Total Salmon noob

[Grouperman941]

I just got back from a cruise to Alaska. My son and I went fishing in Ketchikan and caught some salmon.

My question relates to the types of salmon. We have 2 pinks, four silver, and one king. The king felt like it was around fifteen pounds, but I have never held one before, so who knows. (He was legal by a few inches, according to our guide.) The others are probably 2-5 pounds.

Are some of these fish better than others for smoking or grilling? I want to try some lox, but I have to wait a few months for the temps here to fall. I also want to try Kummok's recipe.

The fish will arrive here as frozen skin-on fillets on Thursday. Any advice appreciated.

[Tenpoint5]

If I remember right you will want to use the King for making Lox. But there will be more educated folks along shortly to answer your question

[Salmonsmoker]

Kings and silvers are pretty close in the type of meat. The king fillets will be thicker. Either of them are good for lox, although I would use the king for that. The silvers are great for hot smoking(or cold smoking) The thickness and size of the silver fillets lends to consistent results in the finished product. The pinks are milder tasting, finer grained and softer flesh. They will smoke up ok too. Not bad if they're salt water fresh, but deteriorate rapidly in quality once they hit fresh water.

[rveal23]

Grouperman941, I went a the Alaskan cruise may of 2012" had a blast. Did the tourist thing in Ketchikan, and new the fish weren't biting so didn't go fishing.  I'm very jealous of your catch.. Enjoy all of it!

[Grouperman941]

Thanks, guys. I'll post whatever I do. :-)

[beefmann]

congrats on the salmon.. it sounds like you had a great time

[Grouperman941]

(For best viewing, turn your head to the left. Not Sure why it didn't stay rotated!)

[rveal23]

those are some beauties!

[ragweed]

Nice fish, G-man.  My wife and I were in Ketchikan on the Star Princess on the 25th.  She made me promise not to go fishing though  :(

[iceman]

Nice score Grouperman941!  :)

[Grouperman941]

Tried Kummok's recipe, using Teriyaki. Alder pucks. Some pink and some silver.

I was having a problem with the PID turning off the smoke. Ended up with about 90 minutes.

I was disappointed when I tried it right out of the smoker, but after a day in the fridge, it was outstanding.

I might like the flavor on the pink better than the silver, but the silver has that perfect texture I was expecting. I can't find the pictures I thought I took. Maybe the next batch.

[Kummok]

Very nice catch! Your taste sounds similar to mine...fresh outta the smoker for salmon isn't the same as bread fresh outta the oven.  ;)

People's taste for salmon differs certainly, but my own taste puts King (Chinook) at the top of the food chain...Reds (Sockeye) are next, Silvers (Cohos) after that and even Pinks (Humpy) and Chum (Dog) are tasty when fresh and picked/treated right. Ain't no such thing as a bad salmon, only bad cooks!