If you're looking for a budget-friendly fish to feed family and friends, think pink.
Pink salmon, that is, a West Coast catch in season now.
This silver-grey skinned fish, the smallest of the Pacific salmon species, is called "pink" salmon because its flesh ranges in colour from light pink to a deeper rose. It's true, at first glance, it doesn't visually stimulate the appetite as do species such as brilliant-red sockeye, or plump, full-flavoured spring.
For me, that feeling changes quickly in the store when I see the cost of the fish - often well under $1 per 100 grams. That's a bargain, to say the least, particularly when you factor in how the fish's culinary flexibility and delicate taste and texture allow you to create something quite delicious to eat.
Pink salmon are most often sold whole, gutted, with the head removed.
The fish you'll see for sale usually range in size from one to two kilograms. Because of that smaller size, pink salmon is great for cooking whole, by methods such as steaming and poaching or, as I did in today's recipes, roasting and barbecuing.
Some retailers might also sell pink salmon fillets, steaks and smaller, roasting-sized chunks. If you're handy with a knife, you could also cut a whole fish yourself, as I did today's pink salmon steak recipe.
According to the informative website bcseafood.ca, when purchasing whole pink salmon, choose fish with shiny skin, tightly adhering scales and a faint, ocean-fresh aroma.
The flesh should be firm to the touch and bounce quickly back when gently pressed. Fillets and steaks should be firm with moist, translucent flesh.
For maximum freshness, it's best to buy fresh salmon the day you'll eat it, but if very fresh, it can be stored in the coldest part of your refrigerator for a day.
Pink salmon has a lower fat content than other species. Because of that, it helps to keep the fish moist during cooking, which in one of today's recipes meant topping and cooking it with olive oil and lemon juice, and in another by soaking it with a maple syrup and whisky mixture.
The old fisherman's guideline for cooking fish is to allow 10 minutes of cooking time per inch of thickness. To get that thickness, you set the fish flat on a work surface and measure it at its thickest point.
This method seems to work well when trying to calculate how long to cook a whole fish. However, the most accurate way to gauge doneness is to insert an instant-read kitchen thermometer into the thickest part of the flesh.
According to the sa国际传媒 Salmon Marketing Council website, wildbcsalmon.org, the fish is done when the temperature reaches 125 F (52 C) to 135 F (57 C). Other sources suggest a higher temperature of 140 F (60 C). The higher the temperature, the more thoroughly cooked the fish will be.
If you don't have a thermometer, another way to tell if the fish is cooked is by touch. If you press on it with your finger at its thickest point and it feels firm, with a tiny bit of give, it should be done.
If the fish feels soft, you know it is not cooked through, and if the fish feels very firm, looks dry and is pulling apart, you've overcooked it. The touch method can also be used to judge when fish fillets or steaks are done. [email protected]
Eric Akis is the author of the bestselling Everyone Can Cook series of cookbooks. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
