Wild Salmon - A Recipe & A Giveaway!

Salmon - I like salmon sashimi but dislike cooked salmon until I had my first taste of wild salmon.  Read on as I explain why…  :)

Many of my family members and friends know I can be quite imm jin aka fussy / picky about the food my children eat, especially those that I buy or cook.  Of course, I am not that unreasonable in that all caregivers follow my way because as long as they are eating well and not given destructive food forever, I am okay.  Really okay as I  feed them fast food, fried stuff, they eat chips and sweets and chocolates at times too… But please do not take this as a go ahead to indulge them in destructive food!

Though I dislike cooked salmon, I make it a point to buy and cook salmon for the boys in the house because we all know that salmon is prized for its health benefits.  Salmon is a nutrition powerhouse.  Being me, I started googling / researching about salmon and came across articles of wild salmon and the benefits of wild versus farmed salmon.  

As I researched, I became increasingly curious about wild salmon and why it is not easily accessible.  Those we see commonly at supermarkets are farmed salmon and how do I know?  The flesh.  The flesh of wild sockeye salmon is bright red.  Wild salmon are also very lean, which means that the fat marks - those white stripes you see in the meat are very thin.   If the fish is pale pink with wide fat marks, the salmon is farmed.  And most of our salmon are Norwegian salmon - Atlantic salmon farm-raised in Norway.

Look at the chart on the nutrients between wild salmon and farmed salmon.

Source: http://www.prevention.com/content/which-healthier-wild-salmon-vs-farmed-salmon

What caught my eyes were the last 2 paragraphs regarding contaminants and also what some others refer to as PCBs.  No, I am no expert in this but most articles I read mention about farmed salmon being higher in contaminants.  Though deemed safe, I think the risks are far fewer in wild salmon, especially if you are cooking for young kids.  

With that, I searched for places that sell wild salmon (not Many!) and chanced upon The Alaska Guys (TAG).  Through Kevin, I learnt a fair bit regarding wild salmon.  He told me, "once you have tried wild salmon, you will not want to go back to farmed salmon".  Well, true to his words, I began eating cooked wild salmon.  Wild salmon tastes totally different - there was no fishy smell, no yucky aftertaste and for someone who is that particular on cooked salmon, I was blown away…

TAG has an online store and they carry a range of wild seafood from Alaskan crabs to the different kinds of salmon and cod at what I think are priced reasonably.

I used the Coho salmon portions to make a sweet and savoury Salmon with Blueberry Balsamic Sauce.  Coho salmon, the second largest of the Alaska Salmon species known for its orange-red flesh, has a firm texture and is perfect for roasting.  The family was very pleased with the outcome.  B, who do take farmed salmon mentioned that he can taste the difference…  and without saying, I finished up my share of the salmon. *Slurps*

TAG is generously giving away a 1kg Salmon Sampler consisting of both Sockeye and Coho salmon to 1 lucky winner.  Join the giveaway via the Rafflecopter at the end of this blog post.  

To get a taste of the goodness of wild seafood, you may either purchase online or visit TAG's shop at:

201 Telok Kurau Road

#01-05 Kurau Court

(S) 423910

+65 8356 8944

Salmon with Blueberry Balsamic Sauce

(serves 3-4)

Ingredients:

Salmon

• 2 portions wild salmon, skin on from TAG
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 60 grams blueberries
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon butter

Potato salad

• 3-4 medium potatoes 
• Japanese mayonnaise 
• lemon juice 
• spring onions

Directions:

Potato salad

1. In a large pot, bring potatoes to a boil in salted water over high. Reduce to a simmer and cook until tender when pierced with a knife, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and cool before cutting into pieces.
2. In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, lemon juice and spring onions. Add potatoes and toss to combine, adding either more mayonnaise or lemon juice based on preference. Season with salt and pepper.

Salmon

1. Rinse the salmon and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut into smaller portions and place on baking tray / sheet sprayed with oil. Drizzle 1 tablespoon melted butter.
2. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius.
3. Bake / roast the salmon till cooked through, about 7-12 mins (depending on thickness)
4. Add the balsamic vinegar to a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until reduced by a third. Add the blueberries and maple syrup. Cook for a minute and stir in the butter.

To take part in the giveaway, please complete the Rafflecopter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway ends 11 April 2015, 12 am.

Please note:

- Winner will be chosen at random.

 - Item is not exchangeable for cash.

- The giveaway is open to Singapore residents only.

- Winner will be announced on blog, Facebook and notified by email.  Please respond within 48 hours, failing which, a new winner will be chosen.

- Winner is to collect the prize from The Alaska Guy's shop at:

201 Telok Kurau Road
#01-05 Kurau Court
(S)  423910

Good Luck! 

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Disclaimer: This post was made possible by The Alaska Guys.  No monetary compensation was given and all opinions expressed here are my own.