World Cuisine - Alaska

One of the most amazing migration stories in the world is of that of Salmon. Salmon Run  is the time when salmon, which have migrated from the ocean, swim to the upper reaches of rivers against the flow of the river, where they spawn on gravel beds. After spawning, all Pacific salmon and most Atlantic salmon die, and the salmon life cycle starts all over again. This habit of migration makes wild salmon much stronger and healthier than farmed salmon. As we speak, the wild salmon of the Atlantic and Pacific ocean are getting started on their journey back home, during the fall.

The Alaskan Inuit people have been smoking the wild salmon they catch for centuries. According to this article the Inuit men will go out on their boats on the river to catch wild salmon as the winter approaches, to have enough smoked salmon for the winter. Once the salmon is caught, the women come out to scale and prepare the salmon for smoking.

You don’t have to be an expert on salmon to see and taste the difference between the wild caught and farmed salmon meat. Not a lot of preparation is needed for good filet of salmon to be an impressive center piece to feed a party. Here is a good rub for a salmon grill.

Enjoy the season for wild salmon!!