Fish Recipes

Tony Barnes of the tender FV Neptune unloads red salmon as fishermen deliver their catches near the entrance to the harbor in Cordova, Alaska. Fishing boats queue up to tenders to unload catches of king salmon and red salmon just offshore from processors near the entrance to the harbor in Cordova, Alaska. (SHNS photo by Erik Hill / Anchorage Daily News)

Alaskans know that fresh salmon comes to us in one species or another through September. So while we anticipate that first taste of bright red flesh succulent with rich oils and wild flavor, we learn to pace ourselves. Particularly in the kitchen.

The fresh fish caught now need little more than a brush of oil or sprinkle of lemon with a dusting of a favorite herb or two. Doing much more than that desecrates the flavor of one of the world's truly fine fish.

As May turns to June, we start thinking of new ways to enjoy the local bounty. Then, as July turns to August, an occasional cheeseburger winds up on the grill. By football season, you can't see the freezer for the fillets.

That's why it's important now to contemplate the sockeye summer ahead and do some planning.

Where better to turn than to the old-timers?

Rather than touring the pioneers' homes, pool halls and aerobics classes, we turned to an old favorite: Cooking Alaskan by Alaskans (Alaska Northwest Books), first published in 1983 but still available in stores and on the web.

About 100 salmon recipes take up more than 20 pages in this thick volume, so finding new and different ways of preparing and storing salmon won't be a problem.

For instance, who hasn't been at work or hiking up a hill and wished he had a snack? A pocket full of Salmon Liver Confection would hit the spot about then. It's easy to make with local ingredients.

You just boil the livers until they turn white, then pulverize them into a doughlike paste, add a bunch of berries of your choice and knead them together.

"The Aleuts also add seal oil to provide additional flavor," Jay Ellis Ransom wrote, but he also advised, "A dollop or two of olive oil may better suit some taste buds."

Given the hectic pace most of us plow through every day, there's not a one of us who wouldn't find great joy in some time by ourselves.

It turns out that's real easy to do. Make up a batch of Stink Heads.

Art Johnson writes: "Take a fish that's going up the creek, preferably humpies or pinks. Cut the heads off and either wrap them in wild celery leaves or eel grass or leave them plain. Dig a shallow hole and bury the heads to keep the flies off them. Let the heads ferment about four or five days. After this time, dig them up and eat them as they are. A couple of things while eating--sit in the tall grass and have a lot of perfume on hand."

Sockeye summer also means visiting relatives. What generally happens is that after about 36 to 48 hours, Alaskans run out of conversation with these people they see about every gulf war. So the Alaskans invite friends over to ease the burden. And we try to bring a truly Alaska dish.

Check out some of the recipes that follow, or better yet, pick up a copy of Cooking Alaskan.