SALMON

  It’s an Underappreciated Best Seller

Last summer, I joined a fish share, and for a lump sum, I received a whole, freshly caught fish every Tuesday for 12 weeks. We all took pleasure in eating fresh fish. My only two complaints: Fish bones in the midsummer garbage don’t sit well, and I would’ve liked more variety each week. Since I live on the east coast, the majority of the fish I received was cod, had­dock, or hake—all good varieties but all very similar in texture and flavor. Honestly, I would’ve preferred salmon most nights.

Salmon is one of the best-selling fish in restaurants and markets, and it’s due to its versatility. Its rich, oily flesh takes well to curing and smoking, tartare, and sushi, and it can be prepared using various cooking techniques and flavors, from grilling to pickled cranberries, respectively.

Farm Raised vs. Wild

When shopping for fresh salmon, you’re faced with two choices: farm raised and wild. There are pros and cons with each. Farm-raised salmon is more fatty than wild salmon, which means its flesh is more succulent, increasing the time it takes to accidentally overcook it. Farmed salmon are raised in close quar­ters, so they get less exercise than their wild cousins, which is why they contain more fat—and as a result of this dormancy, their flesh tone is naturally gray. To counter this, farmed salmon are fed a diet of protein pellets containing less-than-desirable ingre­dients, including an attractive bright pink dye to color their flesh. When it comes to omega-3s, farmed salmon contain less per ounce than wild. But at least farmed salmon is less expensive.

On the other hand, wild salmon, especially from Alaska, tends to have a higher content of omega-3s. However, wild salmon is leaner than farm raised, which means it can be trick­ier to cook since it dries out more quickly. To confuse mat­ters further, some wild salmon are actually spawned and briefly raised in farms before being release into the wild. So these fish can begin life eating the same type of pellet feed as farmed salmon before they’re released into the wild to fend for themselves. I’ve found that this breed of wild salmon is slightly cheaper than other types of wild salmon but still more expen­sive than farm raised.

As for me, for a long time I enjoyed farmed salmon because it’s so fatty. But now, given the recent health and environmental concerns surrounding farm-raised salmon, I choose wild—or at least as wild as I can find. And I feel better about eating it.

Even though I still eat fish once per week, I don’t always sign up for the fish share anymore. But when I do, I prefer receiving fish fillets because I don’t have to sneak around after dark look­ing for Dumpsters in which to toss my fish bones.

Cedar-Plank Grilled Salmon with Mustard Glaze

Serves 4

To ensure evenly thick pieces of salmon, it’s best to buy one whole piece and cut it yourself at home. Cedar planks can be found at most grilling supply and hard­ware stores. Make sure you buy cedar planks specifi­cally made for grilling.

Ingredients

1 T whole grain mustard

1 T honey

1 tsp low-sodium soy sauce

One 11⁄2-lb, skin-on, center-cut wild salmon fillet, cut into four equal portions

Sea salt* and black pepper to taste (optional)

1 cedar plank, soaked in water for 1 hour

Directions

1. Whisk the mustard, honey, and soy sauce together in a small bowl.

2. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Place the salmon on the cedar plank.

3. Prepare a medium fire on the grill. Set the cedar plank over the fire, cover, and cook until the salmon can easily flake when prodded with a paring knife, and it reg­isters 125˚F, 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Spoon the mustard mixture over the salmon, cover, and continue cooking for 1 minute longer. Transfer the salmon to a platter and serve.

*Salt to taste isn’t factored into the nutrient analysis.

Nutrient Analysis per serving

Calories: 270; Total fat: 10 g; Sat fat: 2 g; Trans-fat: 0 g; Cholesterol: 75 mg; Sodium: 200 mg; Total carbohydrate: 4 g; Dietary fiber: 0 g; Sugars: 4 g; Protein: 37 g

Health Information Systems   _ Salmon

Health Information Systems   _ Cedar-Plank Grilled Salmon with Mustard Glaze

 Bryan Roof, RD, LDN, is a chef, dietitian, and food writer living in Boston.