Best Salmon for Eating

[Rich McVey]

What is the best type of salmon for eating?

The stores seem to carry mostly Atlantic but I hear Coho and Sockeye are good too.

[Toni]

I like Keta (dog or chum salmon), slivers, pinks, king. I have had sockeye but thought it was just ok. Of course anything you buy is not as good as what you catch.

[Anglinarcher]

Everyone has there favorites, and even favorite drainages that they come from, but here is my top three, in order.........

Sockeye
King
Coho

I suspect others will disagree, but .....................

I forgot to say that my results are based on "fresh" catch, not frozen and out of a store. Therefore, farm raised fish are not on my list.

[G-Man]

I've have to side with Anglinarcher on this one.

Sockeye and their fresh water kin, Kokanee
Chinook
Coho

However there would be one exception. The springers destined for the upper reaches of the Columbia system are my favorite. My first experience with these fish was a couple I caught out of the Icicle early in the season many years ago, they had blood read meat and were loaded with flavor.

[Jordan]

well I have had both King and Coho that I caught in Alaska... they were both AMAZING!! but Sockeye that are in good shape and not too dark are really good too!

Coho
Chinook
Sockeye

these are fish that are FRESH, not out of the store!! ha!

[swedefish4life1]

Socks, Reds = upiver brights Kings= Springers Kings=Ocean Coho
Chums and Pinks are poor cat food:-$ but you have to catch these Tasters to Taste the difference there is one or 12 :chef:

All Salmon are much better in the Ocean:chef: Caught ALL:-$
As soon as they touch fresh water there on a fast Decline to Sealice Salt water Chromers:cheers: :chef:

((99)) percent of Atlantic Salmon= Pass there farm Raised crap full of pen raised nasty and are stuffed with growth supplements:-$

BUY Wild Fish ONLY :chef:

[bob johansen]

Everyone has there favorites, and even favorite drainages that they come from, but here is my top three, in order.........

Sockeye
King
Coho

I suspect others will disagree, but .....................

I forgot to say that my results are based on "fresh" catch, not frozen and out of a store. Therefore, farm raised fish are
not on my list.

I totally agree with Anglinarcher with his ratings of fresh salmon -- but sometimes Kings and Cohos are pretty close. Pinks are pretty good too if they are bled and put into a cooler immediately after catching. Chums are at the bottom of the list but are sometimes kept for the smoker if nothing else is available.

[jens]

I have had the luxury of having Copper River Salmon at a wedding in Alaska a couple years ago..Bbq'd on wood planks...deelish.

[Rich McVey]

Lots of good info. Of course I'd rather catch what I eat, but I dont get out enough for that. Alot of the stuff I see on display at the local stores isnt all that appitizing. And the sea food dept is a real turn off when you can smell it 50 ft away, and it dont smell fresh. Ive been looking into comercial sized packages (10lb & 25lb) of fresh/frozen to add to the freezer.

Hey Swede, you got a comercial license? Those bags of filets are just what Im looking for.

[swedefish4life1]

PM me mid summer I will tag:-$ and bag you to death:cheers: :chef:

[Jake Dogfish]

1. Sockeye
2. Coho
3. Pink
4. Chinook
5. Atlantic
6. Chum


Most would prefer Chinook to Pink but to each there own...

[A9]

1) Sockeye...And not that overrated Copper River stuff....
2) Blackmouth
3) Coho
4) Kings
5) Pinks

Never tried Chum or Atlantic...

Most Atlantic salmon are farmed and are filled with unnatural stuff....Many of them are artificially colored because their meat is so pale when they are farm raised, that they need to color it more "red" or orange so it looks like salmon meat....

[Bodofish]

For me, and I can say with out a doubt, I've eaten more salmon than any 5 people you know combined. It was free food for many years.
Number 1 with a bullet and no doubts is King! Big ones 15 pounds min.
Number 2 would be Silvers.
Number 3 is Socks, they're a little dry for me.
All the rest Kitty food. :bom: :bounce: :bom: :bounce: :bom:

[Anonymous]

Most Atlantic salmon are farmed and are filled with unnatural stuff....Many of them are artificially colored because their meat is so pale when they are farm raised, that they need to color it more "red" or orange so it looks like salmon meat....

I can see you're well indoctrinated and haven't spent much time in the fish biz or aqua culture. Pen reared does not mean filled with unnatural stuff. Most fish farms feed better chow than most people feed their dogs or kids. A very small percentage of fish is dyed. Why spend the money on expensive food coloring when you can make the meat any color you want with different types of natural feed. The meat color can go from almost white to bright red just by changing the amount of shrimp in the feed. They are truely designer fish and fresher than any commercial or sport caught fish in exsitance. They are dipped from the pens and put into slush filled totes. The fish are humanely dispatched dressed and put back on ice, never being above about 30 degrees from the water to the store. You can't buy a better piece of fish.
Besides fish pens keep comercial fishermen off our native stocks! Who's side are you on anyway?

[swedefish4life1]

Sorry Bodo the Acid of years pasts ?:cheers:
There have been more Reports in print of why farm raised fish are not healthy for years .

Facts there fed stimulated feeds to grow faster THEN WILD

THERE ELEMENTS ARE CONTROLLED

Many are still stuck in there own waste = they are getting better at this AS WELL

These fish have some of the highest toxic stuff rated and the health department has posted do not even eat it in large amounts DUE TO SOME OF THESE PROBLEMS.

Are some farmers better yes is mothernature much better YES ALWAYS THEN FARMED FISH:-$
PASS THE FARMERS=Catch your fish:cheers:

[Anglinarcher]

Most Atlantic salmon are farmed and are filled with unnatural stuff....Many of them are artificially colored because their meat is so pale when they are farm raised, that they need to color it more "red" or orange so it looks like salmon meat....

I can see you're well indoctrinated and haven't spent much time in the fish biz or aqua culture. Pen reared does not mean filled with unnatural stuff. Most fish farms feed better chow than most people feed their dogs or kids. A very small percentage of fish is dyed. Why spend the money on expensive food coloring when you can make the meat any color you want with different types of natural feed. The meat color can go from almost white to bright red just by changing the amount of shrimp in the feed. They are truely designer fish and fresher than any commercial or sport caught fish in exsitance. They are dipped from the pens and put into slush filled totes. The fish are humanely dispatched dressed and put back on ice, never being above about 30 degrees from the water to the store. You can't buy a better piece of fish.
Besides fish pens keep comercial fishermen off our native stocks! Who's side are you on anyway?

Ya, heard that before, don't buy it, well not entirely.

I agree that most Atlantics are not fed a dye, and that you can change the flesh color with food. I will also agree that they are kept fresher then most commercial wild fish catches.

But, they are not raised in the same temperature ranges, nor are they fed a natural balanced and varied diet, but a rather monotone diet, designed for maximum weight gain or fat content. But then again, I'll bet you like your Bacon fatty, don't you.

I was raised around commercial trout fish hatcheries, and I have tasted the difference, and you can't fool my taste buds.

As for whose side am I on, well I prefer to realize that we would not have most of the resources we have left now if there was not a monetary value on it. Take away the monetary value and there is no money to protect it. If Salmon had no value to us as food and sport, then there would be only City wast, ground erosion, and no fish.

IMHO

[Anonymous]

Most Atlantic salmon are farmed and are filled with unnatural stuff....Many of them are artificially colored because their meat is so pale when they are farm raised, that they need to color it more "red" or orange so it looks like salmon meat....

I can see you're well indoctrinated and haven't spent much time in the fish biz or aqua culture. Pen reared does not mean filled with unnatural stuff. Most fish farms feed better chow than most people feed their dogs or kids. A very small percentage of fish is dyed. Why spend the money on expensive food coloring when you can make the meat any color you want with different types of natural feed. The meat color can go from almost white to bright red just by changing the amount of shrimp in the feed. They are truely designer fish and fresher than any commercial or sport caught fish in exsitance. They are dipped from the pens and put into slush filled totes. The fish are humanely dispatched dressed and put back on ice, never being above about 30 degrees from the water to the store. You can't buy a better piece of fish.
Besides fish pens keep comercial fishermen off our native stocks! Who's side are you on anyway?

Ya, heard that before, don't buy it, well not entirely.

I agree that most Atlantics are not fed a dye, and that you can change the flesh color with food. I will also agree that they are kept fresher then most commercial wild fish catches.

But, they are not raised in the same temperature ranges, nor are they fed a natural balanced and varied diet, but a rather monotone diet, designed for maximum weight gain or fat content. But then again, I'll bet you like your Bacon fatty, don't you.

I was raised around commercial trout fish hatcheries, and I have tasted the difference, and you can't fool my taste buds.

As for whose side am I on, well I prefer to realize that we would not have most of the resources we have left now if there was not a monetary value on it. Take away the monetary value and there is no money to protect it. If Salmon had no value to us as food and sport, then there would be only City wast, ground erosion, and no fish.

IMHO

To each his own, I spent 16 years buying selling, catching, raising and processing fish. I think I have a little better handle on the situation than anyone who's basing all their claims on journalistic sensationalizm, not that you are AA.
Salt Water Pen raised fish are far cry from hatchery fish.
Sure there's dirt bags in every industry and having been on both sides you run a much higher risk of getting poisoned from wild caught fish than any fish that comes from a pen. Fish farmers are like most other Farmers, as honest as the day is long and most carry extensive degrees, I can't say that for a lot of the other folks I met in the fish biz.
Most pens are situated in a strong current to keep a fresh flow of water to the fish. There's no money in dead fish. Like I said earlier most of the fish eat better than most peoples dogs or kids. A hotdog for the fish not on your life! The fish can be raised to taste like almost anything you want. I ran through a batch of Atlantics that were fed and designed to taste like lobster. All in the food and they weren't to bad either.
There have been so many blind taste tests that purporting to prove one fish tastes better than another. Every one has sent the sponsors home red faced, generally the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.
As for the economy those farm raised fish support a whole chain of industry from packaging, food, pens, trucking......... The list goes on. If anyone has any real experience with fish farms I'd be glad to debate but as I say to each his own. They could save a lot of wild fish for us to catch.

[medic1]

SPRINGERS, then springers, and after that springers.

[swedefish4life1]

Medic1 YEEEEEEES:chef: PS= If I wanted a Lobster I would order it not take the scent off a fish#-o

[tommytitan08]

I would have to say sockeye, coho, chinook for the bbq and chums and pinks for smoking.:chef: