was invited to a family dinner when working in Tokyo, was asked if I liked sushi, and what kinds of fish, I said salmon is just fine - and was served smoked salmon because my friend's mom did not believe an American would eat sushi. To be polite, I had to get it down in very small bits. Luckily I love wasabi and ginger.

I seem to recall that a Top Chef episode in Alaska had the contestants choosing and cooking salmon, and one chose the pink salmon and was told Alaskans never eat it.

[Blue_In_AK]

19. Sockeye is the best,

in my opinion.

[pinboy3niner]

33. Especially Copper River Sockeye, grilled

Bon apetit!

[Gormy Cuss]

22. "Wild caught" is regular salmon.

The other stuff is farmed and has different color and texture. In either case though, if it's dry it's been overcooked.

[underahedgerow]

31. Exactly. No need to overcook it, it's not pork or chicken. Flash seared in a hot pan for

a few minutes, depending on how thick it is. Covered to steam the top and allow the skin to crisp up. Olive oil, salt, pepper & add the fresh lemon last, just before serving to deglaze the pan.

Or, olive oil in a foil packet, salt & pepper. Lay a lemon slice across the top and seal up the packet nice and tight. Place in the middle of a medium hot oven, 350 is good for 7 - 10 minutes depending on how thick it is. If it's thin, 5 - 7 minutes.

If it's not quite done to perfection, you can zap it in the microwave in 20 second bursts to finish up the middle without drying it out (not in the foil please). Better underdone than overdone.

[Xolodno]

32. Sounds like your over cooking it.

You can't cook wild Salmon the same way as farm raised.

Sort of like a wild Turkey will be mostly dark meat (they are wild and use more muscle) whereas you get a lot of white meat on farm raised turkey.

Experiment, next time take it off the grill 5 minutes sooner with wild. Adjust from there.