Double Duty Dinners: Spice-rubbed Bristol Bay Sockeye Salmon

This gorgeous slab of prime seafood was sent directly to me by Jeb, the fisherman who caught it – how exciting is that! See, I am easy to please, contrary to what some say. Red, healthy, sustainable – that’s Alaska’s Bristol Bay salmon. Coveted by savvy seafood lovers around the world, Bristol Bay sockeye is a boon for health-conscious cooks and I couldn’t wait to recreate a recipe that Chef Kevin of Bristol Bay Sockeye served at the Opening Reception of IFBC where I was first introduced to their brand. Salmon has been part of the weekly dinner rotation at our house and my go-to kid-friendly homemade teriyaki-style mop was key to College Girl’s early love of salmon; baked, roasted, poached, grilled, many of my salmon recipes are available here on She’s Cookin’.

Thanks to its nutrient-rich diet consumed in the cold clean waters of the Bering Sea, Bristol Bay Salmon is rich in protein, Omega-3 fatty acids, and Vitamin D, sockeye is sensible nutritious choice for people of all ages; one 3.5-ounce piece of cooked sockeye has 220 calories, 27 grams protein, 1200 mgs of Omega-3s, and a whopping 930 IUs of Vitamin D.

Heart Healthy—The American Heart Association urges consumption of at least two portions of fish each week. The high levels of Omega-3s found in sockeye, make it an excellent choice.

Brain Power—DHA, one of the long chain Omega-3s found in sockeye salmon, plays a key role in brain function. Recent studies also indicate that Omega-3s may play an important role in mental health and prevention of depression. The brain boosting powers of sockeye make it a superior choice for stressed students, new moms, and older adults!

Healthy Bones—Vitamin D is critically important to bone health, because the body can’t absorb calcium without it. Sockeye is inherently rich in this vitamin and has about 930 IU units per 3.5 ounce serving. An 8-ounce glass of vitamin D fortified milk, on the other hand, only contains about 100 IU units.

With only three of us, I was able to eek out three delectable dishes from this one side of sockeye. First, I grilled the Pilpelchuma spice-rubbed beauty, brushing it with a bit of fresh tangerine juice to balance the spicy with sweet. Presented on a platter surrounded with a vibrant mixture of grilled bell pepper, chiles, onions and corn, it was as gorgeous as it was delicious. This was my first time using Pilpelchuma – heavy on the chiles with garlic, cayenne, paprika, cumin, and caraway, it is often found in Libyan cuisine, it was very close to the dry rub that Chef Kevin used in his original preparation.Next, we enjoyed little bites of salmon with a sublime velvety avocado sauce on thick rounds of corn tortillas with a garnish of sweet peppers and crunchy cancha (corn nuts) for a Peruvian twist. And, last but not least, I blended up the remaining few ounces of sockeye with labneh, lemon juice, etc. for a salmon dip similar to this salmon mousse that’s perfect for your holiday party.

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Spice-rubbed Bristol Bay Salmon

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

35 mins

 

Wild Sockeye salmon with a dry rub of spicy Pilpelchuma is deliciously stunning with vibrantly colored sweet peppers, onion, and corn for an elegant entree that's quick enough for a weeknight.

Course: Main

Cuisine: Peruvian influence

Servings: 6 servings

Author: Priscilla

Ingredients

• 1 - 2- lb. portion of Bristol Bay Sockeye Salmon
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Pilpelchuma*
• 1 tablespoon tangerine juice
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 colored sweet peppers cored, seeded, and cut crosswise into rings
• 1 red onion cut into 1/2" rings
• 1 jalapeno cored, seeded, and sliced into rings
• 1 cup frozen corn

For the Avocado Sublime Sauce:

• 1 avocado
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• juice of half a lime
• few splashes of Tabasco sauce

Garnish

• 1/2 cup corn nuts
• lime wedges
• cilantro

Instructions

1. Heat the grill to 400 degrees. After cleaning the grate, brush it with oil.
2. While the grill is heating, prepare the avocado sauce: combine the avocado, yogurt, lime juice and tabasco in a blender and pulse to blend.
3. Put the bell peppers, onions and jalapeno in a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and the oregano. Place on a vegetable grilling rack lined with aluminum foil, grill until soft and slightly charred, about 5 minutes.
4. Rinse salmon and pat dry. Do not remove the skin - it adds tremendous flavor to the fish.
5. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with dry rub. Combine 1 tablespoon olive oil and tangerine juice and brush on the salmon during grilling. Grill for approximately 8 minutes with the skin side down. Heat a cast iron skillet and quickly char the corn while the salmon is cooking. Wild salmon has less fat making it drier and very easy to overcook. With fish, it's better to be a bit undercooked, plus, it will continue to cook while it cook with residual heat. Let the salmon rest for 5 minutes before slicing into portions.
6. To serve: Place the side of salmon on a large platter. Arrange the peppers and onion around it and garnish with corn nuts and cilantro.

Recipe Notes

Pilpelchuma is a spice mixture of chiles, garlic, cayenne, paprika, cumin, and caraway, often found in Libyan cuisine.

Adapted from Chef Kevin/Bristol Bay Sockeye recipe.

Bristol Bay Sockeye was among the line-up of sustainable seafood featured at this year’s annual Cooking for Solutions event at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in May. A three-day long event, Cooking for Solutions brings together hundreds of chefs, food producers, media, and other food leaders from around the country to discuss and celebrate the latest challenges and successes in the sustainable seafood movement.

Jeb Wyman of Jeb’s Wild Salmon 

When you purchase wild salmon you are buying American and supporting generational fisherman and their families. Thanks to recent improvements in handling, processing, and transportation, sockeye can easily be found worldwide in a variety of convenient forms—canned, fresh, flash-frozen, individually packaged, smoked, and pouched.   Because Bristol Bay is the largest wild sockeye run in the world, the odds are good that if you are eating sockeye in the U.S., it’s from Bristol Bay. Curious where your salmon comes from? Just ask! And remember, all salmon labeled Atlantic, Norway, Chile or even Organic is farmed, not wild.

Located in southwest Alaska, about two hundred air miles from Anchorage, Bristol Bay is home to the largest commercial sockeye salmon fishery in the world. Boasting five major river systems, deep lakes, and an environment remote from commercial and industrial development, the region is a critical life source in more ways than one.

For hundreds of generations, Bristol Bay has supported Native Alaskan families living a traditional subsistence lifestyle, and for 130 years it has supported a thriving commercial fishery that supplies the world.

During much of the year, the region is gripped in ice and snow, but during June and July, Bristol Bay springs to life, with the return of millions of sockeye salmon and thousands of commercial fishermen. As massive schools of salmon “pulse” into the bay, Alaska state biologists work with fishermen to allow optimal catch levels while preserving the species for future generations and protecting the environment from imbalances.

Historically, the commercial fishing industry in Bristol Bay dates back to the late 1800s when canneries were established and all of the sockeye was packed into cans and shipped elsewhere. Today, thanks to the fleet’s ongoing commitment to quality and to improvements in transportation and processing, a large portion of Bristol Bay sockeye is available in a variety of forms that are convenient for today’s busy, health conscious cooks. {Source: Bristol Bay Sockeye}