I Asked 2 Fishermen the Secret to Buying the Best Salmon, and They Both Said the Same Thing
I love salmon! My go-to takeout order is salmon nigiri from a nearby spot; I can’t get enough salmon kama (collar), and always order the lemony-dill salmon whenever I see it on a menu. But as much as I love eating it, I’ve been equally as nervous to buy it at grocery stores.
It’s not that I doubt my cooking skills — with the wide arsenal of recipes available (Oven-Baked Salmon, Garlic Butter Salmon, Miso Salmon), I’m actually quite eager to. The challenge for me is choosing which filet to pick out from the pack.
To boost my confidence shopping for fresh salmon, I asked two salmon experts — Wayne Samiere, founder and CEO of Honolulu Fish Company, and Hannah Heimbuch, a third-generation Alaska commercial salmon fisherman who harvests for Alaska Seafood — for their secret to finding the best salmon. They both had a lot to say, and shared shockingly similar (read: identical) tips I’ll now take with me every time I shop.
While they emphasized we should avoid salmon with “brown spots” and “leaking fluids,” the two agreed that the key to consistently purchasing fresh, delicious salmon is color — and not just for the reason you think.
Why You Should Always Look for Brightly Colored Salmon
Like many fresh items (see: supersweet strawberries), salmon that is rich in color is also rich in flavor: “The best tasting salmon is bright orange and looks like candy,” Wayne says. While there are several types of salmon to choose from, this applies to “the majority of store-bought salmon, especially Atlantic salmon,” which accounts for 99% of what we see on shelves, he explains. “The brighter and more vivid the color of the meat means it is generally the freshest and highest-quality fed and produced fish.”
In the case of salmon, that vivid color is also a good indicator of where the fish came from. You can probably identify whether you’re buying farmed or wild salmon without having to read the packaging, Hannah explains. “Wild salmon is naturally deep red or orange from its diet,” she says, who prefers wild salmon over farmed for both sustainability and taste (as does Wayne).
“Nature is far more robust, larger, naturally selective, balanced, and economically correct than anything man-made or done by large salmon farming,” says Wayne who adds, “high-quality, farm-raised salmon is rich in taste because of the high-quality food” they’re fed. “Dull color will taste like it looks.”
Testing the Brightly Colored Rule
With all this talk about salmon and a newfound confidence, I packed my things and headed to the store to try out this new rule for myself. As soon as I got to the seafood section, instead of feeling my usual nerves of uncertainty about what to get, I started looking for color. And to my surprise, it was easier than I thought!
There were noticeable differences between each salmon filet — some had darker, brown spots and pale colors, while the ones that were bright orange looked plump and glossy – across the various varieties of salmon. I picked up a bright “candy”-colored coho salmon filet and skipped home ready for dinner.
When I got home, I soaked it in a salt brine and then pan-seared it (which is The Kitchn’s go-to method), and it cooked up and tasted beautifully; it had an almost buttery-like flavor that was still firm and flaky. I can’t lie, I’m pretty jazzed with this newfound trick that’s empowered me to buy and cook more salmon at home.
Do you have a foolproof tip for picking out seafood? Tell us about it in the comments below.
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