I Know This Fish: Alaskan Sockeye Salmon, from Water to Table
Note: Today, a quick post that really evokes a sense of place. Food writer Cheryl Sternman Rule takes us on a fishing expedition in Alaska. Enjoy! —AK
Photographs by Cheryl Sternman Rule
When the server set the salmon carpaccio in front of me, I felt like whispering in her ear. "Just so you know," I’d say, "this fish and I have met before."
And it was true. A day earlier, on Prince William Sound in southeastern Alaska, I’d bore witness as the commercial fisherman on whose boat I was riding netted three sockeye, pulled out their gills, and tossed them to the bottom of her bow-picker. There was blood, yes, but there was also something beautiful about the process—its simplicity. One boat, one net, one fisherman.
When we returned to shore, we brought the fish to Copper River Seafoods, one of the bustling processing plants in Cordova, a thriving fishing community where the sea is green, the sun sets late, and the mountaintops are dappled with snow. We toured the cannery, noting how the fish were washed, gutted, filleted, packed in plastic, and frozen for shipment. One worker, a thin man named Ireneo, expertly sliced through his pile of salmon at a shocking clip. He wore thick rubber gloves, but his movements, so fluid and boldly confident with the knife, made it obvious that he wasn’t going to get hurt. He filleted one salmon, then another, then another. Over and over and over again.
We left—a small group of writers and chefs—with the sockeye from our expedition, ready to be turned into dinner.
The next night, I sat at The Reluctant Fisherman Inn, awaiting my first course at the Copper River Highliner Dinner. Three chefs from The Oceanaire had pounded the beautiful salmon fillets thin, dressed them with pickled fennel and capers, and sprinkled them with olive oil. The resulting carpaccio tasted clean and elegant, fresh and bright.
"I know you," I thought, looking at the salmon.
Because, you see, I did.
About the author: Cheryl Sternman Rule is a San Jose, California-based food writer. She blogs at 5 Second Rule.
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6 Comments:
Homesick!
semarr at 4:39PM on 08/11/09
Spent 6 months in Alaska. Some kind folk took us out on their fishing boat several times...The best crab I have ever eaten was pulled out of their trap, placed in a pot in the small boat galley, cooked up and devoured immediately. On another occasion, I caught a 15 pound salmon that became chowder later in the evening. When I show people the picture of me and my catch, I always say "He was delicious."
Thanks for the article!
erinlovestoeat at 5:02PM on 08/11/09
For a great first-hand account of salmon fishing, check out
Red Summer: The Danger, Madness, and Exaltation of Salmon Fishing in a Remote Alaskan Village by Bill Carter.
coffeegoat at 5:18PM on 08/11/09
My roommate came into my room as I was headed to work one morning and said "do you like salmon?" I said yes. He said he went fishing on the river and caught 3 salmon that he had in the refrigerator / freezer. He said "I like to fish, but I hate to cook." You take them.
So that's what I ate for more than a month in Anchorage: wild caught Alaskan salmon. PHENOMENAL.
shoneyjoe at 6:15PM on 08/11/09
My dad is from AK, I've spent a LOT of time there. This is how much I hate salmon: I caught it on a pixie in Valdez (a pink), my mom immediately cleaned and cooked it to perfection. I still couldn't stand it. BLAHHH! It's so sad, it LOOKS so tasty!
omnomnom at 9:33PM on 08/11/09
Your story and photos make me want to head north.
Christies Corner at 10:05AM on 08/12/09