With the launch of the commercial king salmon season last week, cooks across the North Bay are welcoming back the off-the-hook flavor of the wild, sustainably caught fish to their tables.
The king, also known as Chinook, is highly prized for its high oil content, sweet flavor and deep orange color. North Coast residents anticipate its arrival each spring with the same fervor as the Dungeness crab catch in the late fall.
"People go crazy for the California king salmon," said chef/owner Jennifer McMurry of Viola Pastry Boutique and Cafe in Montgomery Village. "It's a wonderful, fresh, local product."
In the spring, the California kings are generally feeding on tiny shrimp known as krill, which gives them a more robust flavor.
"The most highly sought salmon, both sport and commercial, are salmon that are feeding on krill," said John McManus, executive director of the Golden Gate Salmon Association, a coalition of salmon advocates. "Later in the season, you still have plenty of fat, but it's not the same."
When the recreational salmon season opened in early April, anglers were pulling in good-size Chinook salmon in Monterey Bay and Bodega Bay, McManus said.
Although the sleek silver fish mysteriously vanished after the first week, McManus expects them to reappear once the springtime winds kick in, mixing up the stratified layers of the ocean like a blender.
"All the heavy water full of natural nutrients settles down on the bottom," he explained. "When the winds blow, they shake it all up."
When the plants get closer to the surface and are exposed to sunlight, the phytoplankton explode into bloom. That's when the feeding frenzy begins, with the krill chomping on plankton, and the salmon gorging on krill.
"The salmon will be feeding like mad dogs between now and July," McManus said. "And they will grow."
As soon as the sought-after king salmon come off the commercial boats, McMurry plans to switch out her halibut entree for the meatier king of the ocean.
"We always have some kind of fish on the menu," she said. "People feel that it's good for them, so seafood is a very easy sell."
The California king salmon are exceptionally high in healthy omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to protect against heart attacks and possibly strokes.
Last year, McMurry served the sweet, succulent salmon over a hash of purple fingerling potatoes, zucchini and bacon.
This spring, she will serve it with crispy potatoes and a hash of spring vegetables -#8212; carrots, spring onions and asparagus -#8212; plus a drizzle of salsa verde.
"The dish has textural contrasts," she said. "You get a little bit of crispy from the potatoes and the veggies, and the salmon is soft, but it has a little bit of crust."
As spring turns to summer, the chef will switch the spring veggies for a ragu of cherry tomatoes, corn and zucchini.
If there's any leftover salmon at the cafe, McMurry likes to serve it for lunch, grilled and placed over mixed greens, with a balsamic vinaigrette.
She's also thinking of making salmon cakes this year, which is another good way to use up the leftover bits.
"You just pull the fish apart, and mix it with egg, panko bread crumbs, and Dijon mustard," she said. "Then use a light breading of flour, egg and panko, and serve it on some greens."
This fall, the king salmon left in the ocean will return to the rivers where they were born, mostly to the Sacramento and Klamath, to reproduce.
These adults were born and reared three years ago, before the droughts of 2013 and 2014. Because of those droughts, however, McManus fears there may not be enough cold water to support a successful spawning. If the water grows too warm, the fertilized eggs will die.
"This could be the last decent salmon season for a few years," he said. "Next year, we'll start seeing the real cost of the drought on returning adult salmon."
This recipe is from Jennifer McMurry, chef/owner of Viola Pastry Boutique and Cafe in Santa Rosa.
Viola Grilled Salmon with Crispy Potatoes and Spring Vegetable Ragout
Makes 4 servings
For crispy potatoes:
4 to 6 Yukon gold potatoes
1tablespoon olive oil
-#8212; Salt and pepper
For spring vegetable ragout:
2 cups carrots peeled - sliced thin
2 cups spring onion sliced
2 cups asparagus sliced
For Salsa Verde:
1/2 cup of chives minced
1/2 cup of parsley finely chopped
1/2 cup of shallot minced
1 cup of olive oil
-#8212; Salt and pepper, to taste
For salmon:
4 fillets wild king salmon
For crispy potatoes: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Put the potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Cook until done but not falling apart. To test, use a knife and pierce all the way through the potato. Take potatoes out of water and cool.
Once cool, cut the potatoes into bite size pieces. Toss potatoes with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay out on a cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes until crispy.
Toss potatoes in salsa verde and serve. Add as much or little as you want, save some to drizzle over the salmon.
For Spring Vegetable Ragout: Heat saute pan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add carrot and saute until about halfway done. Add asparagus and spring onion, saute 3 to 4 more minutes until done. Season with salt and pepper.
For salsa verde: Mix all ingredients together and season with salt and pepper
For salmon: Heat grill over medium/high heat. Lay out salmon on a plate and drizzle with olive oil, flip over and make sure you do both sides. Grill salmon 3-4 minutes per side, depending on thickness. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
To plate: Lay out the potatoes, put the spring vegetable ragout over top and place the salmon on top. Finish by drizzling the salsa verde over the salmon and around the platter.
The following recipe is from chef/owner Duskie Estes of Zazu Kitchen + Farm in Sebastopol, who is currently topping a breakfast pizza with gravlax, capers, red onions, watercress, and creme fraiche.
Estes was one of a dozen chefs from around the country who talked about about seafood policy at the James Beard Foundation's Boot Camp held in Pescadero last month.
Zazu Gravlax Cure
Cures 1 fish
1 cup brown sugar
3 cups sugar
3 cups kosher salt
2 tablespoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons ground juniper
1 1/2 tablespoons ground fennel
1 wild king salmon cut into 2 fillets, pin bones removed, skin still on
Place salmon on a rack on a sheet tray skin side down. Cover in sugar salt mixture. Store in a refrigerator for 2-3 days until firm. Remove salt mixture with a rubber spatula and slice thin with a slicing knife, leaving the skin behind.
You can reach Staff Writer Diane Peterson at 521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com
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