Salmon is the food of the season
I’ve been off on a camping trip, Dana style, in a 30 foot RV, meandering down the Oregon coast taking in the amazing sights. Everywhere we went to saw salmon boats and salmon was on the menu in every restaurant. I love salmon and marvel every year, when the fall snap singles the mighty salmon to forge upstream on their hero’s journey to spawn in our rivers and streams.
This is a true primal food as these fish are ancient and indigenous people have been enjoying them for a loooong time. Some of them have swum thousands of miles just like their ancestors have for millions of years. I’m not joking when I say millions as it is figured that our pacific salmon have been around for 4-6 million years! How incredible is that!?!
Salmon are an important part of our diet, here in our food happy home. Caveman hubby is a fanatic fisherman that loves to bring home these magnificent fish for us to dine on. We feel humbled and incredibly lucky to have abundant access to such a noble food right here in our back yard. Oh and it is so good and so good for us!
Caveman hubby with a recent king salmon
I am going to share my favorite salmon recipe, but for a price……please do not buy farmed fish. Farmed salmon are not only unhealthy to eat but they are threatening our wild runs and polluting our oceans. On top of that, it takes 2,162,000 tons of fish taken from the oceans to produce 871,200 tons of farmed salmon. Not a good trade!
Here’s the corker that should get everyone’s attention, all of them are dyed. Yup, a farmed salmon’s flesh is naturally gray because they do not have access to eat their natural foods, so the farms feed red dye to the salmon right before harvesting them.
This process of farming creates a fish that is low in omega 3s and is not a healthy food to eat. Kinda like the fast food of salmon that is harmful to our environment. Farmed fish is commonly called “Atlantic Salmon” and is easy to tell at the market as it is a much lighter pink color.
Not surprisingly, this difference means a lot in the taste. Chefs around the country rate wild salmon far superior to farmed. A recent taste test scored farmed salmon at 4.83 out of 10, while wild salmon rated 9.7. By eating wild salmon, you are giving your body and mouth something great, getting omega 3s, (that which we all seek), help to save the wild runs and the oceans clean plus supports our local fisherman. Now that’s a great deal!
Remember, vote with your dollar and ask for wild salmon. I know this is an old rant but the amount of salmon being farmed is escalating and this is only happening because we are buying them. Ok, I’m done preaching, let’s get on with the fun. Here is the recipe for you in all its glory. Respectfully enjoy the deliciousness of this venerable fish from our beautiful oceans and rivers.
oregano marinade on sockeye salmon
- Marinade
- Juice of two lemons
- ¼ cup of olive oil
- 2-3 tablespoons of fresh minced oregano
- 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika (or sweet if you can’t find smoked)
- 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon of kosher or flaked salt
- Fish
- 1.5-2 pound filet of fresh wild caught salmon
- Mix up all your marinade stuff in a bowl with a whisk or toss it in the blender and give it a whirl. Nestle your salmon filet in a bowl cover with the marinade and let sit for ½ hour. Meanwhile, lightly oil your grill and heat it up to medium-high. When you grill is nice and hot, cook the salmon, flesh side down, for 4-6 minutes, depending on how thick the filet is, then carefully flip and grill on the other side.
- Drizzle the left over marinade in the bowl over the fish and cook for 5 more minutes with the lid closed or till the salmon gets slightly opaque in the center. Don’t overcook! If anything, undercook and let rest for 5 minutes and it will be perfect. Serve with a fresh salad and cauliflower rice with oregano leaves in it.
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