The Best Salmon I Ever Had

I realize this sounds like hyperbole.  It’s not.  This was stunning.  But let me rewind the clock a bit. 

Out of the blue, I received a note from Grace Parisi, an old friend from days gone by in the Food & Wine Test Kitchen.  She is now Culinary Director for Sitka Salmon Shares, one of the new “direct to you” fresh frozen wild Alaskan fish and seafood delivery services.  She sent me a box of their fish to try!

OMG.  I was stunned.  The fish arrived frozen solid... a good sign.  The packaging is totally recyclable... another good sign.  Then, after thawing a piece of salmon... I did the sniff test.  Nothing.  Really.  No smell at all.  I will admit that this confused me.  No smell at all?

So I decided the only way to really test this salmon was to cook it as simply as possible.  I heated some olive oil in a non-stick skillet.  I salted the flesh side of the fillet.  I cooked the flesh side for about a minute, and gently turned it over and cooked for another minute (I like my salmon barely cooked).

I ground a little pepper over each filet and then plated them with wild rice, asparagus, and a brown butter sauce containing capers and shallots. 

We sat down. 

We tasted the salmon. 

We started laughing. 

Just so you know, laughing is our highest compliment, because... “it’s so good you just have to laugh.” 

Deeply flavorful, but at the same time, delicate.  It tasted like it was seconds out of the water. 

I am a convert!  Seriously the best salmon ever.  And we eat A LOT of salmon. 

Check out Sitka Salmon Shares online, @sitkashares on Twitter or sitkasalmonshares on Instagram. You’ll be glad you did.

Thank you, Grace!!!

 

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